Every Race is an Adventure!

I came so close to not running today. When I awoke it was only 7°. The road conditions for running are still treacherous (not much better for driving). I really didn't want to run on the treadmill again. Karen told me it was okay and to just wait until Monday. I actually had the shower running and heated up, but I couldn't get in.

I have three goal areas for the new year: 1) better time management, 2) better money management, and 3) better health and fitness. I stayed up late last night, slept in this morning, ate some conveniently located chocolate covered raisins and nuts just after I got up, and then was about to skip my planned 5 mile run. It didn't seem like a good way to start the new year, so I turned off the hot shower, put on my running clothes, and headed to the treadmill in the garage/gameroom.

It was about 44° in the garage, comfortable for running. About 2.5 miles into the run I took off my knit gloves and outer long sleeve shirt. It's actually quite a blessing to have the milder temperature treadmill option so easily available during this unfriendly-to-runner weather and road conditions.

I ran the planned 5 miles, most of it at 8:34 pace (7mph), with some slower warm up and cool down at the beginning and end, and a half mile of 9:00 pace in the middle. I realized that easy pace for me doesn't include sub-9:00 pace...yet. The 8:34 pace felt a lot like a tempo run.

The good news is that I didn't feel any numbness in my feet. My right hip was pretty stiff and sore to begin with, but loosened up. I think it was aggravated by my first-time-in-a-long-time-and-probably-for-too-long-because-it-was-a-holiday basketball outing yesterday morning with my son and my old basketball buddies. I enjoyed it, and performed quite a bit better, than I expected. It was great. It may have convinced me to hold off my retirement from church basketball for another year.

After I finished my run I walked laps around the pool table to cool down. I noticed the dart board with 10 darts sticking in it. We got some new darts for Christmas, three identical sets of 3 darts each, and there was one old dart in the board with them.I grabbed the darts and stopped and threw one on each cool down lap around the pool table.  My experience led me to write the following parable this morning. It is factual, and describes quite accurately what really happened. I'm not much better at writing parables than I am at throwing darts, so don't expect too much:

The Parable of the Old Man and the Darts

An old man found himself alone in a game room. He noticed a dart board with ten darts.

As he collected the darts he noticed that nine of them were identical, new and in great condition. The tenth dart did not match the others; it was old and worn.

The old man stepped to the line. His goal was to hit as close to the bullseye as he could with each dart.

Without much thought he tossed the first dart. It hit within a few inches of the bullseye. He didn't have much experience throwing darts and was encouraged.

He threw a few more darts, each landing within a few inches of the bullseye. He pondered how he might improve his accuracy.

He focused on squaring up his body to the dart board and throwing from a steady position with a smooth cock and release. He hit a little closer.

He steadied his breathing as he threw. He hit a little closer.

He focused on lining up the throw horizontally with the bullseye. He hit a little closer, knocking the fins off one of the previous darts.

He focused on lining up the throw vertically with the bullseye, feeling the weight of the dart and judging the speed and trajectory required to hit the target at the height of the bullseye. The dart hit within the outer ring of the bullseye! He smiled at his success, but he had not yet hit the center of the bullseye.

The old man held the last dart in his hand. He had saved the old dart for last. It wasn't as shiny and new as the other nine, but it's shape, size, and weight seemed the same as the others. It reminded him a little of himself. He could still do much of what he could as a younger man, but he was beginning to see and feel the affects of age. Still, it seemed to him that his body, like the dart, was still in good enough condition to serve its purpose. With the added wisdom of experience, he wondered if this old dart may have even a better chance at hitting the center of the bullseye than the other nine.

He was confident as he steadied his body and his breathing, concentrated on his horizontal and vertical aim, judged the weight and required velocity of the dart, smoothly cocked his arm, then smoothly released the final dart toward its target. He anticipated the gentle thud of the dart hitting the center of the bullseye.

The dart hit high and to the left. It was inside the inner ring, barely, but farther from the bullseye than any of the previous throws.

He was a little disappointed, but not discouraged. He chuckled. Maybe it really is a little harder when you're older. He went on his way, feeling good. He had thrown all of the darts inside the inner ring, most of them grouped within a few inches, one close enough to knock the fins off another, and one had hit the bullseye, if only the outer edge.

With age comes the wisdom of knowing that happiness is found where the results of effort meet or exceed expectations. A key is the balance of knowing when to increase effort and when to lower expectations.

-- end of parable -- 

The parable is very applicable to my current running situation. 

I decided to skip the treadmill and try the roads this morning. Due to icy roads, cold weather, an extra stiff hip, and the fact that I'm in recovery mode, I ran at a very easy pace (about 11:00/mi) with the two main goals just getting up early and out on the roads again, and getting a little more time and distance on my recovering feet.

My feet felt good, but at the end of the 5.5 mile run I could tell my right foot had had enough for today. There was no pain or numbness, just enough of a message to remind me that I should continue to avoid doing too much too soon.

I can't remember for sure, but I think I ran 5.5 miles on the treadmill on this day.

I planned to run later in the day this day, but things got busy and it never happened. That's why early morning usually works best for me...not many unexpected scheduling conflicts occur at that time.

I've been trying to go T,Th,Sat during my recovery, but a colonoscopy scheduled for Wednesday, with a liquid diet and laxatives on Tuesday, I decided to run Monday instead of Tuesday. As I recall, it was cold, with a light dusting of snow. I just wandered around the side streets near my home trying to avoid icy spots. Average pace about 10:30/mi.

Colonoscopy screening today (because I'm 50). Found nothing. Good for another 10 years until the next screening.

I experienced some blurry vision this morning. I think it was a side effect of the Propofol anasthesia they used yesterday for my colonoscopy. My daughter Brittany kindly volunteered to drive the car pool. It cleared up soon enough for me to get Daylight Donuts for my son Andrew's birthday before I had to go to work.

Aside from the slower pace, and only 6 miles on a Saturday, it felt very much like "the good old days" of running today. Larry, Wayne, Kevin and I got out together with Ozzie and Dash (Larry and Kevin's dogs). I think Kevin is the only one who had gone 6 miles or longer in a long time. It was great being back with my running buddies. We all survived and plan to start running together again on T,Th,Sat as we all try to get back into the running groove.

Average pace: 10:14/mi 

With the holiday today, Larry, Kevin and I made it out for 4 easy miles this morning. The most exciting part was the dog fight near the Jr. High. We had spent much of the time up until then trying to get Dash to let Kevin put him on the leash. Ozzie is Dash's father and a seasoned runner who is rarely on a leash.

In front of the Jr. High we met a small woman with two very large and muscular Golder Retrievers (we found out they were brothers). It turns out one of them doesn't like Ozzie very much. They apparently had a violent encounter recently when Larry's wife Jolene was out running with Ozzie.

Ozzie, not being on a leash today, went up to greet the dogs. The one that doesn't like him apparently decided to try to eat him for breakfast. His brother joined in. The poor woman was helpless to stop these big strong dogs. Kevin wisely skirted the situation with Dash on the leash. Larry and I helped break things up, get Ozzie on his leash, and get the dogs back to the lady.

She was shaking, felt terrible and was very apologetic. Ozzie was apparently uninjured, so we chatted a bit and then went on our way.

I empathized with the shaken woman. Our golden retriever Skittles passed on last fall. I still miss her, but I don't miss the times when I took her running and she tried to eat small dogs (attached to their owners) as a mid-run snack. I had to body tackle her and lay on her more than once. Why can't we all just get along?

Only Wayne and I made it out this morning. His Achilles was bothering him a little so we took it easy and only went 4 miles. During the run we decided that rather than trying 6 miles on T/Th this week, we would switch to 4 miles everyday. I was planning to try to run everyday this week anyway, which I haven't done since before St. George last fall, and at this point 6 miles would have probably been too much too soon.

Average pace: 9:42/mi 

With the heavy wet snow this morning, I wasn't sure who would make it out, but I headed over to find out. I didn't see anyone. The Lindon route I was planning to run took me back past my house. An unexpected cold wind prompted me to stop for ear covering. Kevin drove up just as I got to my house. With the slushy, slippery roads, dropping off at the high school took him longer than planned. He headed home to get his dog and I got my muffs then went back to his house to meet him.

We ran the same 4 mile shortened Lindon loop Wayne and I ran yesterday. It was a little messy, but wasn't too bad. Because of the running back and forth I did before the run I ended up will a little more the 4 miles. Average pace was 9:13/mi, not really speedy, but about 0:30/mi faster than yesterday, 1:20/mi faster than Monday, and nearly 2:00/mi faster than some runs I've done this winter.

Three 4 mile runs in a row doesn't sound like much, but I'm encouraged. It's not the speed or distance but the direction of my training I'm encouraged about.

Monday I ran with Wayne, Kevin, and Larry. Tuesday I ran with Wayne. Wednesday I ran with Kevin, so today, of course, I ran with Larry. I ran the same shortened Lindon loop each day, just with a different buddy each day, with the other two not showing up. Each run was equally enjoyable, including today, but the paces were different (9:15/mi, 9:45/mi, 10:15/mi, in no particular order - you'll have match the pace to the partner).

It's interesting to me that I ran the exact same course on consecutive days, and no run felt any easier or harder than another, yet the paces were up to a minute per mile different. This reinforces in my mind what I have experienced many times, that, within certain pace ranges (slow to moderately fast tempo pace), it doesn't seem that much harder to run faster or much easier to run slower. The difference, in my experience, is related to focus, form, and efficiency. If I focus on my form, it helps me to run more efficiently, and I get more productivity from the same effort. I sometimes call it shifting gears. I find myself coasting along, with my mind drifting. When I mentally focus back on my form, and kick my turnover up a half gear, I can speed up 15-30 sec/mi or more with very little additional effort.

Experiencing the relationship between mind and body is an interesting venture.

To my amazement and pleasure, Larry, Wayne and Kevin all joined me for the run this morning. That's almost unheard of on a Friday morning. We varied the route from the one I ran with each of them during the week, but still went about 4 miles. Our group pace on Monday was 10:34/mi, today it was 10:00/mi. We're still slow, but headed back in the right direction...and longer, warmer, and sunnier days lie ahead.

Larry, Wayne and I headed up 2000 N intending to run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail starting at the Dry Creek Canyon parking lot. After enduring the long climb, we hadn't gone far on the trail when we changed our minds and cut back across to the paved road we had climbed. The trail alternated between uneven frozen snow and mud. Neither surface was very appealing. We ended up winding through the hills of Lindon, climbing another big hill along the way. My watch showed 13 to 14 min/mi pace on the steep uphills.

It's been over 4 months since I've run this far, or run 6 days in a row. I'm encouraged. My feet felt great, as did most of the rest of me except for some pain in the muscles around my right hip. My cardiovascular fitness is down from recent years, but improving. Next week the plan is to wet, lather, rinse, repeat...maybe running just a little farther or a little faster on a day or two, weather and body permitting.

I'm trying to keep the "back to consistently running" ball rolling. Only Larry was out this morning. His stomach wasn't feeling quite right so we just ran 1/2 mile loops around the block to stay close to home. He made it a couple of miles, then ventured farther from home alone for another couple of miles.

Average pace: 10:00/mi. It was cold and my right hip was pretty stiff and sore again this morning. 

We had Larry, Wayne, and Kevin all out this morning. The temperature was 10 degrees warmer than yesterday (30 instead of 20). We ran the same shorter Lindon loop that we've been running lately. Average pace was 9:28/mi today. Aside from the "just won't go away"  right hip pain, I felt good this morning. About halfway through, on a downhill transition to a flat stretch, I decided to push the pace a little for a half mile. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my pace was 7:25/mi, and it didn't really feel that much harder. It gives me hope, but I plan to be patient.

Larry, his wife Jolene, and I ran the short Lindon loop. The roads were really icy so we tried the snow packed canal road. It was less slippery, but with the new snow hiding the treacherous ruts and uneven ice underneath, we opted to go back to the icy roads. Jolene's running buddy Keri fell a day or two before and hurt herself (hence Jolene running with us) so we prudently ran a slow and careful pace (about 11:00/mi). The company outweighed the poor conditions. It was a good run.

Larry, Kevin, and I ran the short Lindon loop. It's been our course of choice these past couple of weeks. With our decision to run later in the morning for a bit, our other routes have too much traffic.

