Every Race is an Adventure!

4.1 miles @ 9:39/mi.  Wandered the neighborhood.

14 miles @ 9:00/mi.  Home to Bridal Veil and back solo.

What an enjoyable run. I had to start at 5:30am because of an 8:30am commitment, but it was already mid-50's and starting to get light. I just ran cruising pace most of the run and enjoyed the beautiful world around me. I still managed to average about 9:30 pace up and about 8:30 back home.

I pushed a bit the 2 miles between Nunns and Timpanogos park. I knew it would make the last 4 miles harder, and it did, but I see it as just making the training that much more effective.

Up: 10:01, 9:15, 8:45, 9:30, 9:23, 10:20, 9:30
Back: 8:16, 7:16, 7:55, 8:35, 10:13, 9:17, 9:03, 8:04

The 7:16 and 7:55 were the 2 miles from Nunns to Timpanogos.
The 10:13 was the hill up from Wil's and the subsequent uphill back to the trail.
The final 8:04 included 0.5 @ 7:29/mi down 1600 N from 400 E to Main (Fast Half Mile).

I passed Scott Nelson coming up 1600 N as I went down. He's a local elite runner who is almost exactly my age so he is always in my age division and he beats me in any race we are both in. We are friendly and say hello when we see each other out running, but not much more. Today he asked something like "Almost done?" as we passed. I said, "Yes...14". He then said something like "You're looking good". It was a bit out of character from what I'm used to and surprised me. It was kind of him...and kind of made my day. The guy I dream of beating someday complimented my running! I'm just glad he saw me when I was running 7:30 pace and not 10:13.

I felt no pain during or after the run and recovered quickly. It's very encouraging.

6.2 miles @ 10:36/mi.  Murdock trail north, back through Lindon, with Lyle.

Easy day easy, but I still was sweaty and had to catch my breath at the end. We're planning to run the 2000 N hill tomorrow.

6.2 miles @ 9:55/mi.  2000N/Dry Canyon hills with Lyle.

I couldn't remember if Kevin was in town so Lyle and I waited a few minutes (garage light wasn't on, but front porch lights were) before heading over and up the hills. I went ahead and expected to see Lyle on the way back down but never did. I even ran 2000 N a second time thinking I had missed him somewhere.

I ran about 7:30 pace down the hill the first time, 7:14 pace the second time, and 6:55 pace for the last quarter. It was a good hard day hard.

3.2 @ 9:21/mi.  Around the block solo.

I ran around the block until my daughter brought our granddaughter about 6am on her way to deliver our new grandson. He finally came at 3:11pm, 8 lbs., 21". Everyone healthy and happy.

6.6 @ 9:08/mi.  8x800 intervals + 1 mile steady at THS track solo.

5x800: 3:20, 3:32, 3:32, 3:34, 3:36
1 mile: 8:30

16.1 miles @ 9:53/mi

I started with Kevin and ran to the mouth of the canyon where we met up with Wayne. We ran together for a couple of miles before Kevin had to head back. Wayne and I went 10 miles together then I left him back at the mouth of the canyon and ran the 3 miles back home.

I was worried about rain, but it held off until after I was finished. It was still chilly and humid. I got a little chilly at times in my wet jacket, and with my hat dripping water off both sides of the brim, but I never really got too cold.

It was an easy pace run, but the average pace was under 10:00 for 16 miles and I didn't bonk and recovered pretty quickly afterward...I very much enjoyed the company.

5.25 @ 9:35/mi.  Mudock trail north solo, back with John Gillespie and Bryan Johnson.

Bryan was doing push ups when I met them halfway through their run. He's doing a full ironman on Saturday. He looks ready. I wish him the best of luck.

5.25 miles @ easy pace.  Murdock trail north with Kevin and Lyle.

We looped back through Lindon and my watch was dead so I don't know how far we ran or how fast. It's all good. It was a beautiful mornig with good company.

6.7 miles @ 9:21/mi.  2000 N/Dry Canyon/Murdock trail/Canal Dr.

I cruised up the hills pretty well. Downhill I ran 0.6 miles @ 7:00/mi then sped up to 0.8 miles @ 6:26/mi when the hill wasn't so steep. After the hills I loop along the trail and through Lindon at about 9:00/mi.

5.75 @ 10:39/mi,  Looped through Lindon with Kevin and Lyle.

Easy day easy. Beautiful morning. Good company.

18 miles @ 9:28/mi.  Home to Vivian Park and back, some with Wayne.

Up: 9:39, 9:23, 9:40, 10:56, 10:47, 10:59, 9:50, 9:46, 8:56
Down: 8:55, 8:20, 8:08, 8:09, 8:30, 9:28, 10:14, 9:42, 8:58

I met Wayne at mile 4 and ran a few miles with him. I stopped at Nunn's at a bathroom and he kept going. I stopped for too long and only saw him briefly on his way back down.

After pushing tempo pace for miles 11-14, the last 4 miles took some effort...good training.

6.2 miles @ 9:37/mi  Murdock trail north solo then with Kevin.

Easy day easy. Kevin shared his experiences at the Ogden half. He ran well despite the steady rain.

6.5 miles @ 9:38/mi.  2000N/Dry Canyon hills then Murdock trail north solo.

0.6 @ 6:43/mi - down Dry Canyon Dr.
0.8 @ 6:15/mi - down 2000 N

Good hard day hard.

3 miles @ 8:45/mi.  To work and back solo.

I received a work email from Europe at 1am requesting some help so when I learned Kevin and Lyle weren't running I ran 1.5 miles into work and worked for a couple hours then ran back home.

