Every Race is an Adventure!

I ran up Provo Canyon with Kerry, Tom, Will, Wayne and Larry. A young woman named Sheena missed the Sojourners group that was running Hope to Hobble, so Will invited her to run with us. I think she was 24. My daughter is 22, and I couldn't imagine her hooking up with a group of six old men she didn't know for a 20 mile run. Half of us were more than twice her age. Sheena must be a good judge of character, because she couldn't have picked a better bunch of old guys to run with.

Larry didn't want to run the steeper run up to Trefoil so he and Wayne headed up to Deer Creek from Vivian Park. Sheena decided to go with them. Tom wasn't going 20 so he turned back at Vivian. Kerry, Will, and I continued on up South Fork. We ran together until Kerry and I stopped for water and Will continued on (he had to get back). We met up with Will again at the awesome water fountain 3/4 mile from the bottom. He was having some knee trouble which had slowed him down. We drank deeply, multiple times, from the fountain. It runs continuously, supplying delicious cool mountain water.

The weather and the canyons were beautiful, and the company was excellent. I really enjoyed the run, and finished the 20 miles feeling pretty good. I did feel a little tightness in my right calf near the end, but I don't think it is anything serious, probably just a carryover from the fast half marathon the previous weekend.

We finished in around 3:02, just over 9:00/mi average. It wasn't a PR for the course, but it was a pretty good run.

I slept in a little because of the holiday, and didn't leave until 7:25am. I'm considering running the Spanish Fork half marathon this Saturday. Kerry is planning to run it as a long threshold pace training run and I'm inclined to join him. Kerry is thinking about running about a 7:30 pace, so I thought I'd see what that felt like this morning.

I wanted to run a fairly level course, without stoplights or intersections to get in the way, so I decided to run on the canal road. I decided to warm up for a mile, run 3 miles at around a 7:30 pace, then run another 6 miles at an easy pace.

As usual, I started the first fast mile too fast. My splits for those 3 miles were 7:16, 7:33, and 7:31 (average 7:27/mi). The next 6 miles were 8:45, 8:59, 8:29, 8:47, 8:36, and 7:59 (average 8:36/mi). I could have pushed the fast miles faster, but I knew I had 6 miles to go afterward. I ran those 6 miles at an "easy" pace, but they weren't all that easy. I may have still been feeling some effects from the 20 mile run on Saturday. Still, it felt good to work and I enjoyed the run.

I'm glad I didn't start any later than I did. It felt good most of the run, and it was nice not starting in the dark, but it was starting to get pretty warm the last few miles.

I ran some hills and some easy miles with Larry and Wayne this morning. We worked our way uphill until we eventually went up to the top of 2000 N. We then came back down and looped around Lindon.

I ran the Lake View course with Tom at noon. I didn't run this morning like I normally do so I went down early and got in three miles on the treadmill before Tom showed up. As I recall, the first mile was a little over 9:00 and the next two were sub-8:00, around 7:45 I think.

I was hoping that moving outside to run with Tom would be more comfortable, but it was warm and humid and not really very pleasant weather-wise. Running with Tom made it bearable, enjoyable even. I had us finishing the 5.2 miles in 41:57 (8:04/mi), 21:24 (8:14/mi) out, 20:33 (7:54/mi) back.

I got out a little early this morning and got in 2.25 easy miles before meeting up with Larry and Wayne. The weather was cooler this morning. It's about time! I especially enjoyed it after yesterday's warm and muggy noon run, although it was still muggy this morning. When we finished there was water literally dripping off the brim of my hat, and it hadn't rained at all.

After I met up with Larry and Wayne we ran the water tank road. After hill three I pushed ahead and pushed the last two hills pretty hard. We took it easy coming down as it was still kind of dark and we couldn't see the rocks on the road very well. When we got to 400 East on 1600 North I decided to try some speed down that perfect downhill half mile to Main, which is just before we turn into our neighborhood and end. I averaged 5:59/mi for that stretch. It always feels good for me to get under a 6:00 pace, even if it is only for a half mile on a perfect downhill. I felt strong and comfortable running this morning.

I only wanted to go a few easy miles today. I was undecided between running the Spanish Fork Half Marathon or doing a long run with Larry and Wayne. Either way I didn't want to beat myself up too hard today. It was so nice at noon today, quite a bit cooler than it has been, that I decided to just do some laps on the sidewalk/trail around the greater Novell campus.