We're still taking it easy as we build up our mileage (9:42/mi pace today), although Kevin is chomping at the bit to pick it up. Of course he's not 50+ like the rest of us. He's just a babe in his mid-40's.

Saturday we're planning to run at 5:30am, and then starting next Monday we're going back to our traditional 5:45am start time. It'll be hard to make the transition, but we can do hard things.

Karen and I attended the play "The Foreigner" at the Hale Center Theater Orem last night with Larry and Jolene. The playbill had information about the Hale Freezes Over 5K and 10K. I think I may have run it tomorrow if we didn't have a family conflict.

I knew I was in no shape to race a 10K, but I was curious about how I would do. So, as I started my run this morning, since no one else could make it and I was alone, I decided to run the normal (6 mile) Lindon loop and tack on an extra 0.2 miles and run my own 10K.

I was curious to see if I could hold good running form (good for me anyway) for that long without too much of a drop off at the end. It as much a test of my mental fitness as my cardiovascular and muscular fitness.

My mile splits were:  8:42, 9:04, 8:28, 9:25, 9:34, 9:14 and 8:17/mi for the last 0.2. I feel pretty good about how I did mentally. I maintained pretty consistent form and effort. You can pretty much tell where the uphill and downhill was by the changes in pace, although there was some slight slowing in the last couple of miles as fatigue set in.

A 56:06 10K. It's at least a couple of minutes per mile slower than past years, but it's way faster than walking...or limping...or rocking in a chair. I've got a few minor aches and pains, but overall I'm feeling pretty good. I think things are still headed in a good direction.

The old (aged and familiar) running gang seems to be getting back in the groove. Larry, Wayne, Kevin, and I all made it out at 5:30am this morning. It was cold and dark, but as I told Karen when she asked why I was up so early this morning, we're real men...we can do hard things.

It was actually quite enjoyable. It was nice having little to no traffic on the roads so I could run away from the edges of the road. I have a church basketball game with my young adult sons at 8:00am, and I pushed the pace some yesterday, so I just took it easy this morning (10:16/mi)

This makes two full weeks of running in a row. So far, so good.

I headed out into the cold alone this morning. About a mile out, my right foot suddenly started hurting. So much so that I stopped, walked carefully for a bit, and did some light stretching. It started feeling a little better, but rather than continue farther from home I turned around and headed back towards home. After 1/4 mile or so it was feeling fine so instead of continuing home I began to wander some of the streets west of my neighborhood. As I was heading north on 280 W I saw a dog that looked like Larry's dog Ozzie...then I saw Larry. He had come out about 20 minutes after me and decided to run the route backwards in hopes of meeting up with "us", which ended up just being me. We ran together for a bit but his GI tract was acting up so we headed home. This morning's run didn't go at all as planned, but I got my 4 miles in, got to talk to Larry for a while, and finished with no foot pain so it was all good.

I went at 5:45am to meet the guys, but  it appeared I was going to run alone again. It was almost 20 degrees, but there was a frigid wind that seemed to cut right through me. I jogged back to my house to add a fleece vest to my wardrobe. Just as I was coming back out I saw Kevin and Dash dash my. I shouted to Kevin and he waited for me to join him. We were both dressed warmly, but our faces got pretty cold from the frigid wind. We managed to average 8:41/mi pace.

It was, as they say, "stupid cold" the past couple of days. As cold as Kevin and I got when it was 20° with a cold wind, I couldn't bring myself to go out when it was 1° to 8° and breezy. My hat's off to those of you who toughed it out...but I hope your hats were on snug and warm.

This morning I ended up alone again. I ran 6.2 instead of 4 miles to make up a little for not running the last two days. Average pace 9:42/mi. 

I got out with Larry and Wayne this morning. It was great having company. It was nice having the temperature at 30°. There was a covering of newly fallen snow that was very sticky. Just walking over to meet them I had snow caked an inch thick on bottoms of my shoes. During the run I made it a point to try to run in car tracks. Even then, I still had to drag my feet on dry spots occasionally to get the caked snow off.

It seemed so natural running with Larry and Wayne this morning. We didn't even talk about where to run or at what pace. We just started running and talking, enjoyed our activity and interaction, and found ourselves back where we started. What a blessing good running buddies are.

6 mile Lindon loop solo. Average pace 10:00/mi. When I thought about how slow I'm running these days as I recover, I reminded myself that in life and running it's not how fast we are running that matters so much as that we are making consistent effort in the right direction.

I got out just in time to catch Kevin as we was going by. He had to be back by 6:30am so we did the 4 mile Lindon loop. Average pace 9:04/mi. Considering the slick road conditions I felt pretty good about the pace, especially compared to my 10:00/mi pace yesterday.

Alone again. I ran a modified Lindon loop for 4.5 miles. Average pace 9:51/mi. There were a couple of big downhills that pounded my feet pretty good. For the first time in weeks I felt some numbness in my right foot near the end of the run.

I tried to run this morning. I had a 9:00pm church basketball game last night. We finally won for a change, but near the end of the game my right hip started hurting some. It was a familiar feeling, but I wish it wasn't. I met Kevin and we started out slow but my hip soon told me it would rather not run today, so I didn't.

Larry, Wayne, Grant and I ran the long Lindon loop this morning. Larry reminded me that we actually used to call this the Tri-City loop as it passes through Orem, Lindon, and Pleasant Grove. I guess I was confused because when we run the shorter 4 mile loop we cut out the part that goes through Pleasant Grove, so it would be inaccurate to call it the short Tri-City loop.

Regardless, it was an enjoyable run this morning. It was colder than we expected, but enjoyable nonetheless. It was nice having some company. I ran pretty much pain free this morning, which was nice. I did feel a little numbness in my right foot again near the end. I'll have to monitor that. I was really hoping I was done with that. 

Kevin and I joined up for 4 quicker miles this morning. Average pace about 8:40/mi. It was finally above freezing this morning, but with the breeze it still felt a little nippy. Kevin provided most of the conversation this morning. I was fully engaged in just trying to keep sucking in enough oxygen to keep my muscles fueled.

It felt good to push a little harder this morning, but I probably need to focus on just building my mileage up. Maybe it's time to start slipping in a couple of extra miles a couple of times a week. 

Wayne and me. Average pace 9:18/mi. The 6 miles felt like a long run.

Larry, Kevin and me. I got in a mile before meeting up with them.

I slipped out early and got in half a mile before meeting Kevin. Average pace 9:13/mi.

I had a church basketball game at 10:00pm last night. My legs hadn't quite recovered. 

Mid-Lindon loop with Kevin. Average pace 9:02/mi.

Larry, Wayne, Kevin and I all got out together this morning for 8 @ 8. We looped through Lindon then headed up the long big hill to Pleasant Grove, dropped down to Locust Ave., then worked our way back home. This was the longest run of the year so far for most of us. It was great being together.

Near the end we noticed Larry's dog hadn't stayed with us. We started walking the route backwards looking for him. We eventually decided to run a loop looking for him. We found him shortly after we started running but decided to finish the loop anyway, so I ended up with 9.4 miles instead of 8. This put me at around 35 miles for the week. It's my best week in quite some time.

I got out with Larry and Kevin this morning. We did a 4+ mile loop through Lindon then added some at the end to get to 5 miles. It was 27°, but I dressed like I do when the temperature is in the teens. I don't know if it's the morning breezes, the higher humidity, or just old age, but I've been feeling colder in the mornings these last couple of weeks.

Larry, Kevin and I started out. We tool a short loop back because Larry had to get back home, then Kevin and I ran the neighborhood 5K route to get to 5+ miles. As is normal when I run with Kevin, the pace picked up for the second half, with one mile actually at 8:33/mi. I've learned that "fast" is relative.

Some easy solo miles, about 10:00/mi. I knew I had a basketball game in the evening and wanted to save a little bit for that.

Solo again, but maybe it saved me some embarrassment. After last night's basketball game, I had no energy this morning. Took it very easy, 10:26/mi.

It was nice to have Larry, Wayne, and Kevin all out for a 10 mile run this morning, the first double digit run of the season for all of us I think. I was content to take it easy for the first 8 miles. Kevin and Wayne pulled ahead and then doubled back a couple of times. With just under 2 miles to go they were about 1/4 mile ahead of us. I decided to pick it up and see if I could close the gap. I closed it some, but they pushed their pace down to 8:20/mi then down to 7:40/mi so I never caught them. I didn't have my Garmin so I don't know what my pace was. I assume it was around 8:00/mi, maybe a little under for a while, during the last 1.5 to 2 miles.

At this point, Kevin and Wayne are both quite clearly in better running condition than I am. I made sure to remind them, however, that neither of them will beat me in a race this year. It was all in good fun. Honestly, I hope they do beat me, but I plan to make them earn it if they do.

With Kevin. Lindon loop. 6 miles at about 9:00/mi.

With Kevin and Larry. Lindon loop. 5 easy miles (about 10:30/mi). Larry only planned to go 4 miles, but got him to go 5.

Solo. Orem library route. 6.2 miles at 9:58/mi. I maintain a pretty strong and consistent effort, but the old legs just didn't want to turn over this morning.

Short Lindon loop with Kevin and Larry. I was beat from the basketball game the night before. We only had 5 players (no subs) and it was a close game. Fortunately we lost by 3 and don't have to play in the tournament at the next level. It was hard just holding 10:00 pace this morning.

Kevin worked me again this morning. I only averaged 9:05/mi, but I had to work for it. As I told Kevin this morning, I'm feeling roughly the same aches and pains, but I'm gradually getting in more mileage at slightly faster paces, so that's progress.

Home to Provo Canyon with the guys. 12 miles. 9:20/mi.

Lindon loop, 4.6 miles, 9:51/mi. I wasn't feeling well.

I ran last Saturday and on Monday (I'll log them later) but I've been pretty sick all this week. I worked from home Monday thru Wednesday and finally took Thursday as a sick day and slept or otherwise vegetated most of the day. Today is my first day back at work. I still have a little sinus congestion and an occasional cough, but I think I'm going to declare myself well...at least well enough to run tomorrow.

I stumbled on a quote today that I want to log in my blog before I forget it. It pertains to my motto "Every race is an adventure." It is by English author & mystery novelist G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936):

I believe there is some great wisdom there.

10 miles, very slow. My Garmin registered 15.8 miles at 9:23/mi, but some of those miles were walking and others were riding in Wayne's Jeep to get back home.

I hadn't run since Monday due to illness. I thought I had recovered enough for today's long run, but I had not. We were on a 14 mile route. At about 10 miles I decided to walk to avoid risking injury to me...and I was exhausted. Wayne ran on ahead and came back to pick up Larry (bad ankle) and me.

All of last week's cold symptoms returned on Sunday night. I went to the doctor this morning. He thinks I just got a second cold on the heels of the first one. How lucky for me. 

I ran alone this morning. I was so frustrated from being sick for the last 10 days that I pushed the pace some. Unfortunately, pushing the pace these days is only about 9:00/mi pace. I just can't seem to breath. The neuroma in my foot also causes numbness about 30-40 minutes into the run. It doesn't seem to get worse, even on a 10-12 run, but it sure is distracting. My hip is also still bothering me a little. I've also started to feel some IT band pain in my right knee. Getting old stinks.

Lindon loop, 4.75 miles with Kevin. 9:04/mi.

Lindon loop solo. 4.8 miles. 9:09/mi.

Lindon loop solo. 4.7 miles. 10:09/mi. I'm sick of being sick. No energy this morning...again. It's been about two weeks now.

Wayne and I ran Provo Canyon this morning. 11.75 miles. 9:38/mi for me. Wayne was a little faster at the end. At one point, the wind was as strong as either of us could remember. Still, it was a pretty good run. I especially enjoyed running all the way to the end (unlike last week).

Kevin and I ran the longer Lindon loop this morning. I started on an antibiotic on Saturday to hopefully clear up the respiratory issues that have been plaguing me for the last two weeks. I felt like my breathing was still labored this morning, but then I realized that we were running 8:30 pace instead of the 9:00-10:00 pace I've been running. Just before we turned back south we realized we'd had a tail wind for the first half of the run. With the headwind and some uphill stretches on the return trip our pace slowed...or I should say my pace slowed and Kevin slowed to stay with me. We ended up averaging 9:05/mi, which is about as fast as I've been able to run these days, but we ran 6.2 miles instead of the 4.5-ish I've been doing lately, so I view it as an improvement.

