Every Race is an Adventure!

I ran Lake View with Nathan at noon. My legs are still a little sore from the race on Saturday so I was planning to take it easy, around an 8:30-9:00 pace. Nathan was obviously feeling a little better than me. I managed to have some conversation with him during the run, but it was affected somewhat by my heavy breathing. We ended up averaging 7:48/mi for the 5.2 miles, and then Nathan headed to the treadmill for more. He's so ready for Boston, and he's still got another month to go.

I survived the run pretty well. I went faster than I planned, but that's probably okay since I also reduced my mileage for today.

Based on my performance Saturday I guess I'm in better shape than I thought I was, but that was only a 10K. I know my base mileage still needs some work for a marathon. My plan is to try to get in 50+ miles per week for the next two weeks, including long runs of 18 and 20+ miles, then begin a gradual two week taper to the Utah Valley Marathon on April 12. I won't be in "peak" marathon shape, more like "weak" marathon shape, but I think I'll be able to finish and not be too embarrassed by my time. I've exceeded my own expectations in both races I've run so far this year. I hope the trend continues.

I was planning to get in a couple of miles before meeting up with Larry and Wayne but I got out a little later than planned. I still thought  I might be able to get 1.5 miles in, but I ran so slowly that I only got in 1 mile.

We met up and wandered the local streets on a variation of my Serpentine route another 5.75 miles. During these meanderings there was a lot of great conversation. I was so engrossed at one point that I didn't notice the bad patchwork on the road and stepped on the edge of some asphalt that was sticking up. Last Friday I realized I'd turned my ankle on a rock in the road when I suddenly started feeling pain in my ankle. This time I realized something had occurred when my body slammed onto the road.

I followed my normal strategy of immediately getting up and trying to run it off. Once again it worked out, although I wasn't sure at first. I've rolled my ankle so many times that now one of the first things I do is rate it on a 1-10 scale. Last Friday's was a high 3. At first I rated today's a high 4 (same ankle by the way), but after a block or so it felt much better so I downgraded it to a 3. Based on the small amount of pain I felt at the end of the run and now, I might even rate it a high 2. I'll feel a little pain for a few days but I don't think it will affect my running. I guess one of the advantages of so many sprains is that they don't do quite so much damage anymore. I guess the tendons are already stretched out.

I don't normally fall when I roll an ankle. The neat thing about falling is being able to show your bloody wounds to your wife and kids when you get home. It's kind of macho I think, even though this morning it wasn't all that glorious (or gore-ious). I tore some skin off my left palm and scraped my left knee. I think it would have been worse but I was wearing knit gloves and my long running pants. The pants are damaged a little, but it did not tear a hole in them. The gloves didn't seem damaged at all.

All in all I think I was pretty lucky. In recent years I've been reluctant to play basketball because I've been afraid of turning an ankle. After Friday and today, I'm thinking maybe basketball is the safer sport. I'll sure be glad when it gets a little lighter for my morning runs. It obviously wasn't runners that decided to expand daylight savings time.

I went 6.2 miles at an easy pace (avg. 9:04) this morning. I plan to run at noon again so I wanted to save a little energy. I've learned that there is no such thing as an easy run with the Novell boys anymore. Tom, Nathan, and Will are all running so well that their easy pace often isn't all that easy for me.

NOTE TO SELF: Don't run near the high school around 6:00am. With kids headed to driver's ed and early morning practices or clubs, and everybody apparently running late, it feels a little like trying to run through the middle of a demolition derby.

At noon I ran Lake View with Tom and Will. Actually, we did Will's "Power Park" loop variation which runs under some high voltage power lines and then on the trail through a small park. I kind of enjoyed it. It's a little less boring than just out and back. We went 6.1 miles. According to my watch in took us 50:33, making the average pace 8:17/mi.

I haven't done a two-a-day for a long time. I was a little tired near the end of the noon run, as the pace picked up a little, but all in all I feel pretty good.

Man, do I feel foolish. I headed out a little earlier than normal so I could get in 8 easy miles. I decided to run towards the canyon and then maybe down Palisades. About 2.5 miles into my run it suddenly dawns on me (even though it is still very dark) that it's Thursday! I was supposed to meet Larry and Wayne at 5:45am! And I'm 2.5 miles away!

Even though there was little hope of finding them, I immediately turned around and headed towards home. I figured if they perchance chose to run the same route, I might meet up with them. As I headed home a phrase from Rex in Toy Story (I think) popped into my mind, "Great! Now I have guilt!"

I didn't see them so when I reached the neighborhood, now 5 miles into my run, I decided to run part of the Lindon Loop backwards. If they went that way I'd probably find them. I thought maybe they had taken the Never Ending Hills route, too, but if they did I didn't want to find them. My legs were not wanting hills today.

I went 1.5 miles then gave up and returned home for a total of 8 miles (at about 9:14/mi). I thought I would at least see them walking around the block to cool down, so I could apologize, but no luck.

Oh well, I thought I might finally attain perfection today and make no mistakes, but it looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow. Dang! I can't believe I did that!

I decided to get in 20 miles this morning in preparation for the Utah Valley Marathon in three weeks. I decided to start at the lake and run the Provo River Trail up to the mouth of Provo Canyon and back. Larry and Wayne met me at the mouth of the canyon and ran the last 10 miles with me. Kevin was with us for a while but had to run shorter so he could get back for soccer games.

It was still quite dark when I started a little after 6:30am. I almost bumped into another runner just as I started. I was surprised to pass a number of runners in the dark near the beginning of my run. There was even one large group of young men runners, probably some school team. It was too dark to see if they were high school or college age.

It was fun listening to the frogs, ducks, and birds in the pre-dawn light as I ran along the river and a swamp. The weather wasn't too cold, at least until about mile 6 when I came up on University Avenue. I could suddenly see my breath, and my ears got cold. When I met up with Larry he said it was 24' when they left. It was 30' when I started 1.5 hours earlier. The sun didn't come up until two hours into the run, and it never did get warm enough for me to unzip my vest or take off my gloves. I had expected it to be a little warmer.

I felt good most of the run, but the end of the run felt like...well...like the end of a 20 mile run. It was really good to have Larry and Wayne along.

20.2 miles in 2:57:32 (8:47/mi)
Up: 9:11, 8:50, 9:04, 8:54, 9:46, 9:08, 8:46, 8:45, 9:05, 9:48
Back: 7:56, 8:11, 8:46, 8:08, 8:26, 8:53, 9:04, 9:09, 8:49, 7:02
0.2 @ 7:44/mi