Kevin, Kent, Larry, Wayne, and I ran from the mouth of Provo Canyon to a little past Vivian Park and back this morning. It was a great run. There was a stiff head wind running up, but it made for a nice tail wind coming down. I ran an 8:41 pace against the head wind up to the broken off mile 13 marker just above Bridal Veil Falls Park. I then increased to hold an 8:06 pace for the next 2 miles to Vivian Park. Having Kevin there pushing the pace really helped. I had planned to push the pace the last couple of miles coming back down, but Kevin and Kent decided to push the pace as soon as we started down. I ended up averaging a 7:35 pace for 5 miles followed by a 7:20 pace for the last mile. I added another 1.1 miles of cool down just so I could say I ran two half marathon distances in the same week. The overall time for the 13.1 miles was 1:47:09, average pace 8:10. I won't add any miles for it, but immediately after the run (before going home) I helped a friend move for 3 hours. All those trips up and down the stairs in the old house and the new have to count for something. I hope the benefit manifests itself as I'm struggling up Guardsmen Pass in June on my 3rd leg of the WBR, the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" leg. I'll just imagine myself carrying one more 50 lb. bag of wheat up the stairs...and then one more. I'm exhausted...but it feels so good! | 