Kevin and I ran a Lindon loop with a variation that took us above the Jr. High on the return trip. Average pace: 8:56/mi.

Medium Lindon loop with Kevin. Average pace: 8:55/mi

Short Lindon loop. Four slow easy miles with Larry on my 51st birthday. Average pace: 10:16/mi.

The wind was so strong and cold coming out of the mouth of Provo canyon this morning that Larry, Kevin and I decided to run south, with the wind to our backs. We ran along the Provo River trail down to Macey's on State Street and back, tacking a little distance on the end (into the wind up Provo canyon) to get to 10 miles. At one point, while crossing under University Parkway next to the river, the sidewalk under the bridge was flooded and we had to climb up and along the hillside for a bit. This was one day when just getting a long run in was a major accomplishment. Average pace: 10:34/mi.

6 miles, avg. pace 9:20/mi.

Lindon loop with Larry. I ran the first two miles easy (10:42, 10:54). Larry was cutting back shorter, and Lyle and Kris passed us about this point, so I picked up the pace and maintained the effort through the remainder of the run (8:05, 8:32, 8:45, 8:34). I had some of those "feeling like a runner again" feelings.

I was solo and didn't feel up to a longer run so I decided to warm up a mile or so over to the THS track, push a mile, then take it easy for the mile or so back home. The splits were 10:37, 7:57, and 10:20. I felt good about a sub 8 flat mile. I'm still considerably slower than recent years, but I'm heading in the right direction.

Provo canyon with Larry and Kevin. We took it very easy the first two miles (10:58, 10:54) then Kevin and I picked up the pace some heading up (9:24, 9:15, 9:07). I felt pretty good on the way back down (7:57, 7:49, 8:15, 8:10, 7:55).

Lindon loop with Kevin, preceded by a little warm up before we met up. Average pace for the main 6 mile run was 8:51/mi. We maintained a pretty steady pace throughout.

Big hill 2000 N route with Kevin. The pace for the first two miles that include the big hill were 10:15 and 10:01. The last four miles were 8:11, 8:19, 8:47, and 8:37. Average pace overall was 9:02/mi. It's encouraging to be stringing together more and more sub-9 miles, with some getting close to 8.

No run. I had a painful blister where the new metatarsal pad on my right orthotic apparently rubbed on my foot during yesterday's run. I've had it for a couple of weeks without it bothering me. Maybe it was yesterday's big up and down hills that caused it.

Lindon loop with Kevin. My stomach was a little off this morning, but I made it through the run feeling pretty good.

Lindon loop, solo, in the rain. I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

I ran in Provo Canyon this morning...in the cold...in falling snow...in April. Boy I'm I ready for spring weather.

I ran the same 5 miles twice this morning, up 2.5 miles from the mouth of the canyon and back . The average pace for the first time was 8:31/mi, and 11:29/mi the second time (included some walking).

Kevin and I ran it first about 7:20am then met Larry and Wayne at 8:00am and ran it again. Kevin and Wayne actually ran 6 miles the second time, but I stayed with Larry and we walked a bit and didn't go as far.

It was great, and a little surprising, to be able to run with Larry at all. On Tuesday he was admitted to the hospital with a "mini" stroke. He had slurred speech and recognized it as a sign of a stroke so he went to the hospital. After a couple of days of monitoring and testing he was released and cleared for running as long as he checks his blood pressure beforehand. It sounds like this event may prompt Larry to make some diet and lifestyle changes that can only improve his running, as well as his overall quality of life. 

With no school this week...spring break...no carpool...and with the cold weather...Larry and Wayne not coming out regularly...and Kevin not running this week...I chose to sleep in this morning and run in the daylight instead of the dark. To my pleasant surprise it was not only daylight, but also clear and sunny. It was only about 33°, but it was still nice to run in the sun.

I ran roughly 1.5 loops of the neighborhood 5K route, 5.2 miles, average pace 8:56. I'd better get showered and off to work now. 

I ran solo the long Lindon loop, with some "change is as good as a rest" variations. We run this loop a lot but I don't remember describing it in my blog before. I'll do it now for historical purposes. It starts at about 4800' and is mostly level for about 2.5 miles. It descends 200' over the next mile (nice). It takes the last 2.5 miles to gradually climb back up to 4800' to end where we started. Normally that climb starts with a steep climb out of Lindon Park. The variation I took today heads east up a short steep hill on the street just before the park then turns south and passes through the big dip.

The weather this morning was 10° warmer than yesterday, in the low 40's. It was overcast with no wind. I chose shorts instead of long pants, and ended up taking off my knit gloves halfway through the run. Maybe nice spring weather will finally make it here soon.

I felt like seeing how fast I could run without overdoing it. I feel it went pretty well. I averaged 8:26/mi for 6.2 miles. This is over 30 sec/mi faster than just 2-3 weeks ago. My mile splits were 8:25, 8:29, 7:45, 8:45, 8:49, 8:30, and 8:22/mi for the last 0.2. I give the warmer weather and not wearing long pants a lot of the credit, but I do feel like I'm getting a little faster.

Larry said he might be out this morning. With his health issues I figured he'd want to go shorter so I put in a couple of easy miles (4+ laps around the block) before going to meet him. I saw his dog and a white hat, but it was on his wife Jolene. She told me Larry didn't feel up to running so I headed off alone. I wandered. I followed Main down to 800 N, then over to 400 E, up to 1200 N, over to 800 E (through the campus), then followed the canal path back to the Northridge bridge, then made my way home. Having pushed harder yesterday, I just took it easy this morning. I ended up with a total of 6.7 miles. Average pace: 9:37.

Today was my "first time of the year" run up the water tank hills. The temperature was in the high 30's, with a strong cold wind from the NW. It took me a little over 19 minutes from the bottom of hill 1 to the top of hill 5. That's a lot slower than my PR, but I was just happy to make it all the way without walking. On the "fast half mile" stretch from 400 E to Main on 1600 N I only got down to 8:16/mi. In years past, in my best shape, I think I've done it around 6:00/mi. Nevertheless, my running is on the upswing and I'm optimistic and content with the improvement I'm seeing. 

We went bowling as a family last night to celebrate Karen's birthday. (It's not until next week, but she'll be in Delaware at a family wedding.) On my very first roll I felt pain in my left hip. I went on to bowl two games (we won't mention scores), with the pain not getting worse but not going away. Since there is no school this week, this morning I chose to go with my son Andrew to play basketball instead of running. I figured if my hip bothered me I could just sit out and watch. My first 3 pointer was a bad air ball, and I had way to many turnovers, but I warmed up and ended up playing okay for me. I made a couple of 3 pointers, had some assists, a steal or two, and I even hit a game winner in one game. The hip didn't bother me at all. It was a lot of fun playing ball and seeing some of my old friends again.

I took two trips running up Provo Canyon this morning. I was supposed to meet Larry and Wayne at 6am at the mouth of the canyon but I was running a few minutes late so I called Larry and told them not to wait, I would catch up.

With Larry's mini-stroke about 10 days ago, Larry's taking it real easy. His doctor told him not to run, but that he could walk if we kept his heart rate under 120. He decided he could run at an easy pace and keep his heart rate under 120.

I caught Wayne and Larry pretty quickly as they walked until I caught them. Larry ran most of 5 miles, walking some of the uphills when is heart rate was getting a little high. I think 126 was the highest reading I heard him mention. It was good to be out with both him and Wayne. With Kevin on vacation, I ran solo everyday this week until today. Wayne had to be back to the car by 7am so he took off ahead on the way back.

After running 5.25 miles with Larry, I headed back up the canyon for more. I decided to go up about 4.5 miles; adding 9-ish to my 5.25 would get me around 14 miles.

I averaged about 10:35/mi for the first 5.25 miles, and 9:12/mi for the last 9 miles (9:49/mi for 4.5 up, 8:35/mi for 4.5 down). I felt pretty good still at the end, running the last 1.5 miles at 8:25/mi pace.

I'm encouraged. I'm going a little longer, going a little faster, and feeling a little less pain. The weather is (too) slowly getting more springlike. I enjoyed the improved weather this morning, but it was still chilly and I kept my jacket zipped up and my gloves on until the last few miles when the sun finally broke through the clouds.

Garmin was dead. I think Kevin and averaged just over 9:00/mi for the 6 mile Lindon loop.

As I was waiting for Kevin or Larry to come out Lyle passed by and stopped briefly. He said we would be looping around and if nobody showed to cut over and meet him at Main Street. Neither of them came out so I met up with Lyle again and we ran a few miles together roughly on the neighborhood 5K route. It was nice talking with him and hearing about my old Ragnar Relay's team run last Saturday. I wandered around after leaving Lyle for  a few more miles for a total of 6.2 miles, avg. pace 9:18/mi.

Kevin and I ran the 2000 N hill route. Our overall average pace was 8:57/mi, which is pretty good for me on this route.

Kevin and I ran the Lindon Park loop this morning. We were both feeling tired and felt like we were running pretty slow, but we ended up averaging 8:35/mi, which is pretty fast for me these days. It was encouraging to feel like I was running 9:00+ pace and have it be 8:35.

I was taking the day off work and could run later so I did. I ran the water tank hills for the 2nd time this year. I felt stronger and faster. I made it up the 5 hills in 17:17, almost two minutes faster than last week's 19:07. Coming home down 1600 N I ran Fast Half Mile Hill (400 E to Main) at 7:13/mi, over a minute per mile faster than last week's 8:16/mi.

Larry, Wayne and I headed out at 8am. Larry still isn't supposed to be running so he only went 3 very slow miles with us before he turned back. Wayne and I picked up the pace a little, but not much. We were both feeling pretty tired. This would be my first 40 mile week of the year, and Wayne was going to end up at nearly 50. We ran into Pleasant Grove near the cemetery then added a loop down to 1200 N and 400 E when we got back to get to 12 miles. It was an enjoyable, if not fast, run. We ended up with a total of 12 miles, avg. pace 10:11/mi.

Got out alone and followed the neighborhood 5K route for a couple of laps to get 6 miles. Avg. pace 8:54/mi. I pushed a half mile tempo run down to 8:14/mi pace at the beginning of mile 6, but mostly I treated today as an easy to moderate. It sprinkled on me a little the last couple of miles, but I beat the heavier rain that came later.

I was up really late last night. Also with Karen out of town, and two cars out of commission, I had to drive Brittany to UVU for her 7am final before driving the regular carpool this morning. I didn't manage to get a run in. I was hoping to get a run in later in the day, but with working from home and running errands, and seeing the cold wind whip through the trees, running just never made it to the top of my priority list for today. My hip was feeling a little extra sore so a day's rest may have been a good thing.

Kevin and I ran the 2000 N hill route in the 10-20° below normal-ish weather this morning. I felt pretty good about averaging an 8:52 pace on this hilly route. It's getting lighter in the mornings, which is nice.

5.5 miles, avg. pace 8:36/mi.

Cascade golf course route. 6 miles, avg. pace 8:41/mi.

We woke up to a couple inches of snow on the last day of April. Larry and I almost just went back in but decided to "run around the block". We ended up going 2.4 miles. Kevin caught up to us about a mile into it. We were all planning to help out with the neighborhood cleanup project at 9am. After the very easy 2.4 miles Kevin and I debated about going farther but finally decided to go get warm and fed before going out in the cold again to pick up trash and yard waste.

Kevin and I ran an extended Lindon loop this morning. I felt stronger this morning. It may have had something to do with only running 2.4 miles on Saturday instead of 12-14.

Avg. pace: 8:52/mi. 

Kevin and I ran the 2000 N hill route this morning. The temperature in the mid-40's was a nice change, but it was still a little chilly with the head wind on the uphill.

I felt like pushing the pace a little. Kevin easily matched me, and beat me up all the hills and at the end, but I must have worked him a little because neither of us spoke much this morning.

We averaged 7:08/mi on the mile downhill and 7:06/mi on the 1/2 mile downhill. I actually saw sub-7:00 pace on my watch for much of the long downhill. I haven't seen that for a long, long time. We averaged 8:52/mi last week on this route, and 8:25/mi today.

I've got enough miles in, and seen enough improvement, that I'm beginning to feel the urge to slip in some speed work. I'm really reluctant. After working so long to get healthy again, I do not want to get injured. I'll have to listen to my body and try to balance "no risk, no reward" with "better safe than sorry."