I didn't have my Garmin, but according the my measurements using Google maps it's roughly a 1.36 mile loop. I ran three loops plus about another 0.4 miles getting to and from the loop via Novell's main entrance. My time for the roughly 4.5 miles was 36:31 (8:07/mi). With the waterways, sleeping ducks (I think I counted 16 in one spot), grass, and trees along the loop, and the cooler temperatures, I really enjoyed the run.

 I've decided to do the long run with Larry and Wayne tomorrow. They are planning to run from Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway, along the northwest side of Deer Creek, and down to the mouth of Provo Canyon (20+) miles. Mark and Michael Nelson, and maybe Curt Gassman, are planning to join them. Larry says Michael might be bailing out at Bridal Veil. I may do the same. We'll see. This should be a fun adventure. I've never run this route before. At least I'll be with good company.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I had been considering running the Spanish Fork half marathon, but when Kerry's plans changed that meant I would be running it alone, so I decided to do the long run Larry and Wayne were planning.

Wayne dropped his Jeep at the mouth of the canyon and Larry, Wayne, Kurt Gassman, and I rode up in Larry's truck to Wasatch Mountain State Park. Kent Gassman came along to drive Larry's truck back home so we wouldn't have to go back up and get it. We miss Kent running with us, but it was nice of him to help us out. We dropped some drinks at the head of the Deer Creek North Trail along the way. We also called Mark Nelson who lives in Midway so he could meet up with us. His son Michael ended up not coming along for the run.

We started running about 6:20am. It was still dark and the weather was cool but not cold. The weather was actually awesome the whole run. It was cool most of the time, and didn't ever get too warm.

I had never run on the Deer Creek North Trail before. I really enjoyed it. It is wide and in good condition. The Deer Creek Reservoir is really low as they have drained a lot of it so they can do some maintenance on the dam. Along the way we saw geese, cranes, deer, chipmunks, and some other large bird we couldn't identify. The mountains were beautiful, with many of the leaves beginning to turn red. As planned, Mark turned and headed back home before we reached the dam.

After we reached the dam and the end of the trail, things got interesting. With all the road construction going on around there, we ended up doing some running on new roads, old roads, torn up roads, railroad tracks, and up one short steep hill between roads. It was actually pretty fun. We finally reached Vivian Park and the familiar territory of the Provo River trail. The distance to this point was 16.75 miles.

Kurt's hip and knee had started to bother him earlier and, with him planning to run the Top of Utah marathon next weekend, he wisely decided to cut the run short. He called his dad (Kent) who was waiting for him when we reached Vivian.

As we ran from Vivian down the trail we saw many of the searchers that are still looking for Camille, the BYU co-ed who has been missing for over a week now. Near Timpanogos Park we were asked by volunteers (who ran along side us) if we had been up the canyon since the time of her disappearance. Since we ran up there last Saturday, we said yes and they asked for our names and phone numbers. It was hard to stop 21.5 miles into a 22.5 mile run, especially with the awesome continuously running fountain only 1/4 mile ahead, but I did (the young lady looked like she was getting tired) and gave her the information. When we reached the end of the run at the parking lot, there was a large group of orange-vested volunteers heading out. A few of them asked us again.

Just after the last fountain a young woman passed us, accompanied by another young woman on a bike. We couldn't let her pass us this close to the end (no one had all day) so picked up the pace. She asked if we were training for a marathon. She is training for her first marathon at St. George this year and asked for advice. This helped the last part of the run go by rather quickly and easily.

Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the run nearly a 10. Great company, beautiful weather, beautiful scenery. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and survived with only some tired muscles.

We finished the 22.5 miles in 3:38:44 (9:44/mi). This is almost 20 minutes longer than I plan to be running during the St. George marathon next month, so the marathon will be easier, right? It won't be harder to run a 7:40 pace for 26.2 miles than it was to run a 9:40 pace for 22.5 miles will it? It will? Ah, dang!

I ran 6.5 easy miles through the flat, well-lit streets of Orem this morning. Two downsides of running down into Orem are 1) crossing a couple of busy streets (800N and Center) and 2) the wind that always seems to be blowing out of Provo Canyon. The wind seemed especially strong this morning. It was also quite a bit cooler this morning, but I didn't mind that. I wore a long sleeve shirt (first time since spring) and the coolness was actually quite refreshing.

