Every Race is an Adventure!

Larry and I ran the Orem course at a moderate to easy pace. Average pace was about 8:38/mi.

Larry called last night to say he wasn't feeling well and would not be running this morning. Since it wasn't my turn to drive the junior high carpool, I decided to go to basketball again with my son Andrew this morning. It was a lot of fun.

At lunch time I decided to head to the fitness center and put in a few miles on the treadmill:

0.5 mi @ 7.0 mph (8:34/mi)

1.0 mi @ 7.5 mph (8:00/mi)

2.0 mi @ 8.0 mph (7:30/mi)

0.5 mi @ 8.6 mph (6:59/mi)

0.5 mi @ 9.3 mph (6:27/mi)

It's feeling good to get some runs in where I'm beginning to push the pace a little. I worked hard today but I ran within myself, felt good, and recovered pretty quickly.

I'm registered for the Painter's Half Marathon in January, and the Spectrum 10K in March, but I haven't really set any goals for these races yet. My main goal is to get the guaranteed entry into the St. George Marathon for next year by participating in the Runner Series. I've also thought about running the Death Valley marathon in December with some buddies who are seriously considering it, but I'm still undecided.

I think my plan for the next while is going to be similar to the past few weeks, namely, "If you feel like it, do it." This will likely continue to include basketball on occasion, morning runs with my neighborhood buddies, and lunch time runs, both indoors (on the fitness center treadmills) and outdoors (weather permitting). The speed and distance of the workouts will likely depend on whom I'm with and how I feel that day. In other words, I plan to go with the flow and just experience the pure joy of running for a while, without the pressure of trying to achieve some preset goal. There will be plenty of time for that next spring.

It may seem odd, but I'm feeling the need to express my gratitude to God for the ability, desire, and opportunity to run; to be able to do it amid the natural beauty, good friends, and awesome running community here in Utah; and to be part of the greater running community (including the fastrunning bloggers here). Running has greatly contributed to who I am and my quality of life. I'm truly blessed.

Ran some easy miles with Larry in the cold this morning. Larry's thermometer said it was 22 degrees when he left his house. It was a little chilly at first, but we were dressed well for the weather and had an enjoyable run. My legs felt pretty good, but I did notice some minor effects from yesterday's speedier run.

Ran some easy miles with Larry again this morning. The weather was about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday morning.

I had decided to play basketball with Andrew and the guys again this morning. Last night I got the bright idea to run the 4.6 miles to the church in Pleasant Grove where we play.

I ran along the canal road. It was dark so I wore my headlamp. I saw three other runners and two walkers along the way.

I averaged 8:14/mi for most of the run, going a little slower on the big hills at the beginning and the end. Overall average was 8:24/mi.

Basketball was fun as usual, but I could definitely feel the effects of the run. I think the main issue was that I didn't eat a very big dinner last night. After a couple of games I felt like I was running on empty, which I probably was.

I had a hard yet very enjoyable run with Kevin, Wayne, and Larry this morning. We targeted 16 miles by running north on the canal road for 8 miles and then turning around and coming back.

Larry and I both have Garmin 201 watches, but they almost never register the same distances. Everyone likes to go by his watch because it tends to register more distance than mine. For example, this morning his registered 16 miles, but mine only had us at about 15.4. I marked and measured the course on Google Earth after the run and it measured at 7.62 miles (times 2 is 15.24), closer to my distance than Larry's. It doesn't really matter. We had a long hard run that was enjoyable because of the beautiful weather and scenery, and good company.

I averaged 8:29/mi overall by my watch. At about 9 miles into the run I stopped for a bio break and told the others to keep going. I averaged 7:26/mi while trying to catch up, which took me about one mile. I found out later that they were pushing the pace slightly trying to hold me off. I didn't mind; I enjoyed pushing hard.

A couple of miles before the end of the run 4 young elite-looking runners (probably from BYU) passed us. Kevin and I picked it up and followed them for a bit (at probably a 6:15 to 6:45 pace) and then slowed a little. I averaged 7:00/mi for the last 1/2 mile, which included going up and down the big hill on Main, south of 2000 North in Orem.

I really enjoyed the canal run. There are too many insects during the summer, but not now. I just wish it had water and restrooms like the Provo Canyon trail. I didn't carry water; I rarely do unless it is really hot. Fortunately the weather was cool, but I was still pretty thirsty when I got home.