Kevin had an early meeting this morning so we left 15 min early. He still turned back early, but it was a relatively nice morning and I felt like going farther so I didn't turn back with him. He turned back at the Cascade golf course. I went on to the fountain up the canyon and ended up with 8.1 miles instead of the planned 6.

Today was a recovery day so I didn't push very hard. I averaged about 9:30 pace for the first 4 miles. As I reached the parking lot by the gas station at the mouth of the canyon on the return trip I heard voices coming under the bridge on the trail. In the early morning light I'm pretty sure it was Josse that saw me and waved. She was running with a few other fast women I didn't recognize in the brief moment I saw them. I figured they were running on up the canyon but then it sounded like they may have turned up into the parking lot behind me.

The thought of them blowing by me as I ran 9:30+ pace up the hill I guess was enough that I subconsciously picked up the pace. I ran up the hill at closer to 8:30 pace. I kept telling myself that it didn't matter if they passed me. I'm still getting back into running after an injury, it was a recovery day, and they are all probably 2-3 decades younger than me. Still, something inside me didn't want to get passed without a fight.

As I neared the top I heard their footsteps and voices closing on me. I figured getting passed was inevitable, but then I realized that I was almost to my turn at the golf course. If they were going straight, maybe I could avoid getting passed. I held on and made the turn just before they would have passed me. I felt a little unsocial, and a little ashamed of being so reluctant to get passed...and a little bit victorious...just a little.

I don't think I have much chance of this year being a PR year, but I'm optimistic as my average paces every week keep getting a little faster. A couple of times recently I've felt the urge to take the brakes off and go all out, but the wisdom of experience and the fear of injury have restrained the fire. Patience. Here a little, there a little. Enjoy each run every day. The joy is in the journey. The destination...there really isn't a destination. Each finish line is a new beginning.

This applies to life in general. Today Karen and I celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary. Our years have been metaphorically full of seemingly endless miles of training, good weather and bad, PRs and injuries, 5Ks and marathons, successes and failures.  Like every race, I think every marriage is an adventure. I'm not in the best running shape I've ever been in, not even as good as recent years. But I don't think Karen and I have ever been more in love. I know I've never been happier.

 I ran the water tank hills solo this morning. I made it up the 5 hills in 17:55...not a PR but not bad. The views of Utah valley coming down were beautiful. The sun was just hitting the snow-capped peaks of a half dozen mountains on the west and south of the valley.

I ran the Fast Half Mile from 400 E to Main on 1600 N at 6:46 pace. I was quite surprised and pleased to see sub-7:00. Very encouraging.

Since Kevin missed the hills yesterday I agreed to run them with him this morning. When he didn't come out I decided to run up 1600 N at an easy pace towards the hills and see if he came out late and caught up to me. I never saw him. When I reach the base of the hills my body was a little reluctant to repeat yesterday's run alone so I decided to turn around and run back down 1600 N. I ended up running 1.5 miles down to 400 W then back up to 800 E then back down to Main again and home.

I was feeling tired, so I worked on my mental toughness a little during the run. Often while running uphill I'll tip the brim of my hat down and look down a little to block out the sight of the uphill ahead of me. This morning I held my head up and mentally focused on and proactively challenged the uphill. I also pondered a little psychology and physics.

I imagined myself running 50-100 yards ahead of me and imagined what I would look like if I was running efficiently, strong and confident, and what it would feel like. I then tried to run that way and feel like I imagined myself feeling. Mentally I told myself that if I'm going to be running like that in 50-100 yards anyway it wouldn't be that much harder to start 50-100 yards sooner...so run like that now.

Later in the run my thoughts switched to physics, and what it meant to run efficiently. I imagined a large straight arrow representing a force vector on a physics diagram coming out of my hips and aiming straight ahead up the road. I then imagined smaller arrows in up and down and side-to-side directions. These represented wasted energy that should be focused on moving me forward. The image came to my mind of a tulip-shaped flower closing up like a Venus Fly Trap, redirecting and merging all of the smaller mis-directed energy arrows into the large straight arrow moving straight ahead.

I consider these mental experiments a success.  My legs were feeling pretty heavy the first trip up the hill, averaging only 10:45 pace for the first 1.25 miles up. I averaged 8:29 pace back down, 9:26 back up the second time, then 8:12 the last 1.2 miles back down and home. After averaging only 10:45/mi for the first 1.25 miles, after playing mind games with myself I ended up averaging 9:12/mi overall for the 5.6 miles.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning...finally.  I met Wayne, Kevin, Larry, and Larry's wife Jolene at the mouth of Provo Canyon for a long run. It was cool enough with the breeze at the start that I wore my jacket and gloves.

Larry's health still doesn't allow him to run as much as he would like. We ran 3.8 easy miles with him, with a little walking mixed in, averaging about 12:00/mi.

Larry and Jolene stopped to turn back at Bridal Veil Falls. Kevin, Wayne and I continued on. We had realized the Provo City Marathon was running down the trail this morning until we saw some of the mile markers. We didn't know what time they were starting or how many runners there would be. We got to Vivian Park and talked to some volunteers at the aid station there. The marathon was going to start in about 10-15 minutes at South Fork Park. We were planning on 14 miles and still had a little over a mile to go to get to 7, so we decided to risk it and head on up South Fork Canyon.

At mile 7 Wayne said he wanted to push on to 8 for a 16 mile run and Kevin and I decided to join him. Not long after we saw the lead marathoners coming around a corner. We moved to the far side of the street and stayed pretty much out of the way. There weren't as many runners as we thought there might be and they passed by us pretty quickly. The race had just started so they hadn't spread out very much yet.

We continued on to the 8 mile mark, averaging about 9:42/mi for the 4.2 miles of uphill after Bridal Veil. We could tell Kevin could have going faster, but Wayne and I were concerned about having enough energy left to finish the 8 mile return trip so we didn't push it. 

Kevin pushed ahead at about Bridal Veil and ran the next 3 miles about a minute per mile faster than us. Wayne pushed ahead of me a little before Timpanogos Park. I averaged 8:29/mi for the 8 miles back down, and that was plenty good for me at the end of my longest long run, and highest mileage week, of the year so far.

We had talked about going to the THS track this morning, so even though I was alone I went. After a 3/4 mile warm up getting there and a 1/4 mile warm up lap I decided to run 3x1 mile repeats. I ran the first in 7:40 and figured if I could stay under 8:00 for all three it would be a good morning. I ran the 2nd in 7:40 again, and the 3rd in 7:30. I ran the last lap in 1:40, about 6:40 pace. I'm encouraged. I was pushing hard, but not really going all out (not mentally weak, just prudent as I'm still a little concerned about injury). It felt pretty good.

It was great to see Larry and Jolene waiting at the corner this morning. Kevin joined us and we headed up 2000 N. My legs felt very heavy this morning and burned going up the hill even though we were slower than last week. They were heavy the whole run, likely a lingering effect of yesterday's mile repeats and last week's higher than normal 47 miles. Like I mentioned to Kevin, at least my legs were just tired. I'm feeling much less pain than in recent months.

Average pace: 9:24/mi 

We had planned to run the water tank hills this morning, but with all the rain we feared mud so Kevin, Wayne, and I opted for the golf course route instead. Wayne and I were dragging; Kevin stayed with us easily and I think he was just idling.

I was hoping for Wayne and Kevin to be out, but was glad to head for the water tank hills with Larry and Jolene. At the start of hill 1 I took off. After three days of heavy legs I finally felt some zip in my legs.

As I made the switch back to begin hill two I saw Kevin coming from behind. He's been running so much faster than me that I was sure he was going to pass me before the top. I decided to just ignore him and push steadily and strong up the hills. He never did catch me. Of course, he had left about 5 minutes after us and had been pushing hard since the beginning of the run. I may have tested him anyway as I got up the five hills in 15:38...pretty fast for me. A good time is usually under 17:00.

As the four of us were coming down the hills I got distracted at the bottom of hill three...just before we got to the smooth, easy road... and suddenly felt the pain of a rolled right ankle. I don't know if I stepped in a rut or on a rock. I managed to catch my balance and not go down. I've learned to keep running (walking, playing) on a rolled ankle if at all possible, a.k.a., "walk it off". It really hobbled me for the next mile or so but I didn't want to stop.

Kevin and I had both been looking to the Fast Half Mile from 400 E to Main near the end of the run. I ran 6:45 pace there last week and was looking to give Kevin a run for his money. With the lame ankle, that challenge would have to wait. I did try to see if running faster hurt more or less. It turned out to be less, and I managed 7:40 pace.

After the run I iced my ankle then worked from home to stay off it and keep it elevated. 

I didn't run Friday to rest my injured ankle and let it heal a little.

We decided to run at 6am this morning. It was great to be able to wear a short sleeve shirt.

I didn't know until I met Larry a little before 6 that he hadn't heard from Wayne, and that he and Kevin only had 50 minutes to run before needing to be back to head off to a church service assignment. Wayne didn't show. After an 4.8 miles with Kevin and Larry, and a quick pit stop at the house, I decided my ankle was feeling good enough for some more miles.

First I looped around the neighborhood 5K course. I was going to do it a time or two more but I was bored, and my foot was feeling a little tired, so I decided to head to the THS track and run on the slightly softer service. They were just beginning to set up for a USA track meet. I got in 3 miles there then decided to loop up to Canyon Park (old WordPerfect buildings) and come back along the canal. With all the trees, the Canyon Park parking lots are almost like arboretums. I looped around the parking lots some then headed home along the canal.

When I reach 1600 North I came across Martin Wright who had just finished his run. As I was talking to him Rick Lamoreaux stopped to talk with us. After chatting, and checking out some thick smoke from a nearby house (just a guy burning trash), I headed on home. 

When I started this morning I wasn't sure how far my ankle would let me go. I stayed close to home as I wandered, but I ended up going 15.25 miles. It wasn't fast...a little over 9:00 pace on my own...but I was grateful to discover that despite a little pain and weakness, it appears my rolled ankle isn't going to impact my training too much. Later in the day I ran errands and did some yard work without it bothering me much.

THS track - alone. I felt pretty slow this morning running over to the track. My warm up mile getting over there was at about 10:00 pace. I ran 3x1 mile repeats in 7:45, 7:33, and 7:31 with 1/4 mile jogs in between. I had time so I threw in a final 800 at 7:00/mi pace. Considering how sluggish I felt this morning, and where I am in my training, I'm satisfied with these times. 

2000 N hill route - alone. I didn't feel a lot of zip again this morning, but I didn't dawdle. I averaged 9:19/mi. I did manage 7:10 pace for a half mile downhill. I didn't mind the rain too much, but like many other people I'm ready for some consistent sunshine.

Wil's Canyon Stop route...solo. Average pace 8:43/mi. I picked it up a little on 1200 N from 800 E to Main. I like this straight, flat stretch. When I run it it is usually near the end of a run so I can measure how fast I can run a flat mile when I'm tired. Today it was 7:52. Not a PR my any means, but still moving in the right direction.

It was raining heavily in the morning. All this rain has me so depressed that not only didn't I run, I couldn't even bring myself to go to work. I decided to work from home. I came close to just crawling back into bed and sleeping all day.

I ended up getting some good work done. About 5:00pm I realized it wasn't raining and thought about going for a run. Our neighborhood 5K Fun Run and Breakfast is Saturday morning, so I decided to do my long run tonight. Wayne's been running in the evenings so I called him. It turns out he had went at 2:00pm and had just finished a 19-miler.

I started at the mouth of Provo Canyon at about 5:50pm. As I stopped to adjust my IT band strap shortly into the run, I was nearly run over by another runner who was coming from behind. I ended up running just behind him for the first few miles at just under 9:00 pace. I decided to try to average under 9:00/mi all the way up to Vivian Park, which is a good clip for me. I ended up averaging 8:53/mi for those first 6 miles (8:45, 8:56, 8:59, 8:48, 9:08, 8:45). The next 2 miles up South Fork were much steeper and slower (10:19, 9:28), for an overall average of 9:08/mi going up.

I was hoping to go faster coming back down, but when I turned around I felt a strong headwind and it start raining pretty heavily for the next couple of miles. I had taken off my jacket at Vivian Park and tied it around my waist. It didn't take me long to put it back on. My legs felt pretty tired from working on the way up. I decided to just try to keep them turning over for as long as I could. I wasn't really sure I could hold a respectable pace for all 8 miles back. I'm pretty pleased that I did, but I was sure breathing hard those last 3-4 miles. My splits were 8:39, 8:33, 9:01, 8:54, 8:42, 8:45, 8:46, 8:32, for average pace of  8:44/mi.

