Every Race is an Adventure!

My first thought this morning was how glad I was I wasn't running the Nutcracker 5K with Tom this morning. Fresh snow on top of wet slush...not ideal racing conditions. Larry and I had a pretty enjoyable trot through the snow along the canal road (the roads were too slushy). Even at an easy pace the footing was a little iffy in spots. It will be interesting to see how the tutu run went this morning.

The snow was a nice way to welcome in December. My two youngest daughters giggled down the stairs this morning and went straight to our advent calendar (felt Christmas tree with ornaments) and put up the first ornament. Even Larry's dog Ozzy had an extra bounce in his step as he ran through the snow. We also passed a few groups of kids up early sledding down the snow-covered hills near their homes. There were also times when it was very quiet as we padded through the snow along the canal. Ah, the running life. Ain't it grand.

I've had a lot on my mind lately, thinking about various issues close friends and family members are facing, and today running just didn't seem very important. I decided to go run Eagles View anyway. None of the other normal Monday runners showed up so I went for a solo run. As much as I enjoy running with my buddies, today running solo turned out to be a great blessing.

The sun was warmer than I expected and I drank in every ray. Shortly into the run I found myself silently praying for struggling friends and family members. It's amazing how long that list can get sometimes. Adversity seems to visit everyone, just to different degrees at different times. I kept the list short today to those who seemed to need it most right now. I found myself feeling intensely grateful for the peace I've felt in my life lately.

My life has not been free of adversity. Just this morning I had to pay nearly $1900 for unpaid back rent and to buy out a rental contract I had cosigned. Still, I was able to find direction from the Holy Spirit about how to respond to the offending party, and I felt peace knowing that I was doing a worthy work and that everything was going to turn out okay.

Relationships, not money, are the true treasures of this live...and I'm a wealthy man. God has truly blessed me. I wish everyone in the world could feel the peace and joy I felt today. I know it comes from my faith in God, his faith in and love for me, and from the love I feel for and receive from so many wonderful people.

Yes, even though my pace was slow, I had a great run today.

Today Larry and I did an easy run to the Cascade golf course and back. We sure have some great conversations, which sure helps the miles go by.

The weather is supposed to be pretty nice today. I may try to slip in another easy run at noon. We'll see how the day goes. 

I was planning to run Lake View at an easy pace today, but Will was the only other one that showed up . He likes to go a little faster, so the pace (7:39/mi) was more of a marathon pace. We were conversational the whole run, but it was definitely intermixed with a little more heavy breathing than an easy run. It actually felt pretty good to push the pace just a little. My foot's feeling better, but I can tell it's not ready for too much additional mileage or speed quite yet.

Larry and I did an easy run (9:30-ish pace) to the Cascade golf course and back again. Standard run...talk about things we see...talk about our lives and families...talk about running...make sure Larry's dog is staying close...greet a few other runners...solve a few of the world's problems. Running is an awesome activity/hobby/lifestyle.

I had a nice run with Tom at noon today. Will came out with us for a bit but had to turn back early. There was a light rain but it wasn't too bad. We ran an easy pace (8:35/mi) and talked as we wandered around the streets west of the freeway and eventually back to work. I fear the weather tomorrow might be far less pleasant.

I was very surprised to see another runner when I met up with Larry this morning. At first I thought I was finally going to get to run with Wayne or Kevin again, but it was Kent. Kent has only run with us once since he ran St.George in 2006. It was great running with Kent again. It was like old times. He wouldn't commit to returning to running again, but I think the door is definitely open. We only went six miles in the snow and the cold (we usually go farther on Saturday), and we took one walking break in the middle, but overall Kent handled the run real well. I don't think there are too many people that choose to return to running on a dark and cold snowy morning with a six mile run. And I think he actually enjoyed it. I hope we see more of Kent.

I started the Eagles View run with Tom today, but ended up running all but the first step or two alone. Tom's running 10+ miles per day now, so he put in a 4 mile warm up before I got there. As soon as he said his horses were feeling it today and asked if I was ready to go fast, I knew we wouldn't be staying together long. He wanted to try for a PR on the Eagles View course. I had no desire to hold him back, and have no problem running solo, so I encouraged him to go for it.

 Tom met his goal by running the five mile course with the big hill in something like 33:30 (6:42/mi). I couldn't even see him on the way back, but I feel good about my run anyway. I met my goals of 1) making it to the Eagles View gate before Tom got around the block and back to it, and 2) having him not beat me by more than a minute per mile. I finished in 37:33 (7:31/mi), which is actually pretty good for me. I've been trying to use Tom's improvement as motivation for my own improvement, but now that Tom has entered the world of the demigods I'm just going to return to focusing on my own improvement as a mere mortal.

The temperature was a little colder this morning, in the low 20's with a bit of wind chill. We started running toward the mouth of Provo Canyon but adjusted our course away from the canyon as we felt the cold winds increasing as we got closer. We ended up cutting the run a little short because Larry had to get home. I was going to run a little farther but then thought maybe I'd run at noon.. It wasn't until later I remembered my daughter has a choir performance at the school that won't allow me to run at noon. Oh well.

I was going to do a two-a-day today but then last night I was thinking that rather than running alone in the morning I could probably just run 10 miles with Tom at lunch,which is what I did. We left for the first 5 miles early enough that we could meet up with any others that might be going out at 12:10 for the normal Lake View run. We got back to the fitness center right on time, but no one else was heading out. Nathan was there but is still having trouble with his back. Bill was also there but was doing his normal noon class. We didn't see Will or Darin. So we headed out and ran Lake View with just the two of us again. It's been a while since I've done a 10 mile run, especially on a weekday, but we took it easy and I really enjoyed it.