6 miles @ 8:57/mi.  

I did a couple of 1/2 mile intervals in the first half of the run: 3:25, 3:29.  I met up with Kevin on the way back and we just ran conversational pace.

20.2 miles @ 9:30/mi.  Mouth of Provo Canyon to top of South Fork solo.

What a beautiful run! With crisp, clean "right after rain" air and perfect running temps, and even some sunshine, it was a great morning for a long run. I ran "cruising" pace the whole run, though I did push a little for several miles down South Fork, and the final mile.

As usual, I tried to say "Good Morning" to everyone, and nearly everyone was cheerful and friendly. I had a few fun interactions. Near the top of South Fork a couple of recreational bikers slowing overtook me. I told them I was glad they were on bikes because they were catching me too quickly. About a half mile later I was actually gaining on them and one of them looked back and said I was now catching them too quickly. He then took off and they both sprinted the last 1/2 mile or so to the Trefoil gate. They were waiting when I got there and called me an animal. I said something like, "It's good to get to the gate. Now for the downhill."  then immediately turned around and started down at a pretty fast pace. Of course, I slowed down a little after I had made my impression. (Oh, the vanity.)

About that time I met a bearded runner coming up who I thought was ahead of me. He started up South Fork ahead of me but apparently had stopped at the bathroom at South Fork or Big Springs Park. He said, "You're speedy." I guess maybe he had seem me go by as he came out of the bathroom and maybe had tried to catch me.

It's been a while since I've been called "animal" and "speedy". I have to admit it feels pretty good. I'm grateful. I hope I can avoid injury and continue improving.

How blessed I am to be able to run, and to be able to run in beautiful places like Provo Canyon along the river and up South Fork Canyon. Oh, and it feels good to have a 20-miler behind me.

I opted to not run today to let my legs recover a little more from the 20 miler on Saturday. In the afternoon, the weather was beautiful and I had some free time so I got the notion to ride my motorcycle up to Wahlsburg to the start of the Utah Valley marathon and ride the course back down Provo Canyon. My friend Steve Reiser was available and joined me.

Steve has a large road bike that coasted up the canyon in 2nd gear I think. My little Yamaha XT 225 tops out at about 60mph downhill. I managed the speed limit, but most drivers go well over the speed limit up the canyon. Still, I don't think I hindered traffic too much. There were two lanes most of the way.

The high canyon speeds were a little tense, but the whole ride was beautiful, and the slower miles through Wahlsburg were especially enjoyable. We stopped where the marathon starts and talked for a while. On the way back through Wahlsburg I slowed then stopped because something was in the road. It was a wild tom turkey strutting with its tail feathers up. It was beautiful. Steve stopped next to me and took a picture. As we watched, his plain brown feathered mate (I assume) joined him and crossed the road. It was pretty cool, not something you see everyday. 

The sky and clouds were beautiful, as were the mountains and fields, especially the snowy backside of Mt. Timpanogos. It was a great afternoon. It was followed by a wonderful dinner on the deck prepared by my family and attended by my whole family including my two grandchildren. Good day.

6 miles @ 9:24/mi.  Murdock trail north solo.

Easy day sorta easy.

6.1 @ 8:47/mi.  Murdock trail north with Kevin.

A guy passed us in the middle and we chased him at about 8:00 pace for a while. Overall it was mostly conversational marathon pace (for me).

5 miles @ 8:55/mi.  Murdock trail south solo to new Palisade Park.

The last 1.5 miles I decided to push the pace.
1 mile flat @ 7:50/mi
0.5 mile downhill @ 6:43/mi

I have some stiffness in my right hip still lingering from the 20 miler last week, but I'm still able to run uptempo okay. My focus over the next two weeks prior to the Utah Valley marathon will be to loosen up and heal my hip while gradually tapering and healing overall. And of course there's the matter of the annual neighborhood 5K which is the week before Utah Valley (2 weeks later than usual). I wouldn't normally run a race the week before a marathon, but what's to be done? It's only a 5K. I'll just have to be prudent.

10 miles @ 7:53/mi.  Trefoil to mouth of Provo Canyon with Kevin.

I wanted to use this run to test my marathon pace in preparation for the Utah Valley marathon in 2 weeks. I've run everywhere between 6:43 pace and 10:00-ish pace over the past few weeks, with intervals, uphills, downhills, tempo runs, and recovery runs at various intensity levels...but I didn't have a good idea of what my target pace should be in the marathon, or more important, what that would feel like.

This morning I started a little easy to loosen up my stiff hip, and backed off a little at the end to not aggravate the blister I felt forming, but tried to run what felt to me like medium fast marathon pace for most of the run.

7:53/mi avg. Splits: 8:15, 7:40, 7:35, 7:28, 7:50, 8:10, 7:47, 7:49, 8:20, 8:02

My analysis:
1. Based on how I felt at miles 9 and 10, I probably need to back off today's effort level a little at the start of the marathon. I felt okay (except for the blister) but I'm doubtful I could have maintained that effort for another 16.2 miles.
2. Today's run didn't have any long uphill stretches like the marathon has. I might be able to run 8:00-8:15-ish pace for the good downhill sections, but with the hills mixed in the overall pace will likely be slower than that. I need to average just under 8:24 pace for a BQ. It may still be a possibility, but the stars will have to align and I'll have to run a nearly perfect race. Just breaking 4:00 hours would be a good improvement over last year's UVM, and matching my 3:47 time at St. George on the UV course would be a nice achievement as well.
3. I was lazy with my foot preparation this morning and got a blister. I need to be careful to not do something similarly foolish on marathon day.