With Cory's bad foot and Tom running so many miles on Monday morning, the Monday noon run had basically been reduced to Nathan and me. I was excited today when Bill Rieske IM-ed me and asked to run with us. Then I ran into Darin in the locker room and he asked to run with us, too. I think Darin and Nathan had to hold back to stay with Bill and me, but it was a very enjoyable run as we conversed a lot and ran just over an 8:00 pace. The weather was very nice.

Wayne and I unexpectedly ended up on a "Follow the Larry" run this morning. We started by going up the big hill on 2000 N then coming back down and heading north into Lindon near the Jr. High like we often do. When we got to the hill we normally go down, Larry told us to keep going up the hill which dead ends a little farther up. Shortly after we started back Larry told us to take a left turn which led up a very long and very steep hill. It turns out he was really just kidding. He thought we knew about the big hill and would refuse. We didn't know, and didn't refuse. I think it was after we reached the top of the hill that he referred to it as the "Follow the Larry" run. He ended up combining portions of various runs and at the end of six miles we ended up back in the neighborhood. It was really kind of fun.

My legs felt surprisingly good this morning. I charged a couple of uphill sections and a couple of downhill sections (not very far each time) just because I felt like it. Granted, we weren't going very fast, and the "charges" were probably just getting up to marathon pace, but it was still fun.

I'm driving the high school car pool this week, so I got to drive my daughter and her two friends to the high school. Then Karen and I (and our golden retriever) walked my two youngest daughters to the elementary school. What a fun morning (honest...no sarcasm).

I love driving the car pool. I drove to the Jr. High for 10 consecutive years as my four oldest took their turns attending. Most years I drove everyday, some years I took turns driving with other parents. I've got a year off Jr. High to drive Sophomores to the high school this year, every third week. I'll return to the Jr. High drive next year for another 5 years for our two youngest. I've found driving my teenage kids to school is a great opportunity to get a glimpse into their social lives and get to know their friends. Sometimes I'm cool, and sometimes I just embarass my children, but at least I get to be a part of their lives just a tiny bit more.

At noon I decided to burn a little of that excess energy I felt in my legs this morning. I decided to run to Kuhni Road, where it is straight and flat, and do some "get a feel for what marathon pace feels like" miles. I've done this in previous years and found it beneficial for me. I run at marathon pace effort, not at my target marathon pace, but what I think marathon pace is going to feel like on race day. I do this without looking at my watch until the end of each mile. I then try analyze the results and see what I can draw from them.

Today I decided to run 4 miles at "marathon pace effort", with a mile warmup to get over to the road and a mile cool down to get back. My splits for the four "marathon pace effort" miles were 7:40, 8:03, 7:56, 7:59, and I averaged 8:12/mi overall for the six miles.

Now the analysis (rationalization?): My goal pace for a 3:20 marathon is 7:38/mi, so I was pleased with the first mile (7:40), but I knew that I tend to run the first mile faster in these sorts of runs, so I wasn't surprised by the remaining miles being slower (7:59/mi avg). Here are some reasons I'm still optimistic about the results:

1. This pace would still be a Boston qualifier (sub-3:30) and only a couple minutes off my PR.

2. I ran nearly 60 miles last week (high for me), including a 22.5 mile long run on Saturday. I also ran twice yesterday (11.5 total) and this was my second run today (12.1 total).

3. My legs still feel pretty good after the run. I could have pushed faster but tried to stick faithfully to "marathon pace effort", a pace I could hold for 26.2 miles. I'm confident I could have held this pace for many more miles.

4. This course was flat, St. George is net downhill.

5. Extra energy always comes from somewhere on race day. It seems to be a combination of taper, carbo loading, aid stations, excitement, and drawing energy from all the other runners and the crowd.

7. I wasn't wearing very good shoes today (the oldest pair I'm still using). I have a better lighter pair (not quite racing flats) I wear for racing.

8. I plan to run by feel this year, without looking at my watch too much, maybe only at the mile splits like today. I plan to do some more marathon pace runs in the next week or two, but today helped me feel confident that I already have a pretty good feel for what level of effort I'll need to put forth to meet my goal.

All of this analysis is probably meaningless except for the confidence it gives me to "go for it".

