Every Race is an Adventure!

Larry and I ran the Monday route. I taped my big toe and it didn't hurt too badly. I wasn't able to push the pace much, but it felt good to be able to run. I think it should be fine for TOU in two weeks.

Ran the extended Tuesday run with Larry and Kevin. I felt good except for the sore big toe, which kept me from pushing the pace much.

Ran the normal hill course with Larry. Again, I felt good but the sore toe kept me from pushing the pace.

Ran the extended Thursday course with Kent and Larry. Larry's hip was bothering him so we dropped off early so he didn't aggravate it for his 20 miler on Saturday.

Kevin and I were both a little tired, me more so than Kevin. He pushed ahead and stopped to wait for me a couple of times. I managed about a 6:45/mi pace down 2000 N, but the rest of the run was just at a moderate pace. My Garmin froze up before the run, so I don't have details.

I ran alone this morning. I warmed up for the 1/2 mile over to the school then ran the neighborhood 5K course. I planned to cool down the 1/2 mile back home but pretty much just kept the same pace.

My goal was to lock into what felt like marathon pace and then see how fast I was going. I pleasantly surprised that I averaged 7:15/mi for 3.7 miles. I felt like I could have gone farther at that pace, but I stuck to my plan for a lighter workout. I mostly wanted to test my sore toe at marathon pace. It hurt a little at first but by the end of the run I had forgotten about it.

Kevin and I ran the 10 miles from the top of South Fork to the mouth of Provo Canyon. At least that was the plan. Kevin overslept due to his broken alarm clock and we were about half an hour late getting off. We dropped off my car at the mouth of the canyon then drove his car to Trefoil.

Kevin needed to get back for a soccer game. As we neared Vivian Park he said he'd better turn and head back up to his car rather than run to the mouth and then have to drive all the way back up to get his car. He was going to turn around at Vivian but shortly before we got there we ran into Kent, Wayne, and Larry heading up on their 20 miler. He went back up with them and I went on to Vivian alone.

After a bathroom stop, eGel, and water at Vivian, I started down the canyon just behind Duane Newman. I didn't know him, but we started running together and talking. It turns out we had crossed paths at the Wasatch Back Relay (he was on an ultra team) and the Hobble Creek half marathon (we think he beat me there by 10 seconds).

Wayne was in the middle of a 22 mile long run and was running very strong. We ran together from Vivian to the mouth of the canyon. I pulled ahead a little as I kicked near the end, but it wasn't long before Wayne came along and continued his run on up the 800 N. hill. He looked very strong.

This run gave me confidence for TOU again. I averaged 7:17/mi for the 10 miles, and still felt pretty strong at the end.

As I was taking a mental scan of my body after the run, the only pain I felt was what felt like a hot spot on my left big toe. Then I remembered that was my sore toe. I had taken some Aleve before the run and the toe had not bothered me at all (except a tiny bit at the start before the pain reliever kicked in). It should cause me no trouble at TOU.