I'm very encouraged by today's 20 mile run, and greatly enjoyed it.
I picked Larry up and we met Wayne at the mouth of Provo Canyon at 5:30am. Kevin was a little late and drove to Canyon Glen and ran back to meet us. Tom said he might not come and not to wait for him, so we didn't, and he didn't. It would have been fun, but life happens. Maybe next time.
It was cool and humid, and a little dark at first, and there was a little light rain, and even some brief hail, but overall it was great running weather. The Provo and South Fork canyons aren't real green yet, but I still found them beautiful and greatly enjoyed them. I was the only one going 20 miles this morning, so by mile 7 the others had all turned back and I found myself running alone the last 3 miles up South Fork. I loved the solitude, the sounds of the birds and the brooks, and the misty clouds hanging low on the mountains (reminded me of the beautiful Smoky Mountains in North Carolina).
We took our time going up, about 10:00/mi average pace, which was fine with me. After running out of gas on last week's run, I didn't want the same to happen today. I had prepared much better...ate well and rested on Friday and didn't do physical labor before the run on Saturday...and just wanted to finish the 20 miles feeling good.
The route starts at about 4800 ft, climbs about 400 ft. over the roughly 6 miles to Vivian Park, then climbs about 800 ft. with some ups and downs to about 6000 ft. over the roughly 4 miles to the Trefoil gate. As I said, I averaged about 10:00/mi going up, with splits of 10:07, 10:03, 9:56, 10:20, 9:53, 9:38, 10:08, 9:36, 10:49, and 10:40.
The return trip was considerably faster, with splits of 8:16, 8:17, 8:19, 7:43, 7:40, 7:39, 7:24, 7:34, 7:48, and 7:45. My overall average pace was about 9:00/mi...10:00/mi up and 8:00/mi back.
The jump from 8:19 to 7:43 coming back was the result of hearing footsteps shortly before reaching Vivian Park on the way down South Fork. I had passed a young female runner farther up the canyon who was stopped on the side of the road. I almost asked if she needed help, but a couple of other runners had just greeted her and she seemed fine. She was obviously fine as it was her footsteps that were quickly gaining on me. I guess I picked up my speed instinctively...it wasn't consciously. She (Rebecca I think) asked how far I was running and it turned out we were both doing 20 milers in preparation for the Ogden marathon next month. We continued to run the same pace until she ran into a friend at the fountain at Timpanogos Park and I went on ahead. I'm glad she met her friend, it kept me from getting chicked on a training run.
I finished the run pretty strong and feel great. No aches or pains. My knee and ankle didn't bother me at all. No blisters and only very minor chafing. I think I could have finished another 6.2 miles pretty easily. I hope the rest of the day goes as well.
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