According to my Garmin we ran 10.35 miles and averaged 8:33/mi. The slowest mile was 8:51 and the fastest was 8:21. I'm pretty sure this is slower than Tom would have went on his own, but I appreciate him running with me. It was a great run.

The temperature has dropped into what Larry refers to as "stupid" cold. It was in the teens this morning. I ran the Serpentine solo this morning at a very easy pace (9:39/mi). I don't know if it was the cold, the 10 miles I ran with Tom at midday yesterday, or a little of both, but I had a hard time getting up to speed this morning. Still, I had dressed well so I was comfortable and it was really not too bad.

I ran Eagles View with Tom at noon. He's sure running well. He had already run a bunch of miles before we joined up , and it was an easy day for him, but even so I'm pretty sure I was slowing him down. I think we only averaged around 8:40/mi. I'm still reluctant to push very hard.

The PF doesn't seem to be getting any better or worse. I tried some firmer arch supports on today's run and they felt good. I'm getting kind of discouraged (bored) not being able to boost my mileage or my speed, but I think I'll continue the reduced training through the holidays and see what the new year brings.

Ran the Serpentine loop solo. I averaged around 8:40/mi instead of 9:40/mi this morning. I stepped on a pine cone about 4.75 miles into the run and rolled my ankle pretty good. I ran it off and managed to average about the same pace for the remainder of the run.

Ran Eagles View with Will. We averaged about 7:47/mi. Will and I always seem to subconsciously push each other. I was planning on 8:00+, but Will claimed I was the one pushing the pace. It doesn't really matter. The weather was a little warmer today and it was a very enjoyable run. I was a bit surprised not to see Tom today.

Larry and I ran towards the canyon to the golf course this morning. It was good to get out with Larry again after over a week.

I was planning to run at work today, but then I was planning to go into work today, too, and that didn't happen either. As I went to leave for work I discovered our old 1992 suburban (the only one of our four vehicles I'm normally allowed to drive) was dead in the water...or at least dead in the driveway. It turned over great, and had a full tank of gas, but no spark. I decided to take the morning and try to fix it, but after trying everything I could think of I finally had to give up.

I gave up about the same time it started getting really cold. During this adventure I also discovered that I wasn't feeling very well...and not just because of the dreaded car repair expense. I ended up not going into work at all...and not running either.

I'm blogging this 4 days late, but I couldn't not record that Larry and I actually ran with Kevin today. It was the first time for me in almost a year. Kevin had to get back early so we didn't even make our 6 mile goal, but that was probably good. It was very cold, about 17' I think, with a cold headwind as we ran towards the canyon, and I was feeling a little under the weather.

I haven't been blogging because I've been busy with the holidays, but also because I've been sick, and mostly because I haven't been running. Despite my being sick, we had a great Christmas. We spent most of Christmas day and today doing family stuff together. Both of our adult children that are living away from home are home for the holidays. Our youngest is 9 so she was old enough to play all of the games we played. We've enjoyed eating, watching movies, playing various games together, and just hanging out. We were just taking turns playing Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, but our two new favorite games are both card games, The Great Dalmuti and Bang! We explained to our children (none married yet) that any potential in-laws must pass the "fun to play games with" requirement to be in consideration for joining the family. I've sure been blessed with a wonderful family.

That goes for the extended families on both sides as well. The Thomas clan (just under 40 of us I think) were at our house Sunday evening for the annual Thomas Family Christmas Party. There probably aren't too many families who get together to play Bunco as their annual Christmas tradition, but we've done it for a number of years now, and everyone looks forward to it. This year was as fun as ever.

I hope to get back to running tomorrow.

Larry and I ventured out into the 12' weather (plus wind chill) this morning but we didn't get very far. About a mile out we saw the garbage truck headed towards our neighborhood. Neither of us had put our garbage cans out yet, and with all the Christmas trash we didn't want to risk not getting it out in time so we headed back. Larry's wife had ankle surgery yesterday so he decided to just call it good and head home. I went back out but then decided I should probably get into work as soon as possible, so I only ended up with another mile or so for a whopping total of about a 5K. This may sound like blasphemy, but running just isn't a very high priority for me right now.

By the way, I found out it's going to cost about $2000 to fix the old Suburban. It needs a new fuel pump and starter, among other things. It was a tough call whether to junk it or fix it, but I've already replaced about everything else. I certainly can't afford a new Suburban, or even a good used one. I can't even buy a good quality used car for $2000, let alone something that can carry my whole family, has 4 wheel drive, can pull a trailer and, most importantly, can support 6 sweaty runners for 24 hours on the Wasatch Back Relay. I've had this old Suburban for over 13 years now. It's been paid for almost 10 years. It's been in the family longer than my 9 and 11 year old daughters. I chose life support and resuscitation this time, but next time it may be time for the "do not resuscitate" order. I just hope the surgery is successful. It will probably be under the knife all day tomorrow.

I'm not exactly sure how far Larry and I ran this morning. The battery in my Garmin was dead this morning. We ran the six mile course to Cascade Golf Course but we added some distance along the way. Larry said it was at least 7 miles. I'm a little skeptical, but I'll claim 7 miles anyway since it puts me into double digits for mileage this week. It was nice having the temperature back up into the 20's this morning.

By the way, I got the old Suburban back from the shop yesterday. They had quoted me around $2000, but it was only $1400...only $1400? That included replacing the fuel pump, starter, thermostat, and fan blower motor, and servicing the transmission. It now not only starts, but starts enthusiastically, and it's nice not having the fan rattle noisily anymore.

I had to drive 6 teenagers all around Orem on a scavenger hunt as part of my daughter's 16th birthday party tonight and the old Suburban performed admirably. My daughter's two best friends planned the party (at our house and funded by us) and about a dozen boys and girls came. They are all awesome kids. It's comforting to know she has such a great bunch of peers to associate with.