Every Race is an Adventure!

Solo run on Orem library route. Avg. pace 9:30.

It took some willpower to get out and run solo in the heavy, wet snowfall. I earned a solid left-side tally mark this morning just for that, even though my avg. pace was only around 10:00/mi.

I ran the water tank hills this morning...alone again, naturally. I remembered to take my headlamp and was glad. The upper two hills were even worse than they have been. In addition to the tire ruts that were already there, it looked like horses and a bevy of runners had all went up when the road was muddy. There wasn't a bit of smooth road to run on anywhere. I ended up walking most of the top portion, up and down, to avoid rolling an ankle. The net result was I only had time for 5.5 miles instead of 6.

Cascade route...solo...nicer weather. I enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it more with company and no foot pain.

A perfect 5 for 5 this week...I've run everyday...and everyday I've run alone.

I left early this morning to try to get in an extra couple of miles. I looped around to see if anyone came out at 5:45am, but didn't see anyone. I was a few minutes late so I just continued on the Lindon loop that we have been doing on Fridays. I decided to run it in the opposite direction for a change. I don't think I've ever run that route in the reverse direction. It changed the dynamics quite a bit. I welcomed the variety.

I hit the 8 mile mark a little more than1/4 mile from home. Right about then I felt some tightness, kind of a knot, beginning in the top of my right calf. I decided to stop, stretched it lightly, and then walked for a couple of minutes. It soon felt fine. I jogged the rest of the way home without it bothering me. There was some tightness there in my post-run stretching, but thankfully no pain.

I've been re-reading "This Running Life" by George Sheehan. I bought it, hard cover, for $1.98 at the BYU Bookstore back in the late 70's or early 80's. It was my first book on running and had a significant impact on my running. I read yesterday about a bunch of running B's. Big toe - try to wear out your shoe under your big toe; Buttocks - upper body quiet like riding a horse, below the waist is the horse where all the work is done; Belly Breathing - use the diaphragm to breath; Back - keep the back straight to open airways; Balance - the functions of the upper body are breathing and balance. I added Beat - a turnover of about 180 steps per minute...3 per second...a 1-2-3 waltz beat per second.

I was thinking about all these B's during the run and trying to monitor how well I was doing. I think focusing on "Big Toe" got me to run on my forefoot more, which worked the calves harder.

It was a good run, and I really enjoyed the milder weather. I hope the better weather helps get my running buddies out more regularly.

It's been a busy but good day. It started with 2.5 hours of awesome trail running, followed by 3 hours of neighborhood clean up (mostly loading green waste into dump trailers), followed by hauling furniture (couch, love seat, headboard, large dresser with mirrors, side table, bed frame, wood kitchen table, and 4 oak chairs) out of storage in our basement and to Tiffany & Sean's new apartment (our oldest daughter and her husband). Frankly, I'm surprised at how well my aged body has held out.

Since this is a running blog I'll detail the run a little. This was my first run to the "rock pile". It was also Wayne's and Kent's first time. Larry had been there before, but it had been a long time. We started up the water tank hills then cut off on the bottom of hill 5 onto the trail to rock pile. We all commented on how beautiful and enjoyable it was running on the trail. We saw many deer and some grouse. The weather was cool but not cold. I was only wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts with no ear band or gloves (for a change) and was comfortable the whole run.

The rock pile is...a pile of rocks. We met another runner there who was waiting for his buddy. He told me two important things about the rock pile, 1) on your first visit you should add a rock to the pile, 2) don't touch the other rocks because apparently it is quite common for people to urinate on the rocks. I added a cube shaped rock to the top of the file. I didn't feel the urge so I didn't urinate on the rocks, nor did I touch them.

We decided to take Trail 51 from rock pile down Dry Creek Canyon. There was some mud, and some frozen snow, to deal with in places...and I rolled my right ankle about 6 miles into it, but the ankle's okay and overall it was a terrific run! I very much enjoyed the flora, the fauna, the weather, the terrain, and the company. I think we all felt the same and questioned why it had taken us so long to discover the awesome trails right in our own backyard. I think it was Kent who said that these have to be some of the best running trails in the world. I would have to agree.

I talked with Joe Martel, a veteran trail runner, and he told me runners measure runs on asphalt by distance and trail runs by time, dividing by a reasonable guesstimate at pace to determine mileage. I divided 2.5 hours by 11:00/mi and got 13.6 miles. Based on how hard I worked and how tired I was that seems about right.

I'm beginning to gain an appreciation for what I have ahead of me in the Squaw Peak 50. The course is probably fairly similar to today, except the it climbs to over 9000' instead of 6000', and I'll be going for 12+ hours instead of today's 2.5. Am I nuts?!! Of course I am, I'm a runner. How will I ever know if I can do it if I don't try?