My overall average pace was 8:57/mi. for 16.14 miles. I'm counting all these miles as marathon pace effort. I may have let my focus slip briefly a couple of times, but for the most part I applied marathon pace effort the entire run. I hope by marathon time this same effort yields faster times, and for 10 miles more, but given where I was 6 months ago, I'm very pleased with where I am.

Today was our neighborhood 5K, a tradition of about 20 years now. Larry has been a key force in this race since its inception. We missed his presence this year as he was in St. George supporting his daughter Stacia in her triathlon.

Last year I ran the course in 21:31 and took 2nd overall. I finished about 18 seconds behind 16-year old Tiffanie Allen. This year I finished in 21:43 (12 seconds slower), and about 30 seconds behind 17-year old Tiffanie, and in 3rd place overall.

The difference this year was 21-year old Christian Stewart. He hung just behind Tiffanie and me for the first 1/2 mile then as we turned down 2000 N he flew by us, broke contact, and cruised on to win, finishing over a minute ahead of me. I was proud of Christian. The last time I remember running against him I think he was a young star football player in high school. He started off very fast and I passed him as he was walking at about mile 2. Now, after maturing, serving a 2 year LDS mission, and working out under Coach Omer at BYU, he was a force to be reckoned with. I'm very happy for him. He is a great young man. I'm probably most happy that he gets to take possession of the traveling trophy...an old running shoe, mounted and painted gold.

One of the highlights for me today was getting to see my daughter Emily run the course again. She has been on the Jr. High track team the last two years, but as a long jumper. I haven't been able to convince her to be a distance runner. After I finished I ran back and ran in the last 1/2 mile or so with her. Someday I hope it's 26.2 miles, but I'll take what I can get. I let her pull away as she kicked for the finish and just watched her. She's got pretty good form, a natural runner. Someday she'll catch the running bug. Until then I'll be patient, and enjoy the days like today.

My splits today were 6:30, 7:31, and 7:43, which reflects the nature of the course...downhill, level, uphill. I maintained a consistent effort and stayed about the same distance behind Tiffanie until the uphills. Gravity seems to affect me more than it does her. Maybe because I probably outweigh her by about 50 lbs.

I'm still representin' for the old guys. The winner was 21, 2nd was 17, I was 3rd at age 51, and 4th was 15. Fifth place was Lyle at 55, so I can't let up. Scheduling helped today, too. Among those in the neighborhood who probably would have beat me, Lecy was at the state track meet, Kevin was at Park City at some business shindig, and Brad was running the Ogden Marathon. Still, you have to show up to race.

This neighborhood 5K fun run is a great tradition. The weather today was perfect. And the neighborhood breakfast afterward was very enjoyable. I felt like running more, but since I had done my long run on Thursday I decided to save my energy for Karen's "honey do" list. It was a good thing. And it was a good day.

I went to the track alone this morning. I did 3x1 mile repeats again with an 800m interval at the end. My mile times were 7:31, 7:37, 7:32 with 3:38 for the 800m. If I split these into 7x800m intervals, it averages to about 3:45 per 800m. Using the Yasso 800 guidelines, this would indicate about a 3:45 marathon (about 9:00/mi). I ran 16 miles Saturday averaging about 8:57/mi for a training run, so a 3:45 marathon is probably a pretty good estimate of where I am right now. I'll take it for now. That may be my target for the Utah Valley Marathon next month, but I hope to be close to 3:30 (or faster?) by St. George in October.

2000 N hill route with Kevin. Neither of us felt fast today, but we endured with a 9:05/mi average overall.

Wil's Canyon Stop route with Kevin. We pushed the effort throughout this run and averaged 8:20/mi overall, which is good for us at this point. We dropped to 7:30/mi for the 1/2 mile from 800 E to 400 E on 1200 N.

Water tank hills solo on a warmer but overcast and very windy day. My legs felt very heavy this morning. I still managed a not fast but respectable 17:47 time up the hills. A lone biker started up the first steep hill just ahead of me. He's part of a group of bikers we regularly see in the morning. I managed to pass him and get well ahead by the top of the hill. He must have went back down or waited for his buddies because by the time I got to hill 5 I heard them talking coming up behind me. I made it to the top of hill 5 and turned back down just before they caught me.

The Fast Half Mile that is part of this run near the end was not so fast today...8:28/mi. That's slower than our average pace for the entire 6 mile run yesterday. I worked pretty hard today, it just wasn't fast. It's all good.

I had to get back to help clean the church at 8:00am so Kevin and I started at the mouth of the canyon at about 5:45am and maintained a pretty steady pace throughout the 12 miles.

The splits up were: 8:42, 8:50, 9:06, 9:10, 8:48, 8:52

The splits down were: 8:22, 8:24, 8:03, 7:55, 8:08, 7:44

Average pace: 8:30/mi 

2000 N hill route. No rain...but a little chilly. It was great to have Wayne, Larry, and Jolene out. I was surprised not to see Kevin.

I played tennis with Karen and the kids last night until about 9:00pm. We don't play much, and we're not very good, but it was a lot of fun. I wasn't feeling very zippy this morning so it was an easy pace morning. With the big hill, average pace was only 9:59/mi.

I would have ended up alone this morning but Lyle stopped as he was running by and decided to join me. I think he may have regretted that decision. Kris, his normal running partner, told me later that he told her that I tried to kill him.

All I did was our normal run up the water tank hills. He's run up there before, but not much, and I guess he normally only goes up the first two hills. I don't think he was expecting to continue up hill 3, 4, and 5. He started up hill 1 very strong and was pulling away from me. I eventually passed him as he walked a little, but he was just behind me at the top of hill 1 and passed me again at the beginning of hill 2. Again he walked a little and I went by him. I didn't see him again until I was stopped at the top of hill 5. Those hills are tough enough when you know what to expect. I was impressed with how strong he was able to run them, and that he continued all the way to the top.

My legs started burning at hill 2, but I hung in there and made it up in 17:17...pretty good for me. We took it easy back down. I really enjoyed Lyle's company to and from and down the hills. I pulled ahead again on the Fast Half Mile, averaging 7:19 pace.

It was a very enjoyable run. 

I ran the Wil's Canyon Stop run solo this morning. I was glad I was alone. I would have been embarrassed to have someone I know witness this pitiful run. My legs felt very heavy and I felt very tired right from the start. These six miles felt very much like the last 6 miles of a marathon. In fact, if I run this slow at the end of the Utah Valley Marathon next week I'll be pretty disappointed. I tried and could barely manage 10:20 pace the last mile, and only averaged 9:57/mi overall.

This seemed like more than just a bad run. In an effort to explain it, here are what I believe to be some contributing factors:

1. A basketball game the night before...our traditional Old Guys vs. Young Men at the church. We play first to 100, with half time when one team reaches 50. The young guys were good, but the old guys won by 20+. We had plenty of subs, but I played hard while I was in and got pretty tired.

2. I found out about the game at the last minute, just as Karen was serving dinner. I grabbed a single small hot dog. After the game I had some pork and beans, but never really ate much to refuel. I also didn't drink much so I think I was pretty dehydrated.

3. We stayed up late and I only got a little over 4 hours of sleep.

Despite these excuses, I was a little concerned about how bad I felt. Maybe I'm even less prepared for this upcoming marathon than I was thinking. I guess time will tell.

Wayne, Kevin and I ran the 10 miles from Trefoil to the mouth of the canyon. After my poor performance Thursday morning I was curious and a little nervous about how I would do today.

We started out at a comfortable pace. It felt like a good pace at which to start the marathon next week. Our first 4 miles down South Fork were 8:26, 8:23, 8:11, and 8:00. After we all made a bathroom stop at Vivian Park (yes, the flush toilets are finally! open), I was feeling pretty good and we gradually picked up the pace a little. At Nunns Park I had been more focused on my conversation with Kevin than running. Wayne said he felt the wind at his back and started pulling ahead of us. I decided to focus in and run strong the last 3 miles. I pulled ahead of Wayne and Kevin and stayed there. It felt good. They are both a little under the weather, but I enjoyed being in front anyway.

My mile splits for the last six miles were 8:00, 8:11, 8:01, 7:42, 7:36, 7:28, and 7:24. I averaged 7:56/mi for the 10 miles and finished feeling great. This was a great relief after how horrible I felt Thursday morning.

Today's run gave me confidence for the marathon next week, and helped me solidify my plans. I think I'll start out at the same easy-ish effort as at the start of the run today. Instead of picking up the pace after 4-6 miles like today and averaging 8:00/mi, I plan to stick to the easier effort pace and hope to average 8:30-ish/mi for the first 20 miles. I fully expect to be struggling the last 6.2 miles down University Ave, maybe sooner. I don't have the long runs in to feel confident of running strong to the end. I ran a strong 16 miler not too long ago, so with tapering and race day magic I suspect I can make 20 miles okay if I don't go out too fast, but those later miles will be iffy. All I can do now is try to go into the marathon well tapered, healed, rested, hydrated, and fueled and see what I can do. I'm finally starting to get excited about this next adventure.

Four easy miles, 9:59 pace.

I ran a modified version of the neighborhood 5K loop this morning. Today my easy pace yielded 8:52/mi instead of 9:59/mi like yesterday. That's encouraging.

I went 3 miles this morning, starting up 1600 N. At 800 E I turned back down and picked it up some on the Fast Half Mile. I was surprised to see 7:14 pace on my watch. I wasn't really pushing too hard. I averaged 8:47/mi for the 3 miles.

The marathon is Saturday, ready or not. 

I guess I'll start with my mile splits. They tell the story pretty well.

Mile 1 - 8:38 - This mile climbed about 100 ft. in the first 2/3 mile. I felt like I was taking it fairly easy as I warmed up and got into a rhythm.

Miles 2-7 - 7:31, 7:47, 8:06, 8:09, 8:04, 7:59 - I felt good, especially on the downgrades. I mentally backed off a little on the flats and upgrades because I knew I didn't have the training in to run hard throughout. I expected to be challenged later in the race, especially those last miles down University Ave., and I didn't want to expend too much energy too soon. My overall pace up to this point was just over 8:00/mi. In retrospect, it may have been too fast, but I felt comfortable and didn't feel like I was pushing.

Mile 8 - 9:48 - My bladder had been feeling uncomfortably full for a while, so I finally had to stop at the mile 7 porta potties. I estimate I lost a full minute draining my bladder. I only drank 6-8 ounces of liquid before the race this morning, I must have been well hydrated from yesterday. The second half of this mile also had the beginning of the first big hill.

Miles 9-13 - 9:06, 8:07, 8:27, 9:18, 8:56 - I continued to feel good through these miles. My pace slowed because of the hills through these miles.

Mile 14 - 9:47 - As planned, I took a gel before the aid stations at 7 and 13. By the time I reached all the porta potties at the start of the half marathon at mile 13.1 I was beginning to feel some stomach cramps. I debated whether to stop and finally did at the last porta potty. I spent about a minute there and felt a bit better afterward.

Mile 15 - 9:00 - During this mile the stomach cramps returned and worsened. I was grateful I only had to wait a short time for a porta potty to become available at the aid station.

Mile 16 - 14:14 - I spent about 5 minutes in the porta potty, and watched my overall pace slip from 8:33/mi to 8:55/mi. I've used these gels in many marathons and never had trouble before, but something told me they were causing the stomach issues. After this stop I decided to skip gels the rest of the race and hope that Powerade would get me to the finish line. I had no more stomach trouble.

Miles 17-20 - 9:31, 9:34, 9:30 - My stomach troubles were in the past, but I was about to begin to pay the price for my inadequate training for a marathon. My longest run in the past 8 months (since my troubles at the St. George marathon) had only been 16 miles. As I expected, this unexplored territory offered adventurous physical and mental challenges for the next 10 miles. I got what I deserved.

