Larry, Wayne, Kevin and I ran the Provo Canyon to Vivian route, joined by Kerry and Nathan. We left around 5:30am. When Larry, Kevin and I arrived Wayne, Kerry, and Nathan were already there. As they got out of their cars Nathan's first words were, "You guys are crazy!", referring to the time of day. I tried to assure him he wouldn't regret it. We all ran pretty much together at an easy pace the first 3 or 4 miles, then Kerry, Nathan and I pulled ahead a little. Mile splits going up were: 9:37, 9:34, 9:24, 9:35, 9:02, 8:44 After a bathroom stop, we started with Larry and Kevin on the way back. Wayne had turned back after 5 miles. He's tapering for the Teton Dam marathon next week and also had somewhere to be this morning. Nathan and Kerry start to pull ahead and Larry and Kevin told me to go ahead and run with them. I get to run with Larry and Kevin all the time. Nathan, Kerry and I gradually increased to around a 7:25/mi pace. I told them about my recent pattern of pushing the two miles from Nunns to Timpanogos (and the fountain). As we rose out of Nunns the pace quickly quickened. I was thinking of pushing to about a 7:00/mi pace, but Nathan and I were soon running at a 6:30/mi pace. When we realized it he offered to back off a little but I said I'd like to hold it as long as I could. We finished the first mile in 6:36. Nathan was still cruising but I was slowing so I cut him loose. He ended up running the second mile in 6:15; I was please with my 6:52.
Mile splits coming back were: 8:42, 8:03, 7:28, 6:36, 6:52, 7:28 We ran back to meet Kerry who wasn't far behind. Nathan went on to meet Larry and Kevin while I ran in with Kerry. After chatting with him a bit, I headed back up the trail again. It wasn't long before I saw Larry, Kevin and Nathan coming. Colby Wight was a little ahead of them and stopped to talk to me about the UVM he's running next week (I ran it last year). I ended up running in with him just a little ahead of the other guys. Nathan head on down towards Wil's Pit Stop for some miles. He's sure running well...and I think he now better appreciates 5:30am runs. It was beautifully awesome this morning. I can't think of a better way to start the day...early morning, great weather, nature's beauty, good buddies, and an exhilirating run.
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