Every Race is an Adventure!

Larry and I had talked about running together this morning, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Kevin out as well. It was dark with the temperature in the low 30's. We ran south through the lighted streets of Orem rather than our traditional Monday run north through the less well lit streets of Lindon.

Most of the run was at a fairly easy pace (8:20/mi to 8:45/mi) as we socialized. Larry and Kevin hadn't run much since St. George and I was just enjoying running with them again.

Larry wanted to push the last mile a little harder. I ran the last 1.1 mi @ 7:15/mi, Larry @ 7:42/mi (I think). Kevin took quite a bit longer, as he had to stop at Gold's Gym for a somewhat urgent bio break.

I'm still feeling some occassional pain in my right hip (the one that hurt me so badly from mile 18 to 22 at St. George), but it isn't affecting my running too much. I think it just needs some stretching and a little more time to heal.

Larry and I repeated yesterday's course at a moderate pace. It wasn't quite as cold. It was an enjoyable run.

Larry, Kevin and I ran the same course as Monday and Tuesday, with a minor variation on the return trip.

Most of the run was at a moderate pace, but Kevin and I pushed from mile 2 to 2.5 at 6:58/mi and the final 1.1 miles at 6:32/mi. (Kevin was actually slightly quicker than this.) Overall average pace was 8:13/mi.

At lunch time I decide to run a few more miles on the treadmill in the fitness center. After a 1/2 mile warmup I pushed the pace to 6:58/mi (8.6 mph) for about 3 miles, pushing gradually to 6:27/mi (9.3 mph) during the last half mile.

I read an article recently (don't remember where) about running faster without expending more effort. That must be what's happening, because rather than feeling beat up by going faster (6:30-7:00/mi instead of 7:30-8:00/mi or 8:30-9:00/mi), I'm actually feeling energized. It seems almost easier to run faster. Maybe I run more efficiently at a faster pace. Maybe I'm beginning to reach the point where my muscle memory is time warping back to my high school/college days when I could run a sub-5 minute mile and a sub-3 hour marathon. I'd better be careful, however. I've felt like this way a few times during the past few years since I started running again, and I usually end up pushing too hard and getting injured. I need to remember, I'm 46...not 18...I'm 46...not 18...I'm 46...not 18...

Ran solo this morning, same course as the previous few days with a minor variation on the return trip.

It was in the 30's this morning, with some of last night's snow still on the lawns and windshields.

I was a little slow getting going in the cold this morning. I averaged about 8:00/mi overall for the 5.3 miles, running around a 7:30/mi pace for the last 1.5 miles.

This morning I chose to play basketball with my young adult son Andrew and the old bball gang instead of running. I think it was good to give the distance running muscles a break and use a different set. It was also very good for me mentally and socially. I had a great time.

I'm not sure how to log basketball in terms of miles. I decided to just put down a few easy miles so I get some credit for all that exercise.

I ran the canal road with Larry and Wayne at 8am. It was still dark and cold (low 30's) when we started, but the sun came up and it warmed up quite a bit. It was such an enjoyable run that we ended up going 13 miles, a few miles farther than planned.

Talking seemed to be our first priority, running our second. We averaged around 8:30/mi. I pushed the last 1/2 mile at about 6:45/mi. I really enjoyed the run.