Miles 21-26.2 - 9:50, 9:25, 10:00, 11:04, 10:01, 9:18, 7:42/mi kick. I was grateful to see Larry at mile 20.5. My wheels were continuing to come off, but Larry had his wheels and rode his bike with me until the finish chute. His company was much welcome. He said he had been watching runners while waiting for me. Some seemed like they were on their 1st mile, others seemed like they were in terrible pain. He said I looked somewhere in between. I told him I must be deceitful, because I was really struggling. I first noticed the pain from the blisters forming on both big toes just after I met Larry. They ended up being pretty big. I walked briefly on the steeper upgrade in mile 24, but walking didn't feel any better than running so that didn't last long. With Larry's encouragement, I rallied some willpower the last couple of miles and finished as strongly as I could.

Finish - As we approached the finish Larry asked if they had pretty good stuff at the finish line. I said, "Yes. They have stopping." I was breathing hard and my energy was spent, and I was very happy to kick down the chute, cross the finish line, and stop.

Afterwards I told Larry, "I don't know why I do this." I wasn't referring to running marathons. I was referring to running a marathon alone, with insufficient training, when none of my buddies are running. Without Larry being there it would have been a pretty lonely and discouraging event.

On the bright side, the weather was perfect and the vistas, volunteers, and spectators were awesome. I finished about where I expected and, aside from a couple of big toe blisters, uninjured. My troublesome right hip got pretty sore and stiff, but feels okay now. The foot neuroma and numbness that I've been battling since St. George didn't bother me today. My feet felt beat up and tired, not surprisingly, but I didn't notice any numbness. I'm confident that as I continue to step up my training I'll continue to improve. My plan is to be ready to get back on the St. George marathon horse this fall that bucked me off last year and ride it strong to the finish.

Stats:
04:03:48, 9:18/mi  (half: 01:52:42, 8:36/mi) Age: 51
Age group (50-54): 37th of 82
Overall: 712th of 1635

Not too long ago I was finishing in the top 10%. Now it's the top 50%. The glass is half full, not half empty...and I hope it is filling and not continuing to drain.

This was my first run since the marathon last Saturday. Surprisingly, I felt no residual pain in my legs and the blisters I had on my big toes didn't bother me either.

I spent this week at our ward's Young Women camp as a priesthood leader. I volunteered since my wife and two of my daughters were attending. What a great decision that turned out to be. This was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life.

This was the only chance I got to run during the week. I started about 6am and just looped around the camp and the lake on some single track trails. What a wonderful experience. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect. Near the end, as I ran through the aspens near the lake as the sun was rising over the mountain I started singing one of my favorite Primary songs out loud:

Whenever I hear the song of a bird Or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face Or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose Or walk by our lilac tree,
I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world Heav’nly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see The color of butterfly wings.
(as I sang a bird took flight near the edge of the lake)
He gave me my ears that I might hear The magical sound of things.
(I could hear the birds singing and frogs croaking)
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart: I thank him rev’rently
For all his creations, of which I’m a part. Yes, I know Heav’nly Father loves me.

What a wonderful gift it was from my Heavenly Father to be able to run in such beautiful surroundings, and to spend the week with such incredible daughters of God. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

We had an early tee time for the golf tournament portion of our family reunion this morning so I didn't get a run in. I didn't golf very well either, but I had a great time in a foursome with Karen and two of our daughters, Brittany and Emily. Neither of them had golfed before, and I think Karen had only golfed once before, but we had a lot of fun anyway. Amy rode along and was our pin girl, and enjoyed driving the golf cart when we let her.

Later in the day I held the lead in the BB gun shooting competition until my sister Liz beat me by a point or two as the last shooter. I figured 3 bulls eyes out of 5 shots, with the other two near misses, was enough for me to win, but she edged me out.

I did manage to dethrone my son-in-law Sean as the Duck Race champion (blowing plastic ducks with a straw down a rain gutter full of water).

There wasn't an official competition with the air rockets, but Karen and I did manage to put together a pretty awesome rocket. On one launch it came down and stuck 3 to 4 inches into the ground. I had to wiggle it to get it out. 

I missed running the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back for the first time in 8 years to attend the reunion, but it was the right decision. I really enjoyed the time with my extended family. 

I went to the track this morning. My legs felt very heavy, and my right hip was stiff. I attempted mile repeats anyway. The results: 8:21, 8:18, 8:01, and 7:13/mi for 1/2 mile. This was significantly slower than earlier runs. My legs apparently haven't fully recovered from the marathon. I think the last half mile was faster because the high school cheerleaders had showed up and were running some warm up laps. The combination of having people to pass and being male running in front of females boosted my performance.

I ran the 2000 N hill route this morning. My legs felt even more tired than yesterday. I felt winded the whole time and struggled to even manage 9:00/mi on the downhill. I ended up averaging 10:40/mi for the run. I hope I get some zip back in my legs before the Gruesome Grizzly 8K this Saturday.

After the horrible and exhausting 10:40/mi run on Tuesday, I decided to skip Wednesday's run and just be sick. I worked from home on the computer, and took the garbage can out, but didn't do much else.

My stomach was still gurgling a little this morning, but I decided to go out and try a few miles and see what kind of speed, if any, I had in my legs. I wanted some idea of what to expect at the Gruesome Grizzly 8K on Saturday.

My mile splits for the uphill, downhill, and level miles of our neighborhood 5K route were 8:00, 7:46, and 8:43 (I was dying); avg. pace 8:10/mi. Even though this was only half the distance of Tuesday's run, it was 2:30/mi faster and that's encouraging.

I felt an unusual sensation as I ran this morning. I think it's called "heat". My understanding is that it is generated by the sun. I haven't felt it much during my runs this year. I didn't run until about 8am this morning and the temperature was in the 70's. Sweat is still dripping off my forehead as I type. I'll need some heat training, but I still think I'll try to do most of my runs at 5:45am.

Kevin and I finally got together for a run this morning. It was nice. Running at 6am instead of 8am, with the temperature in the low 60's instead of the low 70's, was nice, too. With both of us running the Gruesome Grizzly tomorrow we just went 4 miles at an easy pace (avg. 9:06/mi), mostly at my request. I don't know if I'm still recovering from the UV marathon two weeks ago, YW camp last week, or illness this week but my effort seems to be yielding about a minute or so slower pace per mile than what I expect. Maybe age, weight, and inadequate training are also factoring in. Oh well, I'm still enjoying it enough to keep it up and see what the remainder of the year brings.

I'm returning to Dr. McLane next Wednesday. Based on my performance in the UV marathon I feel like I may have the neuroma issues in my feet behind me, now I'd like to address the pain and stiffness in my right hip. It's improved. I can run longer miles before it acts up, but once it starts stiffening up it really hampers my ability to maintain speed. I don't think I'll be able to return to BQ marathon times until I get it resolved.

Kevin, Larry's wife Jolene, and I ran in the Gruesome Grizzly 8K today. It is a trail run in the Cascadia Trail Series sponsored by Runner's Corner and the Sojourners Running Club. There is a section of the course known as "The Grizzly" from which the race takes its name. It is 1/2 to 3/4 mile of steep uphill that climbs about 400 feet. It occurs during the 2nd mile and the rest of the course is mostly gradual downhill.

I'm not quite sure why I ran this race. I guess it just sounded...fun? ...different? ...small? ...inexpensive? ... a challenging trail run yet easier than the Squaw Peak 50? I'm not quite sure. Maybe it was because Jolene and Kevin were running and Larry was volunteering (still recovering). It was probably some combination of the above mixed with a dash of lunacy.

Kevin and I met up with Rich Lamoreaux just before the start and the three of us ran much of the race together. I was in front on the single track trail most of the way to the start of The Grizzly, but they were just behind me and both passed me going up. I've run The Grizzly without walking before, but I walked nearly the whole thing today. Rich and Kevin, and most everyone else around me, were walking it...faster than we could run it...so I did, too. When the course leveled off I caught up to them and we mostly ran together along the upper road. When we dropped off the road onto the single track trail down to the Great Valley it was Kevin, me, then Rich. I started feeling blisters in both arches as we ran along the upper road and they hurt as we descended on the trail. I was running on Kevin's heels and he graciously allowed me to pass. This allowed me to see the trail better and not have to brake as often. As we leveled off in the Great Valley Rich and Kevin both went past and pulled ahead. I may have been able to hang closer to Kevin than I did, but the blisters on both feet were really hurting. I hung on pretty well and finished strong. I could see Kevin ahead as we ran the final loop in the parking lot, but couldn't close. Rich, Kevin and I finished 39th, 40th, and 41st.

The weather was warm but not too hot. My only goals were to finish not too far behind Kevin, and ahead of Jolene. I managed those goals. As a bonus, I also won the Men 50 and Over age division. There were only 4 of us, but I beat the other 3. I finished 41st overall of 81, which means I missed being in the top 50% by one position. Not really significant...just trivia.

I'm not sure why I got the blisters. That's a mystery. 

Today marks a milestone of sorts for me. I think this was my first race as a member of an "and Older" division. I hope there are many more to come...at least I think I hope that. My feet hurt.

My blisters from last Saturday's Gruesome Grizzly were healed enough this morning that I decided to get in a short run before my 8am doctor's appointment to get the MRI results on my right hip.

To recap, my right hip started bothering me during my 2009 training for the St. George marathon. During the marathon itself (Oct 3) it hurt quite badly during the later miles. It kept bothering me in the following weeks. I ended up going to Dr. Kimball a few weeks later (Oct 21). He said the x-ray didn't show anything and that my short left leg was probably resulting in the right hip muscles getting overworked. Since then, I researched and got new heel lifts (the biggest I can wear inside my shoe), and I've taken anti-inflammatories as needed, and tried area-specific stretches to address the hip pain. I've been able to maintain my running and race schedule the past couple of years, but the hip pain has never gone away and my training and times have suffered. For example, even with the pain in 2009 I finished the St. George marathon in 3:18. I finished the Utah Valley Marathon a few weeks ago in 4:03. My foot neuroma didn't bother me during UVM, but my right hip did, so I decided to go back to Dr. McLane (who's treatment plan fixed the neuroma) and focus on fixing my hip pain. On Wednesday, she took an in-office x-ray and it looked fine, with perhaps a little "impingement". After talking through possibilities and consulting with her assistant, rather than shooting in the dark, she decided to order an MRI and find out the problem is. I got the MRI on Thursday afternoon and went in to see Dr. McLane for the results at 8am this morning.

So the official results of the MRI are:
1. Stress fracture involving the right aspect of the sacrum.
2.  Likely right acetabular labral tear superiorly at 12 o'clock with a possible small peri-labral ganglion cyst.

The report also mentions minor tendinosis of the gluteus minimus and hamstring tendons.

The good news is the MRI revealed the problems. The bad news is there are problem. More good news is that they can be treated. More bad news is that I can't get into the hip specialist for an initial visit until Aug. 10 (maybe earlier if there is a cancellation). Meanwhile, no running. I can cross train, with pain being my guide as to what I can and can't do. So, the Wasatch Back Marathon is out, and the Red Rock Relay and St. George marathon are in jeopardy.

It looks like I might get to start doing some walking, and maybe biking, with Karen. That will be awesome. I'll have to see how I do with hiking and tennis during our upcoming family vacation.

I'd probably be a little more down about this news had I not studied faith, hope, and charity just this morning before my appointment. I was reminded of how hope and peace come from faith in God, and trusting his wisdom, his power, his will, his plan, and his timetable. And charity includes patience, and focusing on the needs of others more than on ourselves. God has blessed me beyond anything I could hope to deserve. To complain would be ungrateful. I know He loves me and all things will work together for my good. I've witnessed it too many times in my life to believe otherwise.

My much anticipated visit to Dr. Stephen Aoki (hip specialist) was today. My expectation was that he would review the MRI, see the acetabular labral tear and possible peri-labral ganglion cyst and schedule arthroscopic surgery to repair it. I would then spend the next 3-6 months resting while I heal from both the surgery and the stress fracture in my sacrum.

Instead, after checking my range of motion and twisting my leg around to put my hip in various positions, Dr. Aoki said he doesn't think the pain is from the tear, and that surgery probably wouldn't help. He said if he ran MRI tests on everybody in the building the results would show labral tears in many people who are not experiencing any pain from it at all. He believes the pain is from the stress fracture. Just to make sure, he has ordered a cortisone injection in my hip. I'll get it on Friday. He then wants me to monitor if it improves things during my normal daily movements, and also do a little easy running. If the injection doesn't help, that will confirm that it is not the hip joint that is the source of the pain. If it does help, he will reconsider doing the surgery.

