I drove to the mouth of the canyon for the scheduled team run at 5:30am despite the cold, wind and rain. I didn't know if I would find anyone there. Kerry was there waiting in his car. We had decided to not run since we were both planning to run again later, but then Ryan came. It was his only time to run so we decided to go a few miles with him. After about 3 miles (at Nunns Park) Kerry and I turned back and Ryan went on (to Vivian Park I think). Like many bad weather runs, it took a little effort to get started but it wasn't so bad and we felt good about having done it afterward. It was still cold and rainy as the time for the neighborhood Fun Run 5K approached. I was proud that Amy and Emily still decided to go with me and do it. By the time the race started the rain had let up. It was a little cold at the breakfast afterward, but the sun came out and it wasn't too bad. On the way home afterward Amy said she had fun with Libby and was glad she went. Emily had so much fun with Brianna that we were some of the last ones to leave. Turn out at the race was somewhat light due to the bad weather. I think there were about 25 walkers/runners plus some bikers. I was worried about some of the fast youngsters like Kurt, Nate, Lecy, Tiffanie, and Brianna. They've all been running at 6:00-ish to 6:30-ish pace recently. Fortunately, Tiffanie and Brianna were the only ones who showed up for the race. Brianna's mom told me Brianna's knee had gone out this week and she considered not running, but like any true runner, she was there. Brad Davies, a 40-something who moved into the ward recently, ran a 23:00-ish 5K recently was also there. I thought I could go faster than that, but without doing much speed work in the last 6 months I wasn't sure. As the race started various children pushed to the front as usual. As they faded and we settled into position Brad was slightly ahead of me with Tiffanie's footsteps right behind me. Before the first mile marker Tiffanie and I had passed Brad, and Brianna was behind him. They both held pretty strong to the end, but the race was between Tiffanie and me. Tiffanie was plugged in (wearing headphones) so we didn't talk much. For the first 1.5 miles or so I could hear her footsteps right behind me. For the next mile or so we were pretty much side by side. As we ran the uphill at 1600 N she pulled a little ahead, and as we header north up the hill on 210 E she extended the lead. She ended up beating me by 18 seconds, a well earned victory. I finished 2nd overall in 21:31. It's far from a PR, but given my training this year and the weather conditions I'm satisfied. As the first male finisher, I got to take home the traveling trophy and record my name on it. It's an old New Balance running shoe mounted and painted with gold paint. The matching shoe is the women's traveling trophy. The tradition of the traveling trophy started 4 years ago. I'm the first non-teenage runner to win it, so I guess that's something, even though it's probably only because there weren't any teenage young men that ran the race today. My time is about 3 minutes slower than the other times on the shoe. Oh well, sometimes the key to success is just showing up. My splits were 6:41 (uphill), 7:26 (flat), and 7:30 (uphill). My watch only measured the race at 2.99 miles. After I finished I ran back to meet up with Emily. I found her about 1/2 mile from the end and ran it with her. As I recall, this was the first time I've ever run with one of my children, definitely the first time in a race. I loved every second. She has good running form and finished strong, 14th overall. I hope this positive experience leads to more running. She's a natural. Despite the cold, windy and rainy start to this day, it's turned out pretty darn well so far. Life's good.
| 