Every Race is an Adventure!

2000 N hill route. Left late. Cut it short. Ran very slow.

Six miles, average pace 9:51/mi.

Nice easy 8.6 mile run with my buddies. Average pace 9:47/mi.

2000 N hill route. Average pace 9:49/mi.

Thanks, I needed that!

The run today was just what I needed. I've had the blahs off and on for weeks. I've just been enduring, waiting for my PF pain to go away and for winter to finally end. Last night I felt especially glum.

On Jan 18, the MLK holiday, I pushed the pace on a solo half marathon distance training run in old shoes (500+ miles) and ended up with PF pain. I felt good about my performance in the Painter's half marathon that Saturday, but it aggravated the PF. I used my Strassburg sock for weeks along with other treatments I've used successfully in the past, but even with backing off on pace and distance in my training it didn't seem to be getting better. For the last 3 weeks I've only been running every other day and at a very easy pace.

Thursday I finally made my first visit to a podiatrist. His diagnosis was, not too surprisingly, Plantar Fasciitis. He took an x-ray of my foot. He said my foot looks good, but that I have a high cupped arch that strains the fascia when it compresses. He recommended a 3/4 length sports orthotic to support my arch to prevent it from over-compressing and straining my plantar fascia. I like it when things make sense to me.

The orthotic won't be ready for 3 weeks. Meanwhile, I've decided that running on my foot hasn't made the PF worse, and not running hasn't made it better, so I might as well just go for it. This morning I cut the arch support area out of an old light-weight insert I used to run with and put it under the insole of my shoe to give my arch a little additional support. It seemed to work well.

I ran with Larry, Wayne, Kevin, and Kent this morning. I was only planning on 8 miles, but when we reached 4 miles Wayne, Kevin and I decided to go 10 instead. I just felt like I needed to push hard mentally this morning.

I just blogged my runs for the last three weeks this morning, such as they were, and my fastest average pace for a six mile run was 9:50/mi I think. This morning I ran 10 miles and averaged 8:58/mi, running the first mile in 10:06 and the last mile in 7:35. The first four or five miles were at an easy pace, which then gradually picked up to the end. The last few miles I felt pretty tired and just tried to hold on and push through it.

As I said, a good hard run was just what I needed. If I can survive the forecast snowstorm tonight and tomorrow, maybe the warm sunny weather predicted for next week will mark the turn around, and the beginning of a shiny new running season. One can hope, and hope is a powerful thing.

Lyle passed me in the opposite direction as I headed to the corner this morning. I said hello but resisted the temptation to run with him just in case someone was waiting for me at the corner. Nobody was there so I cut over to Main St. in hopes of catching Lyle. He often runs the neighborhood 5K course. I guessed correctly and ran with Lyle for about 3 miles. I very much enjoyed his company.

Lyle said he was going slow because he had a cold. We averaged 9:15/mi together. After he dropped off I slowed to around 9:35/mi for the next 3 miles of wandering I did around nearby streets.

The PF was no worse after the harder run on Saturday.

2000 N hill route with Larry, Wayne, and Kent. Run slow, talk, another day, repeat.

Solo run on Orem library route this morning. It's good to have 3 days in a row of running again, but still just taking it easy.

I thought I might have company this morning, but I ended up solo. I decided to run the normal Thursday route and see if I bumped into Mike Jasper as we often do. If so, I'd run the full route with him. If not, I'd cut it short to 4 miles as a mini-taper before the Spectrum 10K on Saturday. I didn't see him.

I wore the lighter shoes that I normally only wear for races. I wanted to try out the new lighter-weight heel lift I got recently to use for races instead of my heavier everyday lifts. It felt great. Between the lighter shoes and the lighter lift I could definitely tell the difference. Without really pushing too hard I averaged 8:15/mi instead of typical 9:30-ish pace I've been running lately. I pushed somewhat, but not all out, on the fast 1/2 mile down 1600 N and averaged 6:45/mi.

I don't plan to run again until the race on Saturday. It will be interesting to see what I can pull out.

It was a short but sweet trip to St. George to run in the Spectrum 10K. I rode down and back with Wayne and we stayed with Larry and Jolene at her parents' house. They were excellent hosts and made us feel very welcome.

The weather was perfect...a little chilly at the start and warm but not hot at the end.

