Every Race is an Adventure!

I did some cross-training on a stationary bike in the fitness center at noon. Part way into it I noticed Nathan on a treadmill behind me. I figured my legs were loosened up enough I could give a slow jog a try. I only made it about 0.2 miles before my left knee told me it wasn't a good idea. I went back to the bike and watched a little more "Romancing the Stone". It wasn't long before Nathan gave up the treadmill and also moved to a bike.

I'm pretty excited about running 3:07 Saturday, but I think Nathan is even more excited. We both have our eye on sub-3:00 now. That's pretty aggressive considering we're doing well to just walk without looking stupid.

Nathan, Tom, and I ran the Lake View course at noon. The weather was beautiful. We only planned on about a 5K, but our sore legs (Nathan and me) weren't getting any worse so we went the whole 5.2 miles. We started out very slowly but unconsciously gradually picked up the pace. We ended up averaging 8:42/mi overall. This is quite a bit slower than we normally run it, but it felt great just to be able to run again.

The only significant pain remaining is in my right calf, the same one that troubled me during the marathon on Saturday. I've been massaging it (and the rest of my sore leg muscles) with my stick, and they are improving quickly.

I did some creative cross training this morning. I was planning to run with Larry and Wayne but Larry called last night and said that Kent (our friend, neighbor, and former running buddy...got to get him running again) had asked for his help at 6:30am with a large concrete pour for a new RV pad to the side of his house. He didn't want the cement mixer breaking the sprinkler pipes in his lawn, so all the concrete was to be hauled by wheelbarrow. So, instead of my planned morning run I grabbed my shovels and wheelbarrow and headed over to wheelbarrow party. My legs (and shoulders and back and hands) help up pretty well. We had 8 or 9 wheel barrows going and unloaded both cement mixers (with a break in between) in pretty good time.

I was so tempted to go for a run at lunch (now), but I got into work a little late and decided I'd better skip the run today. In the long run (pun intended) it will probably be better for my sore knee and calf to not try too much too soon anyway.

I ran the Lake View course solo at noon. My calves are still a little sore, but other than that I'm feeling great. Even jogging down the stairs on the way to the fitness center I didn't feel any soreness at all in my quads. I think I'll wait until my calves feel the same before I run anything faster than an easy pace. I averaged 8:47/mi for the 5.2 miles today. Running at an easy pace doesn't seem to make them any worse.

I ran Provo Canyon up to Bridal Veil this morning with Larry and Wayne. The temperature was in the 50's with a light to steady rain the whole way. I got pretty wet and a little cold but never really too cold, except for my hands maybe. I just got back and I'm having a little trouble working the keyboard.

We ran 7.7 miles in 1:07:35 (8:46/mi). That's an easy pace, but it didn't feel all that easy near the end. But then again Larry pushed the pace near the end and we averaged 7:13/mi for that stretch. The legs still aren't 100% recovered from the marathon, but they're feeling a lot better. It seems that soreness in the right calf might linger a while longer.