I apologize if this entry is too long...but nobody told you you had to read it. :)

I ran Eagles View with Nathan and Tom at noon today. The weather, the company, and the conversation were all very enjoyable. According to my watch I ran the 5.2 miles in 41:06 (7:54/mi), 21:21 out (8:13/mi) and 19:45 back (7:35/mi). Nathan started pushing the last mile or so and finished well ahead of me. Tom was intentionally holding back, to save his legs for his run tomorrow if I remember right, and finished a little behind me. Running I think took second place to just enjoying ourselves today. Getting in some good marathon pace miles was a nice side benefit.

I ran the water tank road with Larry and Wayne this morning. I was ready early this morning so I put in an easy mile before meeting up with them. We normally try to get from home to the top in just under 30 minutes. We pushed a little harder today and I got to the top in 28:50. We've done it faster, but it was still a pretty good run. Wayne started pulling away going up the first of the five hills. I decided to stay with Larry until hill three and then try to catch Wayne. I caught him and ran with him for a bit near the end of hill four. I then pushed hard up hill five and beat him to the top by a few seconds. We took it easy coming back down the dirt road. I couldn't resist pushing again down my favorite hill from 400 E. to Main on 1600 North. I held back a little because I didn't want to risk pulling something, and still managed a 6:21 pace for that half mile. I've really been enjoying my runs this week and my legs are feeling pretty good (knock on wood).

Keeping with my training pattern this year, I wasn't quite sure what to run this morning even as I was walking out the door. I knew I didn't want to go more than 5 or 6 miles since I plan on doing a long run tomorrow (although I haven't got that planned either).

I finally decided to run up and down the 1/2 mile stretch between Main St. and 400 E. on 1600 North. I figure it roughly approximates some of the downhill in St. George. So I alternated a 1/2 mile uphill and a 1/2 mile downhill. I originally planned on five round trips, but ended up deciding to do six.

I tried to just run at an easy to moderate marathon pace effort consistently, whether going up or down. I tried to pretty much ignore the pace and run by feel based on effort. The paces I ran for each 1/2 mile uphill and downhill section were:

Uphill	Downhill
11:32	8:11
9:49	7:46
9:07	7:44
9:19	7:37
9:03	7:39
9:07	6:55

The first round trip was an easy warm up. The numbers for the remaining repeats correctly reflect that I felt better as I got warmed up. The 7:37 and 7:39 paces on the downhill are right at my target 7:38 pace for St. George. On the last downhill all I did was focus a little more by waltzing (counting 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 in my head, along with a little mind music), not really trying to push harder physically, and managed to speed up considerably. My legs still feel really good (again, knock on wood). I'm really looking forward to St. George. Like for most races I run, I'm eager and curious to discover what's in me, and see how well I do pulling it all out and leaving it on the road (metaphorically, hopefully not physically).

 Well, Larry came through with a great plan for a long run this morning. We started at Suncrest Market in the Suncrest Community on the top of Traverse Ridge (the mountain that separates Salt Lake County and Utah County) and ended back in the neighborhood at Larry's house in Orem. On this 18 mile Draper to Orem run we passed through Highland and Alpine, past Lone Peak High School (where we had stashed water by the seminary building around mile 9), then got on the canal road and followed it through Cedar Hills, Pleasant Grove, and Lindon, and then got off near Oak Canyon Jr. High and ran down into Orem and home.

We left home at 5:30am and started running about 6:07am. It was pretty dark with no moon but it was light enough to see okay. The shoulder was really narrow as we started down Suncrest Drive, and we were a little nervous about traffic, but then we noticed that Larry's dog Ozzie was running on the other side of a fence on the hillside next to the road. It turns out there is a sidewalk there so we hopped the short fence and ran safely on the sidewalk down this scary section.

By the time we hit Highland and Alpine it was light enough to see. We enjoyed running through these beautiful cities talking about various things we saw. Larry is a sprinkler contractor and Wayne is a plumbing contractor so they know the valley a lot better than I do. (I just sit in front of my computer all day.) In fact, we passed a new LDS church in Highland where Larry's crew had recently installed the sprinkler system.

A couple of miles from the end we saw a group of around 30 young women running towards us on the canal road. A short time later 3 of them passed us going back the same way we were going. Larry asked them if they were from BYU (yes) and how far they were going (5 miles). We don't generally get passed much on our runs, but we figured since they were elite runners  25-30 years younger than us and going less than 1/3 as far, we wouldn't let it bruise our egos too much.