I started with Wayne and Nathan, and near Gene, a 58 year old moustached runner from St. George I always seem to bump into in St. George races. We didn't stay together long. Nathan and I went out fast, with Wayne and Gene a little behind. I ran the first downhill mile in 5:38, with Nathan about 10 seconds ahead of me. During mile 2 he pulled ahead and I didn't see him again. He went on to finish in 38:06 (6:08/mi), finishing 19th overall and 3rd in his division.

My heel was just a little sore before the race, and shortly into the race I quit thinking about it at all. I did notice some unexpected tightness in my quads during the fast first downhill mile, but it too went away and wasn't a problem.

Mile two was 6:52, significantly slower than mile one. I didn't feel like I'd overrun mile one. This was a flatter mile with some rolling washes and I didn't want too push too hard. I was passed by a few runners, but not many.

Mile three was 6:43. There was more downhill than mile two. I was trying to keep the pace up while keeping in mind to save just a little for the tough uphills yet to come. At the midpoint I had averaged 6:24/mi. Some quick math told me I would have to average 7:36/mi for the second half to meet my goal of averaging 7:00/mi. Knowing how tough the second half is, I knew it would be a challenge.

Gene passed me around the mile three marker. I saw him gradually pull away during the next couple of miles and he went on to finish in 41:39 and win the 55-59 age division.

Mile four, in 7:12, had some downhill but also included a little uphill into the first neighborhood loop. I was mentally prepared for the uphill to be hard, and it was. Miles five and six, in 7:41 and 7:49, were even harder. I watched the overall average pace climb from 6:24/mi at the midpoint to 6:59/mi just before the last downhill with about 1/2 mile to go. I was thrilled to see it drop to 6:58 on the downhill.

I finished officially in 42:55 (6:55/mi), 42:57 (6:57/mi) on my Garmin, 55 of 734 overall, and 7 of 27 in my age division. I feel very good about the effort and the results.

Wayne also had a good run. He met his goal of breaking 45:00, finishing in 44:10 (7:07/mi), also 7th in his division.

Larry also ran well, finishing in 53:07 (8:33/mi), but Jolene ran even better finishing in 51:43 (8:20/mi). Larry attributes it to him running the race heavier than he ever has, Jolene running it lighter then ever before. I think he may have something there. Lyle also did well, finishing in 54:25 (8:46/mi).

It was a every enjoyable trip all around. I very much enjoyed it.

I ran the 2000 N hill route with Larry, Wayne and Kevin. I had some pain in my heel, but it wasn't too bad. It usually hurts the worst after sitting around and sometimes feels best when I'm running. I plan to run easy miles for the next couple of weeks until my orthotic is ready, then for at least a couple more weeks after that. If the heel feels better, I may push the mileage, but probably not the speed. I need to maintain pretty good mileage if I'm to have any hope of completing the Squaw Peak 50, UVM, and WBR in June. I wish they were spread out a bit more, but it is what is. I've got no goals to be speedy, just to finish.

I woke up as a 50 year old man this morning. As I got up to go to the bathroom and get ready to run I noticed the PF pain in my right heel was being very successful at trying get my attention, and some left knee pain was making some noise, too. After going to the bathroom I decided to just crawl back into bed. As I laid there, cuddled comfortably up next to Karen, I asked myself if I really wanted to start the next 50 years by taking the easy (lazy) path. That isn't what I wanted, so I got up, got dressed to run, stretched my foot well, and headed to the corner to see if anyone would be joining me this morning.

Nobody was there, so I ran alone. I would have very much enjoyed running with a buddy or two (or more), but running alone allowed me to ponder on the past 50 years. I felt very grateful, and thought I ought to post something on Facebook today. I quickly realized that I had so many memories and blessings that it would be very difficult to fit them all into the small amount of text allowed in a Facebook post. As I thought back, I tried to boil big things down to a single word or two. Here's what I came up with:

"Paul Thomas is 50 years old! Countless memories and blessings, itty bitty writing space. Life. Love. Karen. Six (+1) children. Family. Heritage. Running buddies. Friends. Good people. Earth. Creation. Physical activity. Beauty. Music. Freedom. Knowledge. Opportunity. Inspiration. Faith. Hope. Charity. Forgiveness. Peace. Joy. Contentment. Gratitude. Looking forward to the next 50 years..."

When I'm running, and feel like letting up, or cutting short, or giving up, I envision a chalkboard hanging in the air in front of me, just above my head. It's for keeping score. I put a tally mark on the left side of the board every time I want to quit and don't. The right side is for when I give in and give up. It's amazing how motivating this imaginary chalkboard is to me. I love putting tally marks on the left side of the board, and hate even the thought of having to put a tally mark on the right side.

