Breaking the Wall

From the Press Building by the Provo Canyon the long way to my house, 9 miles. Still recovering from the cold. Took it very cautionsly. Went about 7:10 pace closely monitoring HR. It was somewhere around 128-130, still a bit too high. Felt ready for a test of health. Ran 2 mile mini-tempo in 11:54. HR hovered around 150, still too high for the pace. Found a friend for the cooldown mile - his name is Nate, and he was finishing an 18 mile run. We ran at 9:00 pace.

Came home and ran with the kids. Benjamin wanted to do some sprints, so I suggested a fartlek with 4x100 in the middle. His sprints are my threshhold pace.

Started the morning with a run with Julia. She runs 0.25 a day at about 10-12 minute pace. She has an assignment to beat the 12:00 girl, which she usually accomplishes onces she decides to go. However, she has demonstrated that she has a lot more speed than that - her best time on a quarter is 2:13.

Then went to the Provo River Trail, and did an exploration run to see how far they progressed in connecting it with the Jordan River Trail. Not far at all - it ends only after going North for about a mile.

Still recovering from the cold, took it easy, watch HR closely. Almost normal at 7:00 pace. On the way back, decided to run from mile standard 5 mile tempo turnaround at 6:00 pace for as long as HR was normal and I did not feel sick, or until I reached 2.5 mark. This was going to be my health test.

Hard to shift gears from 7:00 pace to 6:00 right away. First mile in 6:02, also little slippery from the leaves. HR hovering between 146 and 149. A little high, especially for the first mile. 146 is OK, 149 is not. Decided to see how hard I would have to work to run 14:45 for the whole 2.5, which was the time I got for that section on Saturday. Sped up to 5:50 pace on the next half-mile. HR hit 155 right away. The HR and the way it felt showed I was still not quite over the cold. Occasional coughing did not help either. However, I felt much better than on Saturday. Climbed the small hill on the next half (2:59, HR 156-157). Pushed a bit on the last (1:26 HR 160, 1:23 HR 162). 14:45 for the 2.5, right on the money. Jogged for the cooldown, but still stay quite a bit ahead of the 7:00 mile who I passed during the tempo. 1:02:55 for 9.2.

In the afternoon, first ran 0.5 with Benjamin and Abby. Then we extracted Jennifer from her friends house, and ran another mile. Then I announced I was going to run to the car rental to pick up a van for us to go to Milpitas, CA - a business trip for me, vacation for the kids, hard work for Sarah. The kids wanted to come.

So I put Julia in the stroller, and Benjamin and Jennifer consented to the terms of the deal - they had to run there. We did 2.25 miles in 21:38 with a stop after the first 0.5 for me to vote, as the voting station was on the way.

Travel to Milpitas, CA. Ran during stops, total of 5 miles. Did the whole journey in 13 hours (797 miles). Not bad for 5 kids and a nursing baby. Ran 5 more miles in 34:08 in Milpitas. First felt lazy and sleepy, then decided to go. At 6:10-6:15 pace the heart felt like 6:30 in Utah, but the legs felt pace appropriate. Forgot to bring the HRM part of the toy, so no HR data.

Still coughing. Felt some odd chills after the run, but they went away the next morning.

Ran easy 8 miles in the morning in Milpitas, CA in 54:19. Not feeling good, got a nasty mostly dry cough that sounds like I am about to die. Worked all day. Then ran with the kids in the evening. Felt chills in the evening again.

Ran easy 8 miles in Milpitas, CA again in 1:05:56. Easy pace, but it did not come quite that easy. Still coughing like I am about to die, mostly when something changes - ventilation rate, air temperature, level of dust. Took a nap afterwards, felt a bit better. We went sight-seeing. Rode the metro, then crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, then went to Muir Woods. Ran with the kids in Muir Woods. Then we went to the Muir Beach. Had an adventure with Jenny losing her very special shoes in the dark on the beach. After a prayer, a diligent search, then obtaining a flashlight from a drunk bartender (first time Sarah ever got anything from a bartender) we found them.

I'm glad we had a talking GPS nagivational system in the car. We would have been terribly lost more than once otherwise.

Travelling back from Milpitas, CA to Provo. Hit the chains required area on the mountain pass on I-80 near Truckee, CA. It put us behind a bit, but it could have been worse. We did not have enough cash with us. The chain installer looked at us, then said, "you, guys, look honest" and agreed to take our out of state check.

Ran about 3.3 in Verdi, NV during a stop. Then a little more in Elko, NV.

Passed 4 prison areas in Nevada. One of them was ironically called Independence Valley. That brought back some memories of serving in a church calling in a juvenile detention center. One time I was doing a presentation on how obeying the Word of Wisdom helps you be a better runner. Trying to make a point, I said: "How fast can you run when you are drunk?". One of the inmates responded, apparently speaking from experience: "You think you can do a good quarter, but then you try and it does not work. Then you've got cops all over you."

Another time I observed them playing a video game where they had to run away from the cops (state-provided video game, curiously enough). They were driving pretty wild in it. Trying to bring some sense into them, I remarked that if they drove like that in real life they get their tires spiked. One of the guys answered, again apparently speaking from experience and with an apparent scoff at my ignorance: "They do not spike in the city!"

Got home, unpacked, ran with the kids. Then returned the rental car, and ran back. Had the HRM with me this time. Coughing like crazy. HR at 140-144 at any pace, even 7:30. Speeding up does not increase it. Not feeling good. Cut the run short to 3.25 miles to make the total 8.