We ran the 18 miles in 2:45:54 (9:12/mi). This includes a couple of stops for the dog to get a drink of water, and a bathroom stop for me. After my bathroom stop (around mile 13.5) I had to push a little to catch back up to Larry and Wayne. I averaged 7:47/mi for the 3/4 mile it took me to catch them. It felt pretty good. I could have done the run at a faster pace, but this was a long easy run. I didn't want to overdo it and risk injury this close to St. George.

The weather wasn't too cool at the start nor too warm at the end. I really enjoyed the weather, the scenery, and the company. He planned our 22.5 mile run from Midway to the mouth of Provo Canyon last week, and I really enjoyed that run, too. I think I'll look to Larry for all of my new training route planning needs.

Cue music:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgDrJ5Z2rKw&mode=related&search=

James Brown's song "I Feel Good!" describes well how I feel after today's run.

I ran the Eagles View run with Nathan and Tom. For the past few weeks I've been focusing on distance more than speed in preparation for the St. George marathon. Today I intentionally skipped my normal Monday morning run and decided I would push harder on the noon run.

I didn't mention my intentions to Tom and Nathan. I figured even pushing it I might barely be able to keep up with Nathan (I was right). Tom had already run this morning, and commented that he wasn't going to hang with us when we "sprinted" because he's got a fast run planned for tomorrow.

We started out pretty easy. I didn't mind because I wanted to loosen up. Then Nathan made a comment about the slow pace, and it gradually began to pick up. Nathan always pulls away on the long steep hill before the turn around. My goal was just to stay a little closer to him than usual. I stayed with him pretty well for most of the hill, but he pulled a little ahead at the end.

We waited briefly for Tom then started the downhill return trip. We maintained a pretty good pace down to the State St. intersection. I decided I'd try to push the pace a little the rest of the way in once we got across the street. This is where Tom let us go and Nathan and I pushed ahead as we went up and down over the two overpasses and then pushed the last flat stretch back to Novell.

I didn't have my Garmin, but I think our overall average pace was around 7:37/mi (not including the short stop times at the light and at the top). That's a pretty good pace for me for this run, considering the long steep hill. Nathan said our pace for the last 0.93 miles was 6:47/mi. I feel good about the run today. It felt good to run faster than I have been recently, and to feel so good doing it. I recovered quickly afterward and my legs feel strong.

Maybe Nathan and I should try to push hard every run (at least when Tom's there) so he'll start telling his SF running buddies that he needs to take it easy with them to save up energy because he's planning to run with the Novell guys. (Just kidding, Tom)

I ran with Larry and Wayne this morning. None of us had a strong preference of where to run, so Larry got creative again this morning. We started by climbing the big hill up 2000 N then dropped down the steep road to the former WordPerfect buildings. Wayne and I then exerted some influence (and Larry groaned a bit) when we turned and headed up the frist big hill up the water tank road. We were at about 5 miles at this point so we looped around some flatter streets in Orem and ended up back home at about 6.85 miles. I pushed hard up the water tank hill and again the last half mile (sub-7:00 I think). The rest of the run was at an easy pace.

When I got up this morning I discovered I had left all my running clothes in the washing machine last night. I had intended to put them in the dryer before going to bed. They were still pretty damp, and it was a little chilly this morning, so I threw them in the dryer and delayed my run a while. Fortunately, technical clothing dries pretty quickly so I was only about 27 minutes late starting my run. We have family prayer at 7:00am. When I left at 6:12am I only had 48 minutes to get in my 6 mile run. That would mean a minimum pace of 8:00/mi. I decided to try to hold a fast marathon pace for the 6 miles. My splits were:

7:42 - included my warmup

7:34 - includes a stop and walk through road construction

7:21 - slight downhill with tailwind

7:53 - slight uphill with headwind, includes a brief stop at a busy intersection

7:21 - 1/2 slight downhill/tailwind, 1/2 slight uphill/headwind

7:32 - slight uphill, includes a brief stop at a busy intersection

1:24 - 7:01/mi pace for the last 0.2 miles

I ended up running 6.2 miles, and finished the 10K in 46:47 (7:33/mi). The average pace was 5 secs/mile faster than my goal marathon pace, so I met my goal of running at fast marathon pace. I very much enjoyed the cool morning and the faster paced run. I feel pretty good. I hope I have enough left to keep up on the noon run today.

Nathan asked if I could head out at 11:40 today instead of 12:10 today as he had a 1:00 meeting. I agreed, but totally spaced on notifying Tom. We called him from the fitness center, but he was in the middle of some work and couldn't pull away just yet, so we reluctantly headed out without him.