I guess not needing surgery is a good thing, but that means this stress fracture has been hurting me for about 3 years, so its probably not going to heal until I stop running and let it heal. I haven't run for about a month already, and I don't feel any improvement yet. I'm a little discouraged, but there are so many people with challenges that are so much greater than mine that I'm not going to complain.

On a more timely medical note, I took Karen to the ER on Monday morning about 4am with severe chest pains. By Tuesday at 4pm she had been diagnosed (EKG, blood tests, chest x-ray, ultrasound) with gallstones and had had her gall bladder removed. The surgery went well (surgeon has done about 1000 such procedures) and she is recovering well.

What a blessing it is to have access to good medical care. What they are able to do is nearly miraculous. And the medical professionals were so helpful and friendly, even those working the night shifts, and especially the ultrasound technician who was called in early in the morning. She almost seemed happy to be there. I could learn from their examples.

This morning I returned to the University of Utah Orthopedic Center for an x-ray guided cortisone injection in my right hip. The procedure went smoothly. I didn't notice any immediate improvement, which as I understand it I should have (from the anesthetic that was injected along with the cortisone) if pain was coming from my hip joint. I think that indicates that the pain is from the stress fracture in my sacrum near the right SI joint as Dr. Aoki believes. However, it takes a couple of days for the cortisone to take full effect so I'll monitor how I feel. I may go for an easy run early next week to see how that feels as well.

I advise those of you are currently able to run injury free to savor each run and race, and don't overdo it.

Well, today was my first run in about 6 weeks. I went 4 very easy miles (10:45 pace) with Wayne and Larry. Jolene started with us then went up 2000 N while we looped through Lindon. It was great being out with my running buddies again. We're getting old and feeble (excluding Jolene), but at least we're doing it together.

 I was hoping I would feel better than I did this morning, but I got through it okay. To start off with, I woke up with a very painful left knee, which hasn't bothered me for a long, long time. I did some squats before bed last night and didn't notice any pain. I must have tweaked something doing the squats. It didn't affect my running much. I'm not too concerned, unless it doesn't go away soon.

My principal goal in running today was to see how my hip felt. After all the tests and doctor's visits I've determined that the injury I need to focus on recovering from is a sacral stress fracture on the right side. After my visit to Dr. Aoki and the cortisone injection in my hip I've decided the labral tear that showed up on the MRI, apparently common in many people, was a red herring and is not the source of my pain.

After reading many medical web sites and runner forums, I've decided on the following recovery plan (at least for now):

1. Various sites suggested 4-8 weeks of rest. Others recommended up to 3-6 months. Prior to today, I had only one 2.5 mile run in the past 7 weeks, and that was over 6 weeks ago.

2. All sources say to ease back into running. Dr. Aoki suggested I try some easy running after the hip injection to see how things felt. The Red Rock Relay is in about 3.5 weeks. I've decided to start doing some short, easy runs every other day to evaluate how I'm feeling. I'd really like to still do Red Rock. I've been feeling this pain to some degree for about 3 years, and have run a half dozen marathons, an ultramarathon, and several relays during that time. I figure I can handle a few easy runs during a relay. It doesn't matter how fast I run, and the support van is never far away so I can pull out whenever I want if I need to.

3. Some sites recommended a corset, brace, or cane to reduce the stress to speed healing. After some research, I ordered the Serola Sacroiliac Belt. It may or may not help, but I thought I'd give it a try. There was a testimonial video from a doctor/runner who had been hit by a car who wore it to be able to reach his goal to run 50 miles in a week when he was 50, so it looks like I should be able to run in it as well as maybe wear it throughout the day. It should arrive tomorrow.

4. Various sites recommended exercises to strengthen the core and hip muscles. I've been doing some related exercises pretty consistently for about 3 weeks, and plan to continue them indefinitely. 

5. Several sites recommend a diet that includes plenty of calcium and vitamin D. One site said that men age 51 and older should boost their calcium intake anyway. I'm 51. I plan to start taking a calcium supplement, probably Citrical, that contains both calcium citrate and vitamin D that helps the body absorb the calcium.

This plan is of course subject to change based on how things go, but it feels good to have a plan. I feel like my life has been on pause for the last 6 weeks. I'm ready to push play and see what's next. I just need to be careful so I don't have to push rewind.

Four easy miles with Larry and Wayne again. I wore my new Serola Sacroiliac Belt for the first time. It felt very comfortable. I like the feel of stability in the pelvis. Only time will tell whether it will help my sacral stress fracture heal any faster.

Wayne and Kevin were planning to run at the mouth of the canyon at 5am this morning. I was tired from a day full of family stuff related to my nephew's wedding, and I knew I wasn't going as far or as fast as Wayne and Kevin so I didn't commit to be there. I woke up a little after 5am and decided to go run a few miles and see if I bumped into them near the end of their run. I was only planning on about 4 miles. I averaged about 10:30 pace for the first two miles. I was intentionally taking it easy, but it felt pretty good. I decide to go up to a 1/2 mile farther to see if I bumped into the guys. It was still pretty dark but I saw a single silhouette running towards me just a short time later. It was Wayne. Kevin never showed. I was happy to run back in with Wayne. We ran about 8:10 pace the last 3/4 mile from the fountain, and were both satisfied with that.

Forgetting to register in time for both the Runner Series and for Hobble Creek this year ended up saving me some money this year. I got into St. George anyway, and I wasn't ready to run a half marathon today at Hobble Creek. It sounds like with the late start and hot weather it wasn't much fun anyway.

My plan is to run easy miles on Tue, Thu, and Sat again next week and see how I feel. I've pretty much decided to go ahead and run in the Red Rock Relay unless I feel some major pain between now and then.  

Easy miles with Larry and Wayne.

Easy miles solo. I'm slowing getting back into running. Average pace was about 9:30/mi for 4 miles...and I was pleased.

I agreed to go on a hike with the YW today. The 4th year girls scheduled a hike up Mt. Timpanogos. As of the morning of the day before, 3 girls were going. One dropped out the night before, and one didn't get up this morning. That left just my daughter Emily and 3 adults...Larry & Jolene Marshall and me. We figured Emily wouldn't want to go as the only girl, but she surprised us by saying she kind of still wanted to go. This was true, but after the hike I asked her about it again and she said another reason was that she knew we adults had prepared a lot and wanted to go. She's awesome...and so was the hike.

We didn't run up, as we've done in the past, but we didn't dawdle on the way up either. It took us about 4:30 up. It took us 4:10 down because we did dawdle some. I ended up taking 163 photos on the hike, and Emily took quite a few, too. I was repeatedly in awe of the beauty of the mountains, the greenery, and especially the abundant and brilliantly colorful wildflowers in their many varieties. I've heard multiple sources say this was maybe the best year in many years to hike Timp. I must agree. And the weather was nearly perfect as well, cool on the way up, no wind and the top, didn't really start to feel hot until we were nearly back down.

I was so proud of Emily. She proved her toughness once again. She's not an experienced hiker, and has not done much this summer to stay in good shape, but she out-hiked me. Her calves were burning as she climbed the steep rocky path to the summit, but she paused only briefly a few times and just kept going. On the way back down, especially in the last few miles, she would break into a run for a stretch. It was hard for me to keep up. I believe she is a natural runner if she ever feels inclined to give it a go.

Because of my stress fracture recovery, I had pretty much resolved myself to not running the St. George marathon this year even though I'm registered, but recently I've reconsidered. This would be year #9 on my way to the 10 year club. I decided to do this hike and also go ahead and run the Red Rock Relay and see how I feel. There's no way I'll be in top marathon shape, but Larry (recovering from heart surgery) is planning just to try to finish between 5:30 and 6:00 this year. Maybe I can just take it at a slow pace with him. Today's hike was the first phase of the test. I ran about a mile from the car to the trail head, and another mile back after the hike, and the hike itself was about 15 miles. After 9+ hours on my feet climbing and descending about 4,500 feet over 17 miles, I really felt pretty good at the end. My sacroiliac belt felt secure and comfortable. My muscles and joints held up well. This is encouraging.

Whether or not I run the St. George marathon is not really very important. There is no way it will compare to the blessing I had today going on this incredible hike with Emily and my friends Larry and Jolene. It was truly a tender mercy from God for which I am deeply grateful. 

Lindon loop with Wayne, Larry and Jolene this morning. 

After finishing the Timp hike on Saturday feeling pretty good, I decided to try a couple of fartlek stretches this morning to see how it feels. Twice Wayne and I went for about 2/3 mile at a faster (than very slow) pace. The first time there was a gradual downhill and we averaged 7:50/mi. The second time was a level stretch near the end of the run at 8:10/mi. I can't hold those paces for 26.2 miles, but they felt pretty good today.

It's going to be tricky building back up my running. I think I'll keep with the every other day for a while and start going a little longer on the days I run, throwing in some faster fartlek stretches when I feel good. 

Another run with Wayne, Larry and Jolene. It's good to be getting out again. The weather is great. Wayne and I tossed in a few "run a little faster then go back" stretches again. Wayne referred to it as "shaking out the cobwebs". It fits. It feels good to slip a little 8:00-ish pace in amid the slower paces.

10 easy miles, some with Wayne at the beginning, the rest solo. The headwind out of the canyon was very strong at times. I only averaged 9:59/mi, but its the first time I've done a double digit run since the Utah Valley marathon on June11, nearly 3 months ago.

I went 0.4 miles at 8:44/mi pace then met up with Wayne, Larry, and Jolene. Larry had to cut off short to get back to a bathroom. Wayne and Jolene and I went 5.4 miles at 9:19/mi, the later miles being quicker than the earlier miles.

Red Rock Relay - RedRockHeads - Snow Van (#1)

One of Stacia's (Larry's daughter) friends dropped off the team just before the relay and we couldn't find a replacement so Jeremy (Stacia's husband) moved to the Sun Van, leaving only 5 decrepit old men in the Snow Van:

Larry Marshall - recovering from having a hole in his heart repaired earlier in the year.
Lyle Brereton - running well
Wayne Fairbanks - recovering from long-term Achilles trouble.
Paul Thomas -  recovering from a sacral stress fracture.
Kevin Jessop - suffering from a very swollen left knee. 

Larry, Lyle, and Wayne are all about 55 or 56. I'm 51. Kevin is the youngest at 46.

Despite being old and injured, and having to cover for a missing 6th runner, we survived pretty well.

Leg #2 (The Diablo) - Hard (11:45am)
Larry continued past the first exchange and ran the first 0.8 miles of this leg. I took over just before the ascent up The Diablo. I climbed from about 9,900' to about 10,400' in about a mile or so then it mostly leveled off. My legs felt strong, but it was difficult to catch my breath at that elevation. Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed the run. I speed walked a little when my calves started to burn to catch my breath, but kept up a pretty steady pace. I averaged 11:39/mi, with the steep mile at 13:52/mi. It sounds slow, but I passed one strong female runner I chased for a while, and may have passed a couple more. I was not passed.

Leg #5 (Mammoth Miles) - 3.9 miles - Medium (2:20pm)
This was my first official leg. It climbed from about 7,900' to about 8,400' then back down again. The first two uphill mile splits were 11:26 and 9:28, the downhill 7:07 then 7:06/mi for the last 0.9. Once again my legs felt strong but breathing was difficult due to the altitude. Again I speed walked some of the steeper stretches to catch my breath, but I still managed to pass about 5 runners I think, and was not passed.

Leg #17 (Off Roadie) - 5 miles - Medium (11:55pm)
This leg goes uphill for about a mile then descends from about 6,400' to 5,900'. Running at night with nearly a full moon was great. Running on a dusty dirt road was not. Even when there were no vans around, the dust hung in the air. My headlamp reflected off it making it nearly impossible to see even the road in front of me. The first runner I passed shortly after we started said, "I admit it. I'm terrified." or something to that effect. I tried holding my headlamp down at my waist and that helped, but was very awkward. As I came upon some other runners they had turned their headlamps off. I gave it a try and found that it was far easier to run in the moonlight. I enjoyed it much more and passed a few more runners, and was not passed. I ran the uphill mile in 9:43, and the downhill miles in 7:58, 7:50, 7:33, and the last 0.77 miles at 7:43/mi. Again my legs felt strong. The elevation on these first three runs dropped from 10,400' to 8,400' to 6,400'. I live at 4,800', but my breathing was easier than the two previous legs. The bright light at this exchange was facing the runners that were coming in making it very difficult to see the last 3/4 of a mile or so.

