Every Race is an Adventure!

I decided to support the Timpanogos High School cross country team by running in the T-Wolf Trot. I picked up my number at 7am then Kevin and I ran a few easy miles together. First we ran back to my house to get my watch I'd forgotten, then we ran back and ran most of the course, then he headed off to run a little more and head home. He's tapering for the Big Cottonwood marathon on Saturday.

The race seemed to be mostly high school kids with some of us old folks mixed in. I got passed by a few kids late in the race, but mostly I was able to hold a pretty steady pace and even pass a few runners myself. I feel good about the 7:20/mi pace I averaged. One of these days maybe I'll be mentally tough enough to go all out again. I feel like I pushed pretty hard, but controlled and steady. I think my fear of injury keeps me from letting go and pushing to the edge of my limits, especially in these shorter, faster races.

It was a nice morning, a good race, and the breakfast was good. They gave away a lot of prizes. I won only the joy of sharing in the joy of others. It would have been more fun to have been there with buddies, but it was good to support the THS runners. I think I heard the coach say both the boys and girls cross country teams are ranked #1 in the state, and the boys are 14th in the nation. Pretty impressive.

6 miles @  10:15/mi.  Murdock/Lindon loop solo.

Easy day easy. A little fall chill in the morning air, and the smell of smoke, from the fire near Deer Creek I think.

6 miles @ 8:58/mi.  Murdock trail north solo.

10:38, 8:47, 8:39, 8:42, 8:49, 0.5 @ 8:40/mi, 0.5 @ 8;02/mi.

20 miles @ 9:45/mi.  Home to South Fork out and back solo.

I had a youth activity to attend on Saturday morning so I decided my best option was to do my 20 miler on Friday morning before work. I planned to leave at 5:30am and be done around 9:00am.

I chose to leave from my house to avoid wasted time driving to/from the mouth of the canyon. It's 3 miles to the mouth of the canyon and ~6 miles up to Vivian Park so I ran a little over a mile up South Fork until my watch showed 10 miles.

The temperature was in the low 50's when I left home at 5:33am. I just wore a short sleeve shirt. As I approached the canyon there was a strong headwind, but it wasn't too cold. The farther I climbed the canyon the colder it got. Running up South Fork my hands started getting numb from the cold.

When I stopped at the bathroom at Nunns park at about mile 6 it was nice to get out of the wind. I noticed in the mirror that it looked like I had a bloody nipple. It made no sense. I've never got bloody in only 6 miles, and I had taped my nipples as I do for marathons and I've never had a problem when I do that. The tape was still in place, and I felt no pain. I continued on, a little self-conscious of a bloody, bright yellow shirt, but I felt no physical discomfort. After the run I discovered it was a small pimple next to my nipple that was the source of all the blood. It didn't even sting in the shower.

As I started up South Fork from Vivian there was a fresh, dead skunk in the middle of the road. I wasn't sure it was dead so I tossed a rock at it from a distance to make sure. Shortly after I passed it I saw a small hawk diving towards me my head straight ahead of me. Just before it got to me it swooped up. As I looked behind me I saw it turn into the trees. On the way back down I felt like I was being watched and turned to my left to see a deer starting at me from just off the road. I said, "Good morning." It just stood there calmly and stared at me as I ran by. This was the same canyon where we saw a bull moose and 7 wild turkeys last week. Pretty cool.

Splits (up, headwind): 10:19, 9:52, 9:55, 10:20, 10:29, 10:47, 9:55, 10:35, 10:23, 11:49
Splits (down, tailwind): 9:07, 9:17, 9:18, 9:12, 8:20, 8:26, 8:44, 9:46, 9:46, 8:43
During the latter half of mile 20 I ran 8:22/mi down the Fast Half Mile on 2000 N.

Up: 1:44:24 (10:26/mi)
Down: 1:30:39 (9:04/mi)
Total: 3:15:20 (9:45/mi)

Given the uphill, headwind, and cold I'm okay with a 9:45/mi average pace. I consider finishing any 20 mile run a success. Feeling strong at the end is an extra bonus. I recovered quickly and had a good day at work. Maybe I should switch all my long runs to Friday morning. It was nice having Saturday morning free (even though I had a youth activity to go to).