Every Race is an Adventure!

I ran solo to Cascade Golf Course and back, padding softly in the newly fallen, and still falling snow. This was my first Monday run in over 3 months, a sign of my determination to step up the training. Getting ready for a marathon in May is a long climb and I figure I better get started.

I ran solo to the Orem Library and back. There were tiny ice crystals in the air when I started, and a light snow for most of the run. There was a dusting of snow the swirled when cars drove through it. It was pretty, but a little slippery. My dog even slipped a few times when I took her for a walk after the run.

I feel good about running on consecutive days...it's been "every other" for a while...and both were early morning solo runs in the snow and cold. I've had ankle and Achilles trouble all winter. I'm feeling much better. I hope I'm ready to step things up.

I'm registered for the Spectrum 10K in March, the Provo City 1/2 in April, and the Ogden marathon in May. That should be enough to keep me motivated.

Solo morning run to Cascade Golf Course. Cold and a little windy.

I'm counting a couple of cross-train miles for the Church basketball game tonight.

This morning Wayne and I headed towards Provo Canyon. We modified the route a little to avoid the cold headwind. I ran nearly a minute per mile faster than yesterday. I credit having Wayne there instead of running solo.

Larry is still out of town. Wayne must have seen the snow and decided to run inside today.

 I skipped running yesterday because I wanted to go at least 10-12 miles today and my body was telling me it was risky to do both. As it is, I ended up with 40 miles this week, more than twice my average weekly mileage for the past few months.

It wasn't snowing when I got up, but there was covering of new snow. By the time I started running it had started snowing again and snowed pretty heavily the whole run. I had to take my glasses off after a few miles so I could see. I tried to run on the newly fallen snow most of the time because the other spots were slushy or icy. I had to go into the middle of the road to avoid a 4-wheeler plowing a driveway and slipped and thought for sure I was going down. I'm surprised I didn't pull something with my acrobatics.

I headed towards Provo Canyon. The Provo Canyon trail had 2-4 inches of new snow. It was smooth running most of the way, but it felt a little like running in sand. The wind wasn't much fun either. Still, I quite enjoyed the run. I ended up going all the way to Nunn's park and back for a total of 14 miles. I felt like I was moving along pretty well the whole time, but my average pace was 9:25/mi. Some of these winter mornings I've only been averaging 10:00/mi for 6 miles, so overall I feel pretty good about the run...and finally getting in a 40 mile week again.