Nathan also wanted to do the 10K Lake View run instead of the cusomary 5 mile run. I agreed, but was a little nervous about keeping up with him after running pretty hard this morning. I also thought it would be interesting to compare the two same day 10K's.

I managed to stay with Nathan until the last mile, when we stepped on the gas and pulled away. The whole run is pretty flat, the weather was a little warm but comfortable with a bit of a cool breeze. I pushed along pretty well without much discomfort. My splits were (morning splits in parenteses):

7:53 (7:42)

7:34 (7:34)

7:29 (7:21)

7:23 (7:53)

7:16 (7:21)

7:15 (7:32)

1:17 (1:24) - 6:30/mi (7:01/mi) for the last 0.2 miles

Overall 46:10 (7:27/mi) - This morning 46:47 (7:33/mi)

So for the two runs, a total of 12.4 miles, I averaged 7:30/mi. I'm very pleased. I'm pleased with the pace, and that I had enough endurance to do it twice in one day.

My legs still feel good and strong. I felt so bad about leaving Tom that I ran back and ran in with him. He had come out later and we had seen him on his way out as we were coming back. Actually, Darin was on his way out so I ran with him until we met Tom and then I ran back in with Tom. This additional run was about 1.6 miles at 8:13/mi.

I guess it was good we missed Tom, because I think he said he averaged just over an 8:00 pace for the whole run. He has his last run with the fast SF guys (Darin Cable, Steve King, et al.) tomorrow and wanted to save himself a little. I think he said he hopes to stay with them for at least 4 miles this time. I don't envy him (well I do a little) but I'm confident he can do it.

I ran the water tank run with Larry and Wayne this morning. My legs were definitely feeling a shortage of zip after yesterday's dual 10K tempo runs. I still managed to get to the top in under 30 minutes (barely), but there was no charging the hills this morning. I did manage a 1/2 mile at 7:55/mi near the end...on the gradual downhill where I often run closer to a 6:30 pace. Today was definitely an easy pace recovery run, but still very enjoyable. Other than the expected fatigue from yesterday's hard runs, my legs still feel pretty good. The minor tightness in my right calf that appeared after the Nestle 5K months ago, and had been in remission, has made a bit of a comeback. But it isn't too bad and I've been massaging it with The Stick. With the taper still ahead of me, it shouldn't be an issue at St. George. I plan to run easy tomorrow, then do a moderate to easy 10 miler on Saturday, then proceed to gradually taper over the next two weeks until race day.

I ran an easy solo run this morning. I went west on 1600 N to 400 W, north to 2000 N, east for a mile up to the top of the big hill on 2000 N, south down to the former WordPerfect buildings on 1600 N, then west until I wandered over to Northridge park, around the path there, then followed the neighborhood 5K course around and back home. My legs were still a little tight from Wednesday's workout so my goal today was just to get some easy miles in, with some hill miles mixed in to prep mentally and physically for St. George. How did I do big hills in an easy run? I averaged 9:59/mi. Even though I was running at a slow pace, I still focused on maintaining good form and foot turnover. I read recently (can't remember where) that occasional training in a more relaxed state had some benefits related to training the muscles to perform their tasks while expending less energy. I don't know about all that, but it was an enjoyable run anyway.

Larry is off camping with his wife and a bunch of young women this weekend, so Wayne and I ran together without him this morning. We wanted to get some good hill running in, but not too much distance, so Wayne suggested we start at Bridal Veil and run up to Trefoil and back.

It was still pretty dark when we started at 6:13am, and we were a little nervous about running into a skunk or something along the way, but it wasn't too long before it got lighter. It was a little cool, but never really cold, and stayed cool the whole run.

Going up South Fork we saw four wild turkeys in the middle of the road. There were two runners coming the other way. The startled birds were between us and fluttered off into a field. The runners were old guys like us. As they approached I said, "Look, Wayne, two more turkeys." One of them smiled and said, "I was just thinking the same thing." On the way back we saw a couple of more turkeys on the hillside (birds, not runners). A little farther down we saw a flock of 20 or 30 turkeys off in a field. I personally had never seen a wild turkey in Utah and it was pretty cool to see so many.

On our way up and down we also passed a recently killed skunk in the middle of the road. The stench was pretty bad.

