Every Race is an Adventure!

I ran Eagles View with Tom today. Cory and Nathan also ran it but they had a meeting to get back for so they went out earlier. We passed them on their way back in.

Tom had me pushing so hard on the way out and up that I could barely carry on a conversation. On the way back I was able to catch my breath and push hard enough to set a new PR (barely) for this run this year, 37:53. We averaged about 7:56/mi out/up and 7:06/mi back/down. All these numbers are somewhat suspect as Tom's Garmin and mine didn't quite match up. Nevertheless, it was a good hard run and it was great running with Tom again. Maybe next time we can hook up with Cory and Nathan, and maybe Scott, too.

My last 5 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)

2/12: 37:53 (7:35/mi)

The weather was nice today and I did a little bit longer run to do some thinking and clear my head. I ran down Kuhni road, crossed the tracks and headed east, followed the road that zigzagged to the SE until the first road that headed back north, followed that road that zigzagged to the NW, then took the road north that goes past the Pacific States pipe plant, and finally headed back west from State street.

The total distance I ran was about 8.5 miles, at an average pace of 8:17/mi. The average paces for the mile splits were 8:03, 8:16, 8:10, 8:33, 7:49, 8:13, 8:12, 8:11, and about 7:45/mi for the last half mile. I was deep in thought during mile four (8:33) and picked up the pace when I "came to" during mile five (7:49).

Today's run had all the positive benefits I hoped it would, one of which was just to get some miles in. Now that I've finally decided to do Boston this year (paid non-refundable registration and airfare), I only have a couple of months to be ready for a marathon.

I ran 6.3 easy miles with Larry this morning. I enjoyed the run and the conversation, as I always do with Larry. Kevin was a no-show.

At lunchtime Tom, Cory, Nathan, and I ran the Lake View run. Darin and Kevin White had run it earlier and said the trail over wasn't too muddy. Shortly after we got to the asphalt we started a 3 mile tempo run with a goal pace of 7:00/mi. Our mile splits were 7:01, 6:56, and 6:54. We all felt very good about the run, except maybe Cory. He was slightly behind the rest of us and made some negative comment about his performance, but given the limited training he's been able to do because of the foot injury he's been fighting all winter, he should feel very good about his performance. I was impressed.

I also had a church basketball game at 10:00pm. My legs were beat and I would have skipped it but I felt obligated to go. We only had 6 players. I managed to run up and down the floor okay, but I got to experience firsthand the effect of tired legs on shooting.

Larry called and said he wouldn't be able to run in the morning. I probably ended up leaving Kevin to run alone again, but after two runs and a basketball game the day before, my legs were beat. I knew if it was just Kevin and me he would want to push the pace, and I just wasn't up for it. I was feeling a little discomfort in my left knee, right hamstring, and right hip so rather than risk injury I skipped the morning run.

I was thinking of getting in a few easy miles at lunchtime, but I ended up working through lunch. I then had to leave work a little early to get my daugther Emily to her ballroom competition at UVSC, and then I had a training meeting for church leaders on how to help people dealing with depression and anxiety. I'm a little depressed about missing my run today, but one of the things I learned was that one of the best treatments for depression is exercise. I'll get out to run tomorrow and everything will be good again.

At lunchtime I ran a little over 6 miles @ 8:10/mi, just a little slower than marathon pace. I ran the Kuhni road course Cory and I ran last week, only in the reverse direction and I cut a mile off by cutting through the truck stop parking lot from the base of the overpass to Kuhni road.

The temperature was in the mid-40s and cloudy. My legs still felt a little heavy from doing too much on Wednesday, but it was an enjoyable run.

I did a 12+ mile run with Kevin and Wayne this morning. Larry had a chest cold but still came out and ran a few miles with us and then turned back. We headed south through Orem, over to University Ave, south to the country club, then back north up University Ave to Orem 800 North then back up through Orem to home.

We ran the 12.25 miles in 1:43:20 (8:27/mi). We started out at about a 9:15/mi pace, ran most of the run right around 8:30/mi, then finished with 1.5 miles at about 8:00/mi and then the final mile at 7:18/mi.

I think we were all pleased with the run, although Kevin and I were breathing pretty hard the last few miles. Wayne just seemed to cruise along.