I got two tally marks on the left side today. The first is for getting out of bed and running alone on my 50th birthday with a sore knee and foot. The second is for averaging 8:59/mi instead of 9:05/mi. The route I ran to the library this morning is mostly downhill out, and mostly uphill back. My average pace was at around 9:07/mi the first half. I pushed a little harder on the way back hoping to get around 9:00/mi for the run, but as I neared the finish my average pace was 9:05/mi. I knew I couldn't make it all up in the remaining distance, but decided to push hard anyway. As I reached my house and the planned end of my run, the average pace had dropped to 9:02/mi. I decided to hold the fast pace for as long as it took to get the average pace down to 8:59. It only took to the end of the street. To illustrate how hard I pushed at the end to meet this goal, my mile splits for this 6.2 mile run were 8:54, 9:02, 9:11, 9:32, 8:52, 9:00, and 6:22/mi for the last 0.2 miles.

The endurance I've learned from running...the putting forth that extra bit of effort...the not giving up...the holding on a little bit longer...the earning the left-side tally mark...have helped me in all areas of my life. As I'm sure each of you is personally aware, life is not always easy. In fact, it seems it rarely is. It's my personal experience that if we just hang in there, believe in ourselves, courageously explore our limits, work hard to take advantage of our opportunities, and don't get too discouraged when we fall short, that over time...say 50 years or so...we can look back see just how far we've come, how blessed we are, and how the hard times have made us stronger.

The last three verses we read in our family scripture reading this morning (Alma 26:35-37) touched my heart as they seemed to be saying what I had felt during my run this morning:

"35 Now have [I] not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never [was a man] that had so great reason to rejoice as [I], since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

"36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God...who has been mindful of [me], [a] wanderer in a strange land.

"37 Now my [friends], we see that God is mindful of every [person], whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his [children], and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."

The title of my running blog is "Every Race is an Adventure!", and my life has truly been a great race so far, a great adventure. It should be even better now that I'm clearly over the hill and running on a gentle downhill grade.

Wayne and I started out the Thursday Cascade route, opting to go up 1600 N instead of the normal winding route to 1200 North. As we were descending 800 E toward 1200 N we saw a runner and dog cross 800 E on 1200 North. It turns out Kevin was just a little late leaving and was trying to catch up to us on the normal route. We chased him chasing us for a while, trying to yell loud enough to get his attention, but the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. Finally, when we reach the windbreak of the large trees along the golf course, I was able to yell loud enough to get his attention and he waiting for us catch up.

Our mile splits gradually got faster from 10:28 going up the first hill to 8:18 for the last mile home. Average pace 9:09/mi.

I ran the Lindon loop solo. Average pace: 9:35/mi.

Larry, Wayne and I started north on the canal road then decided to head up to Battle Creek. We then, eventually, got on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and headed south. We saw a lot of deer, a rabbit, some quail, a mountain biker, another trail runner, and beautiful clear views of the valley. We need to do more trail runs like this. I very much enjoyed it, and it seems like good preparation for the Squaw Peak 50. While it was only 10 miles, with all the hills it was hard work and took us well over two hours. I'm figuring it may have been equivalent to a 12-14 mile flat road run.

I could feel stretching in my heel/PF area, especially on the steep uphills, but I backed off when it felt overly stressed and it never got too bad. I feel like there has been some improvement in the PF arena. I've been using NSAIDs, Myomed cream, a massage ball, icing, stretching, some barefoot strengthening exercises, and the Strassburg sock every night. I should get my new orthotic in a week. Thankfully, the PF pain is not getting worse with continued running. I'm cautiously optimistic.

For my own records, I switched yesterday to using aspirin as my NSAID. I've traditionally used naproxen because you can take it less frequently. I switched to ibuprofen for a while because it was widely recommended and used by so many. I am now trying aspirin. My family has a history of heart disease. When I asked my dad's heart doctor what I could do, he suggested maybe taking a baby aspirin everyday. That was years ago, and sadly I have not been doing it. I've decided that now that I've turned 50 that maybe I should start. I figure I can take the 81mg low dose table daily, and take the higher recommended dosages when I have the need...headache, injury, etc. We'll see how it goes.

Lindon loop easy.

2000 N hill route.

Water tank hills for the first time this spring. Rough road at the top...a little dark...but it felt like seeing an old friend again.