I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog that I saw three bats hunting insects near a street light and then later briefly ran alongside four deer I startled as I passed a home in the foothills. I don't know that I want the startling animal encounters Kerry sometimes has in Cedar Hills, but it's kind of cool being able to see wildlife during a run.

We ran a total of 13.27 miles this morning in 1:54:24 (8:37/mi). We went up in 1:02:52 (9:28/mi) and down in 51:32 (7:46). We didn't ever really consciously push hard, but still ended up running the last couple of miles at around a 7:30 pace. We both felt good about the run and really enjoyed it.

Nathan and I (don't know why Tom wasn't there) ran the Eagles View hill course at noon today at roughly an easy marathon pace. I chose not to stop my watch at the red lights today so of course we got stopped at nearly everyone, plus a lady stopped in her car and asked us for directions. We figure we lost roughly a minute to those delays, so our adjusted finish time was roughly around 38:30 for the roughly 5 miles (roughly 7:42/mi). That's roughly how the run went.

The rain and cool air kept many people inside today, but shortly after we started the rain stopped and by the end of the run the sun was out and it was beautiful. Similar to Saturday's pace, we didn't really push hard but still managed to hold a respectable pace for us. I think this bodes well for St. George in two weeks.

During the run again today Nathan was trying to convince me I've got a 3:15 in me, maybe even a 3:10. Tom has made similar comments, but my primary goal still remains 3:20. My PR (in the current era) is 3:27, so 3:20 would beat my PR by 7 minutes, and my BQ time by 10 minutes.

Still, I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life (knock on wood), maybe even in relatively better (age adjusted) shape than 25 years ago when I ran St. George in 2:52 at age 22 (before taking a running hiatus of about 20 years). Based on my Hobble Creek half time of 1:27:03 in August, and using 40 miles per week as my average mileage (it's been higher recently), Sasha's predictor estimates my finishing time at 03:12:11. Using the (2 * half) + 10 minutes formula yields 3:04:06, or (2 * half) + 20 minutes yields 3:14:06. I'm beginning to wonder if 3:20 is really too low a goal for me this year?

I have nothing to lose. I'm already qualified for Boston, and even if I blow up near the end I might still have a chance of qualifying anyway. I kind of feel like the only way I could be disappointed at St. George this year would be to finish with gas left in the tank. I'd be very disappointed to run a 3:20 if I had a 3:10 in me.

I really want to push my limits, but I don't want to be foolish about it. My current plan is to run by feel. I've done some "don't look at the watch" runs and feel like I have a good handle on what a "fast marathon pace" effort feels like. Based on these runs, I think I may be able to safely hold around a 7:30 pace for the first 7 miles up to Veyo. That's the pace Nathan is targeting so I'm planning to run with him for these miles. Up Veyo and for the tough miles through Dammeron Valley I plan to let Nathan go (he's a strong hill runner) and try to hold a "medium to fast marathon pace" effort without pushing too hard. I may let the brakes off a little as the steeper downhill begins at mile 14, but I don't plan to push very hard prior to mile 20. From mile 20 to the end, I fully expect that last 10K to be very mentally and physically challenging. In fact, I'll be disappointed if it isn't because that means I should have pushed harder up to that point. I hope to be well on target for 3:20 at this point, hopefully closer to 3:15 or lower if things go well. I'm counting on having enough mental toughness, and enough training miles behind me, to focus and hold a good strong pace (7:30 or faster) through the finish.

The interesting thing for me on race day will be to try to ignore my watch for those first 7 miles and listen to what my body tell's me it is capable of that day, to exert that "fast marathon pace" effort and (with tapering, lower altitude, downhill, race day energy) see what pace that turns out to be. I averaged 6:38 at the Hobble Creek half marathon. I know I can't hold that pace for a full marathon, but what pace will it be: 8:09 (3:30 BQ), 7:49 (3:25 new PR), 7:38 (3:20 goal), 7:27 (3:15), 7:15 (3:10)?

Later I will discover the answers to other questions: Was what felt like a "fast marathon pace" effort early in the race truly that, or did I fall to my tendency to go out too fast and am I now destined to suffer pain and agony as I crash and burn? Did I really train hard enough to have enough left at the end? Am I really mentally tough enough to hold on and pull out everything that's left?

It will be fun finding out! I can hardly wait!

The temperature was in the mid-30's this morning, with frost on the housetops, lawns, and car windows for the first time this fall. It made for a brisk but enjoyable run.