We got a couple of hours of sleep on the church lawn at Veyo, then were off again. 

Five easy miles looping through Lindon with Wayne, Larry, and Jolene. My legs were still feeling a little the effects of the relay, but really surprisingly good.

Some easy miles with Larry.

What am I thinking?!!

I can't believe I'm still planning to attempt the St. George marathon in two weeks, but I am.

14 weeks ago I ran the Utah Valley marathon in 4:03, on insufficient training and with some hip pain in the later miles.

12 weeks ago I ran the Gruesome Grizzly 8K. I wasn't especially fast, and the race was small, but I ran fairly well and won the 50+ age division

The next Wednesday, June 29, I went to Dr. McLane about the hip pain I've been feeling for about 3 years. The next day, June 30, I had an MRI. The next day, July 1, I reviewed the results with Dr. McLane. They showed a sacral stress fracture and a labral tear in my right hip. She referred me Dr. Aoki at the U of U Orthopedic Center. I couldn't get in to see him for almost 6 weeks, until Aug 10.

I didn't run at all from July 1 to August 15. (6 weeks)

Dr. Aoki said the labral tear did not appear to be causing me pain and I would probably not benefit from surgery. That left the sacral stress fracture as the cause of my pain. He did order an x-ray guided steroid injection in my hip. As he suspected, it didn't help, confirming that the hip wasn't the source of the pain. He suggested I try running a little to see how it felt.

I ran 4-ish easy miles T/Th/Sat for a couple of weeks.

4 weeks ago, on Aug 27, I hiked Mt. Timpanogos with my daughter Emily and Larry and Jolene Marshall. After the round trip hike to the summit, plus a mile to and from where I had to park the car, I had covered about 17 miles and been on my feet about 9.5 hours, and I felt good. This encouraged me to go ahead and run the Red Rock Relay.

1 week ago, I ran the Red Rock Relay. Because we were short 1 runner in our van, I ended up running 5 times for a total of about 19 miles. I passed other runners and was not passed a single time. I felt strong and ran pretty well with no pain. This firmed up my commitment to go ahead and attempt the marathon.

The big concern remaining was how my body would respond to the pounding for more than 5 or 6 miles. Since the Utah Valley marathon on June 11, I've only had two double-digit runs, a 10 mile run 2 weeks ago on Sept 3, and today's 13 mile run.

Today's run went about as I expected, some good, some bad.

Pros:
New shoes felt great.
No blisters, minor chafing that I know how to prevent in the marathon.
Felt good for about 10 miles.

Cons:
At 10 miles:
Felt numbness in right foot. I thought the neuroma was gone. It didn't bother me in the UV marathon.
Felt some minor IT band pain by right knee. I've felt this on and off for most of this year.
Felt some right hip pain. Not the "in the back" pain from the sacral stress fracture, but the "in the groin, upper thigh" hip joint kind of pain. Dr. Aoki couldn't reproduce this pain in his examination, nor can I except during a run after about 10 miles.

I'm disappointed in the pains I started feeling at 10 miles, but they are old companions. I've felt them off and on for the past 3 years, during which time I've run a half dozen marathons and a 50 mile ultramarathon. I don't think any of these issues is a showstopper for me running the marathon.

I reserve the right to change my mind, but my current plan is attempt the marathon, take it easy, and see what happens. My stretch goal is finish anywhere near Lyle or Wayne. My first fallback goal is to break 5 hours. If not that, then just to finish before being pulled from the course. There is also the real possibility of a DNF if an injury flares up too early or is too painful.

Adventures come in all shapes and sizes. Not too many years ago I was headed towards the goal of a sub-3 hour marathon. Now I'm just hoping to finish. It's all good. The joy is in the journey, and strength comes from struggle. 

Easy miles with the gang.

Solo easy miles. About 10:00/mi pace.

I started at the top of South Fork with Wayne, Larry, and Jolene. The 2nd mile Wayne and I let loose a little and ran it in 7:41, but overall for the 7-ish miles we averaged about 9:10/mi. I was beginning to feel a little something in my hip by the end, but it wasn't bad, and I recovered almost immediately when we stopped.

I was telling some friends recently that adventures, and challenges, come in all shapes and sizes. This year's St. George marathon will most certainly be an adventure for me. The most difficult challenge may come if my body gives up before I do and I have to decide to not finish. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but I think it's best to be prepared for all potentialities.

Every time I think about not running I feel like I'd be cheating myself out of a new experience and challenge. Like I tell my children, you miss every shot you don't take. At least if I start, there's a chance I'll finish. Even if I don't, I'll have an experience to remember.  I love exploring my limits. I just may take a different path and get there sooner this time. The only real danger is if I'm too stupid to stop if I need to. I'll just have to try really hard to not be stupid. Some of you may be saying it's already too late.

Easy miles with Wayne and Jolene, about 10:00/mi.

As a friend at work put it recently when I was telling him about my running struggles, "It sucks to get old." 

But we're also expecting our first grandchild (next March). So getting old has its benefits, too. 

I never thought I'd feel good about running a 4:39 marathon. I don't feel great about it, but given my injuries and conditioning, and how hot it was, I am quite satisfied. My hip and IT band acted up some, but on the whole my body held up well and I pulled out of my very limited conditioning about all that was there. I've recovered quite well and actually feel pretty good.

Wayne, Kevin and I ran together at about 9:15 pace until after Veyo. At our prodding, Wayne pushed on ahead and Kevin and I stayed together a bit longer. I messed up and lost Kevin between 11 and 13. His already bad knee gradually got worse and he (I think wisely) pulled out at 16. I continued on alone the rest of the way. At 21 I had averaged 10:15/mi. I slowed down and ended up averaging 10:39/mi.

Starting at Veyo, I started my plan to take it easy and walk when needed to rest my joints. I think it worked well. I'd usually only walk for 20-30 paces, or until I got my breathing back to normal, but that seemed to be enough to keep my injuries at bay and keep me moving forward despite my lack of conditioning.

Now it's time to focus on getting healed over the winter. Next year I'd like to try running after training properly again.

Well, life sure is full of new adventures. I thought I had come through Saturday's St. George marathon relatively unscathed, but today the doctor confirmed my self-diagnosis of shingles, most likely triggered by the stress of running the marathon.

For my own future reference, here is a summary of the diagnosis and treatment: 

Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, it most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso. Left side for me.

Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you've had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles. Shingles is more common in older adults (such as 51) and in people who have weak immune systems. It can also be triggered by stress (such as running a marathon).

While it isn't a life-threatening condition, shingles can be very painful. Vaccines can help reduce the risk of shingles (I saw a sign at Rite-Aid today offering Shingles vaccinations, too late for me), while early treatment (what I’m hopefully getting) can help shorten a shingles infection and lessen the chance of complications. (My dad lost vision in his right eye from a bad case of shingles. Permanent pain after the infection is gone is also a possible complication.)

My Treatment:
Valacyclovir (Valtrex) – 1 (blue horse-pill sized) tablet 3 times a day - suppressive therapy of shingles (herpes zoster). Also helps in controlling the spread of the virus.
Kenalog injection: a corticosteroid hormone to reduce the body's immune response. (When I jokingly asked if the steroids would help me buff up, the doctor did say that my sore joints might feel better.)
Lyrica: to treat nerve pain after shingles. The doctor wants me to take these at night (because they cause drowsiness) for 3 weeks.

All of these drugs, of course, have potential negative side effects (permanent dementia, spontaneous gender change, increased risk of alien abduction, the feeling of being drawn and quartered, etc.). Time will tell how my body will respond.

The doctor told me that my body is fighting a major infection and that I should avoid stress and rest whenever I feel tired. I'll probably work from home mixed with resting for a few days.

Life is full of adventures/adversities. This is my new one for now. It should be interesting. I’m curious to see how it goes. I hope to endure well.

Larry, Wayne and I went for 5 easy miles up Provo Canyon at 5:45am. It was still dark when we finished. Wayne headed out for more after Larry and I headed home.

Well, I think my shingles outbreak has run its course. I feel very fortunate that I got into the doctor and he knew the right medications to minimize the symptoms and long-term risks.

I wish I had as much confidence in the diagnosis of my hip pains. I'm confident the sacral stress fracture diagnosis is accurate. I can feel pain in the affected area when I lift too much or overdo it, and the pain is minimized or eliminated when I where my sacroiliac belt.

The pain that I can't explain is the pain I generally only get in my right hip after running 4+ miles, sometimes not until 9-10 miles. The MRI showed a labral tear, but the hip specialist at the U of U Orthopedic Center, after examining me, said I was not showing any sign of pain in the location of the tear and didn't recommend hip surgery to correct it. The diagnostic cortisone injection in the hip also had no affect, indicating the pain is not from the tear.

I've decided for the time being to stick to walking or stationary bike. I went 20 minutes on the bike this morning. I've never worked out on a stationary bike before so I took it kind of easy. Our bike has 4 pre-programmed workouts and I did #4. The resistance got as high as 5 (out of 10). I barely worked up a sweat by the end. Karen customizes her own workouts. I may have to do the same. I can gradually push the resistance higher and go longer.

It may be a long, boring winter, but I want to err on the side of doing too little rather than too much. I really want to be healed by spring. 

I haven't been doing much exercise the past month or two, part pain, part laziness. In my last entry, on Oct 24, I had given up running and was starting on the exercise bike and some core exercises. After feeling some groin/hip pain on the bike, while doing sit ups, getting out of bed, and at other times I decided to return to Dr. McLane.

On Nov 15 I visited Dr. McLane. After talking with me and examining my pelvis and hip, she said I ought to return to Dr. Aoki to reconsider surgery on the hip. She also suspected I might have a sports hernia so we decided to do an MRI to confirm it. I had the MRI on Nov 22 and received the results on Nov 28 (Thanksgiving vacation in  between). The MRI showed indications of athletic pubalgia (sports hernia).

Dr. McLane recommended Dr. Meyer in Philadelphia, PA, Dr. McRoberts in Pocatello, or Dr.  Vargo in SLC. Dr. Meyer is highly recommended, but no longer accepts insurance and charges $5,000-$10,000 per case. Dr. McRoberts is good, but in Pocatello. We're changing our medical insurance at the end of the year so if I was going to go with Dr. Vargo I had to have the surgery before the end of the year.

I visited Dr. Vargo on Dec. 22. I'm going in early tomorrow morning, Dec. 27, for same day surgery to correct the athletic pubalgia (sports hernia).

I have an appt. with Dr. Aoki on Jan. 11 and hope to get surgery scheduled as soon as possible to fix the torn labrum in my hip.

So the pain I've been feeling in my "right hip" off and on for the last 4-5 years has apparently been some combination of the sacral stress fracture at my right SI joint, the torn labrum in my right hip, and the sports hernia in my right groin. 

I think some or all of these were at least somewhat caused by my left leg being shorter than my right leg by 0.7 inches due to a severe left knee injury when I was 14. In Oct 2009, I visited Dr. Kimball who suggested higher heel lifts. I've been wearing better heel lifts for a couple of years, but I think some of the damage was already done. And I don't think the 50 miler, marathon, and relay on consecutive weekends in June of 2010 helped things.

The sacral stress fracture is mostly healed (after wearing SI belt for 4-5 months). Sports hernia surgery tomorrow. Arthroscopic hip surgery in January (I hope). I'm hopeful that by the time I heal up from the last surgery everything will be good to go for a slow return to pain-free running as winter ends and spring approaches.

I had the blessing of speaking in church on Christmas day about the gift of peace through Jesus Christ (others spoke on the gifts of joy and love). I'm so grateful for the peace Jesus makes possible to each of us. I have personally experienced it so many times and in such a way that I cannot deny it. I draw upon it nearly everyday to guide me in my decisions and actions and to comfort me when life gets hard. I know that regardless of how this surgery turns out, or the next, or my much hoped for return to running, everything that really matters for my happiness now and forever is going to be okay. What a wonderful gift Jesus make possible and offers to all of us. It's no wonder angels sang at his birth and the whole Christian world rejoices.

The sports hernia surgery went well yesterday. During the surgery they discovered a normal inguinal hernia in the same area so they repaired that as well. My recovery is going normally. I'm mostly resting. I can get around okay if I hunch over a little. It can be painful at times but the pain meds are working pretty well.

I'm glad my sons and I got Karen this Motorola Xoom tablet for Christmas. it is very convenient to use in bed.