Every Race is an Adventure!

I had to take my 16 year old daughter to the high school for "roading" this morning at 6:00am. I ran around the block a couple of times (one mile) while waiting for the car to warm up. I ran another mile at the high school track while I waited for her driving instructor to show up. I then returned to the neighborhood and ran another 5.6 miles on the my serpentine route. I averaged 7:58/mi for the "warmup up the car" mile and the same for the "wait for the instructor" mile so I decided to try to average under 8:00/mi for the rest of the run as well. I had the overall average displayed on my Garmin. My glove covered the last digit so for most of the run all I could see was 7:5x (couldn't see the x digit). I didn't know if was 7:50 or 7:59 or somewhere in between. With about a half mile to go, after running on some icy side streets, I looked down and saw 8:0x. I pushed the pace a little that last half mile and ended up averaging 7:59/mi.

I know I could have run a faster pace. This wasn't a speedy tempo run. My goal was to average sub 8:00 running at a relatively easy effort. My effort was probably better classified as easy marathon pace rather than simply easy, as I was pushing a little to keep my legs moving through the cold. Regardless, it felt good to run a little faster today than I have been recently.

I finally got a Strassburg sock yesterday to see if it will help with the PF and Achilles tendonitis in my left foot. I used it last night while sleeping. I slept fine and, it may be wishful thinking or my imagination, but my foot seemed to feel a little better already this morning. Actually, the new arch supports I got a couple of weeks ago seem to have help the PF. It has been much better, but the Achilles tendonitis hasn't seemed to be improving over the past many weeks of rest and reduced training. The sock claims to help with PF, Achilles tendonitis, and tight calves. These are all related issues I've dealt with off and on for years. I'm optimistic it will help. Time will tell.

The snow really dumped on us this morning. My daughter's "roading" got canceled this morning, but not until we had waited from about 5:50 to 6:15am. I shoveled snow before and after, as it just kept falling. I had an 8:00am meeting, to which I was a little late because of the slow traffic, followed by another meeting that lasted until about 10:30am. Since it was in a room near the fitness center, I decided to just go ahead and run then instead of trying to fight for a treadmill later. It turns out both Tom and Nathan had similar ideas and they were both already running on treadmills when I got there. I managed to endure 5 miles on the treadmill, most of it at 7.2 mph (8:20/mi). Overall average pace was 8:24/mi.

I got in 3 laps around the block (1.5 miles) before taking my daughter to "roading" at 6:00am, then ran another 4.5 miles around the streets near my home. The temperature was in the upper teens and the roads were snow packed and frozen. At one point I was running carefully down an icy hill and heard footsteps behind me. As I looked back the runner said, "If you go down, I go down." I spent most of the run thinking about footing, with an occasional opportunity to also consider how best to avoid a car that was coming too quickly on the dark, slippery road. Needless to say, the pace wasn't too fast this morning.

On Tuesday, I remember running along 1600 N when I heard a car coming behind me. With the shoulder being unrunnable because of ice and snow I moved from the road onto the sidewalk before it got to me. I found out later it was the driver's ed car that my daughter was in, though I don't think she was driving at the time. She said that as they approached me her instructor was telling them that they should move over to avoid a runner on the road. Right then is when I moved from the road and to the sidewalk. I'm glad to have provided an opportunity for them to discuss avoiding runners on the road, but I'm also glad I didn't stay to serve as a practice pylon on the slippery road. I like to think she felt a little pride as she said, "That's my dad.", but it's more likely that I just embarrassed her.

I started the day by playing church basketball with my 18 and 20 year old sons. I haven't played (except for some Thanksgiving day family ball where I didn't really do much) since my shoulder surgery back in October. I didn't stink (much to my surprise) and actually had a pretty good time. Of course, being short and nearly 50 playing against younger, taller, and more talented players my expectations are never very high.

After the game I still felt like I had enough energy to go for a run. Since I'm going to try run the Painter's half marathon, I thought it might be a good idea to see if I could even run double digit mileage. I ended up running to Provo Canyon and up to the first fountain, the one they keep running all the time.

I ended up running 10 miles, but not very fast. I actually tried to push the pace just a little at times but my thighs didn't like the idea very much. I don't know if it was because of having just played basketball, the cold temperature, or lost fitness...most likely a combination of the three. I have no idea what to expect from myself at Painter's. I think I'll just go out at what feels like half marathon pace effort and see how long I can last. I'm confident Tom will be well rested by the time I reach the finish line. The way his wife Kim has been improving, she may also be there with him cheering me in.

It's all good. My plan is to enjoy the trip with Karen and have fun with some of my good running buddies. There's more to life than PRs and placing...he says sincerely, but with a hint of disappointment.