Every Race is an Adventure!

I ended up alone this morning. I didn't feel like speed work, but I went to the track anyway. I decided to just do a 4 mile medium-pace tempo run in the dark. My first three mile splits were right around 7:41, with the 4th mile at around 7:20 I think. Not super fast, but it made me work some. Kevin and Dash showed up around the end of mile 3. I didn't run with Kevin on the track but we ran home to the neighborhood together.

It was nice having other runners show up this morning. It was a little cooler this morning. I wore my jacket but ended up feeling a little overdressed by the end of the run.

I ran the 2000 N route with Larry, Wayne and Kent. I pushed up the hill a little with Kent, but just ran at an easy pace most of the route. I did have to pick up the pace the last mile or so to get home in time.

Water tank hills with Kent and Larry. Cool temps. Dark, with headlamp. Strong headwind at times. Hills - 16:34. Last 1/2 mile 6:30/mi. Not my fastest, but not bad. No plans to push anything really hard before St. George.

Cascade route with Kent and Kevin. We ran a quite a bit faster than usual pace this morning. Kent said Kevin was pushing the pace, but he claimed to just be keeping up. Since Kevin seemed to be "half wheeling" us (running slightly ahead of us) most of the time, I'll give him the credit. I didn't mind the faster pace.

Larry, Wayne and Nick were all doing their long run this morning because of conflicts on Saturday. They left at 5:00am. I couldn't go the whole way with them, but I ran the first 5 miles with them then returned home. The first 5 miles were at 10:00+/mi. The last 5 miles were at closer to 8:00/mi.

I played golf at about 8:30am. I can't remember the last time I played. My 11 year daughter doesn't remember me ever playing. It was a 4-man scramble (best ball) tournament at work. We only had 3 show up so each of us got to hit every shot twice every third hole. I was just as good/bad as I remember. We all were about the same, and usually at least one of us would have at least a playable shot. I think we ended up 2 over par on 9 holes, with 2 double bogies, 2 birdies, and 5 pars. The three things I was most proud of: 1) a pretty long putt I made, 2) driving over two ponds and through rocks and trees to land my drive about 20 yards from the green on par 4 hole 9, and 3) I didn't lose a single golf ball! I don't think I'll switch running for golfing, but it was pretty fun. Driving the golf cart was fun, too.

I walked, not ran, these two miles, but they took the place of my run today so I'm logging them. I ran 10 miles yesterday, and could have run more this morning, but I couldn't bring myself to commit to run with Kent or Kevin on their long runs this morning. I wasn't sure why.

As I was awaking after sleeping in (no alarm clock this morning) and trying to decide whether to go for a run or not, the thought entered my mind to ask Karen to go for a walk with me. She walks pretty faithfully on the treadmill. I've been trying to convince her how much nicer it is to exercise outside, but she doesn't want to do it alone and is more comfortable in the safety and comfort of our bedroom. To my great pleasure she agreed and we went to Provo Canyon and just walked from the mouth up to a little past Timpanogos Park and back. I enjoyed it very very much. It was windy and chilly at first, but it soon warmed up and we had a great walk together. She even ran a few steps a couple of times. I've always said that the greatest thing that could make running better for me would be to be able to do it with Karen, and maybe one, some or all of our children. That day may never come, but I'm going to at least try to have more days like today. Karen's not a running buddy, but she's my best buddy, and when I'm with her walking is good enough.