Every Race is an Adventure!

Larry and I got out at 5:45am this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks. It was an enjoyable run. We solved a number of the world's problems again. It was still a little cold (23 degrees), but it was ten degrees warmer than last week (13 degrees) with much better air to breathe.

The weather was in the mid-30's and sunny at lunchtime so I couldn't resist running again. I started the Eagle's View run with Cory, Darin, and Steve King. At the turn up to Eagle's View Darin and Steve decided to go on north and run a little farther. I think they ended up doing 8 or 9 miles. Cory and I went a ahead and finished the 5 mile Eagle's View run. Except for the first bit, Cory and I pushed fairly hard most of the way. The last 1.6 miles in from State Street we averaged 7:18/mi.

My last 4 Eagles View runs have been:

1/22: 41:57 (8:24/mi)

1/25: 39:48 (7:58/mi)

1/29: 37:58 (7:36/mi)

2/5: 39:48 (7:58/mi)

So my run last Monday was a little faster, but today I had already run 6 miles this morning. I recovered a lot faster today than last Monday, meaning I must not have worked as hard. Overall, I feel good about today's run.

Even though Cory's training has been down because of his sore foot, he ran strong today.

I felt I needed to focus on other more important things (yes, there are more important things than running) so I didn't get out today. I did have time for a basketball game at 9 p.m. so at least I got a little exercise.

Ran the Orem run with Larry this morning. I was originally planning on also running at lunchtime, but work didn't allow it.

Cory and I ran a new course down Kuhni road, looping up over the overpass by the truck stop, heading back north past the pipe plant to State, and back west over the two overpasses. I was thinking it was about 8 miles but it turned out to be just over 7 miles (7.13).

The weather was great, sunny in the low 50's. A couple of miles into the run I could tell something wasn't right in my stomach. About 4 miles into it I start feeling some stomach cramps. About mile five I saw the small headquarters building of the Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company. I figured they probably had a restroom I could use and decided to stop. I sent Cory on to finish the run. The receptionist pointed me to the men's room and it was a great relief...literally...and I continued the run. Unfortunately, about 1/2 mile later the cramping returned. I walked most of the two overpasses and my stomach calmed down. I tried running the last stretch back but didn't make it far before the cramping returned. I finally made it back and found the nearest restroom. My stomach didn't feel quite right the rest of the day.

I had a similar experience on a run with Tom last year. That day it was very hot and we were pushing the pace pretty hard, but today it was cool and we weren't really pushing that hard. I hadn't eaten anything unusual recently. I wish I could put my finger on the cause so I can avoid such unpleasantness in the future. It may have just been a mild case of stomach flu both times.

Ignoring the unpleasantness, I enjoyed this new 7 mile course. Crossing the "busier than I expected" overpass was a little tense, but not too bad. Most of the run was on quiet rural streets.

Ran with Larry, Wayne, and Kevin at 6:30am. The weather was in the high 30's when we started and it was a little dark. As we got warmed up and it got lighter it was great running.

We ran a 9 mile loop down into south Orem and back. We only averaged 8:39/mi overall, but Kevin and I picked it up a little the last 2.5 miles and averaged 7:54/mi for about 1.5 miles, then 7:11/mi for a mile or so, finally getting down to 6:11/mi for the last couple of blocks.

I would have liked to go a little farther, but we had a 9:00 am meeting to get to. I also think we could have gone faster, but just running with my friends was enough today.

With both my son and daughter having basketball games on Saturday, and with the leadership meeting this week, its been hard to get in a good long run recently. Of course, until a few days ago I was only training for a 10K in March.

I had decided to wait until next year to run Boston, but this week I reconsidered and decided to run it this year. My wife is supportive, but is going to wait and maybe go with me next year, so I'm doing a short trip to minimize expenses. I'm going to fly out early Sunday morning and return late Monday night.

Now that I'm officially registered and have booked my airfare, I'm getting pretty excited. This will be my first Boston marathon. I'm really looking forward to running with Kerry and Tom. Running St. George with them two years ago, and with just Kerry this past year (Tom was too fast), was awesome. It seems we all have the same goal for our first Boston, just run a comfortable pace, have a good time, and enjoy the experience. We can always pursue a good time another year.

Nevertheless, there is no such thing as an easy marathon. I'll have to get a little more serious the next couple of months and make sure I find time to get in the miles and the long runs, but with spring coming I'm looking forward to it.