Larry, Wayne, and I wandered through the foothills of Lindon and Orem again this morning. I pretty much just followed where Larry and Wayne led. It was an easy day so I didn't push very hard, but very little of this run wasn't uphill or downhill.

I ran Lake View with Tom and Nathan at noon. The weather was perfect -cool and sunny. None of us wanted to push hard today. It was comforting to discover that while running at a conversational pace we still ran the last couple of miles at just over 7:30/mi, right around target marathon pace for Nathan and me. Our time overall for the 5.2 miles was 40:40 (7:49/mi).

I ran the water tank hills with Larry and Wayne this morning. Prior to meeting up with them I had a little time so I ran a little over a mile. I warmed up the first half mile then settled into marathon pace effort for a half mile. I was pleased to discover that the pace for the "marathon pace effort" half mile was 7:22/mi.

We took the first part of the run a little easier than normal. About the time we started up the first big hill we were talking strategies for St. George next week. I mentioned I was going to run by feel and Larry, who's run St. George about 20 times, was warning me I needed to be careful to not go out too fast and bonk. He's got many stories of people who passed him early in the marathon going too fast whom he passed back near the end after they bonked. I countered that I've been training to listen to my body and I trust that I can read my body's sensory data accurately enough to not overdo it while still not holding back too much. He continued to warn that the excitement of the race can make "too much" to "feel good" at the beginning. I said that even if that happened, that I prefer (this year at least) to err on the side of pushing my limits even if I risk bonking.

About this point Wayne said the big hill was "kicking his butt" today. I realized then that we were near the top of the first big hill and I had been so distracted that I had hardly noticed the climb. After hill one I pretended to be upset with Larry (he knew I was kidding) because he had questioned by race strategy. I told him his punishment was that he would have to run the rest of the hills alone. I was going to push ahead and I could tell Wayne was in the mood to follow me. I jokingly muttered things like "I'm not going to bonk" and "stupid Larry" as I pulled away. I am supposed to be tapering a little this week so I didn't push too hard, but I did try to hold "marathon pace effort" up the remaining hills and got to the top faster than normal. Larry said he pondered his own race strategy for St. George as he ran alone up the hills, so it worked out well for all of us.

With the beautiful full moon, clear skies, and cool but not too cold temperatures this morning I really enjoyed my run with my two good buddies this morning. If the only rewards were found in PRs and awards at the finish line I don't think I would be a runner. I experience the rewards and benefits of running almost every single day (exertion, fitness, challenge, discipline, the outdoors, natural beauty, fellowship with other runners, satisfaction, achievement, ...) and that's why I'm a runner.

I went out at noon and did an easy four miles on Kuhni Rd., average pace 8:19/m.

Larry, Wayne, and I ran from Trefoil down to the mouth of Provo Canyon. I think it was warmer when we started than when we finished. The weather was cool but not cold, but there was a pretty steady and at times pretty strong headwind coming UP the canyon. It normally is going DOWN the canyon, but I'm guessing the approaching storm was the cause of the wind reversal. The headwind was stiff enough that I turned my hat around to keep it from blowing off.

We ran together and took it easy as we started down from Trefoil. I had thought about pushing hard the whole way, but I decided to spend some time with my buddies and warm up for a few miles. I was going to starting pushing at 3 miles but I missed the beep. We were in the middle of good conversation so I decided to push at 4 miles. I started to push but we were almost at Vivian. Wayne stopped for a drink and I wanted to tighten my shoes a little so I stopped, too. The mile splits to this point were: 8:43, 8:26, 8:13, 7:46, and 6:51/mi for the 1/4 mile after I started pushing and before I stopped at Vivian.

At this point I decided to do a five mile tempo run between Vivian and the fountain near Mt. Timpanogos Park. My mile splits were 6:44, 7:02, 6:53, 6:59, 6:55. I lost the GPS signal briefly during the 2nd and 4th miles so the times may be off slightly.

I waited at the fountain for Larry and Wayne and we ran the last 0.85 miles at around 8:05/mi.

Overall I ran 10.15 miles averaging 7:35/mi. I intentionally ran slower than marathon pace at the beginning and end, and considerably faster than marathon pace for the five mile tempo, and averaged pretty close to marathon pace overall. I felt good after the run, like I had many more miles in the tank...just not at sub-7:00 pace. It was a good reminder of what "too fast" marathon pace feels like so I hopefully can avoid it early in the race next week.