Each Day Is a Gift

Thanks to Karen's encouragement/support/love and driving us to the Olympic Oval; I started off 2020 with a run, err a jog for me as I am slower than tar these days.  Eric got in over 14 miles, Karen ran 10 and I got 8.5 in the New Year's Revolution Run. 

My running has really declined the last three years, although I still managed to finish 6 marathons a year.  I run by my lonesome self about 3 times a week.  I have gotten so fat and slow that it's embarassing.  My asthma was getting so bad that I finally saw my doctor and renewed the medications.  I started taking the Symbicort inhaler on Nov 1.  It's beginning to show a bit of improvemnt 2 months later.  I need to be consistent in taking the meds, eating less, running 4 days a week. 

My Garmin 220 (which I got in 2014 when I came home from my mission) has not been holding its battery charge for over a year now.  Trying to decide if I should pull the trigger and purchase a new GPS watch.  My reasoning of not wearing a watch: 1. I don't want to or need to know how slow I'm running.  2.  I already know the distance of my running route. 

Anyhow, I don't know if anyone even reads my blog anymore since I've not been active on here for quite some time.  I'd love to hear what suggestions you have on a good basic GPS watch. 
 

West from Center St on MCT to 1600 W >  east to Dry Creek Hill > west to 800 E > south to home.

MCT west.

MTC east to Dry Creek Bridge in 45 min using the phone's timer at 4:1 ratio. 

Legacy Center. Run 1 lap Walk 1 lap ratio in 30 min.

MCT to bathroom by Lone Peak HS.  Carried 5oz water flask.  Took 2 bathroom breaks. Used phone's timer for 4:1 ration.  11 miles in 2:30.  Signed up for SG Half.
 

Legacy Center. 24 laps (3 miles) steady state, paused after every 8 laps to drink. Total time = 35 min.

38F wind S16mph felt like 28F.  4oz OJ.  Ran east to 810 E trail access west to 1500W. Drank water at 1500W bathroom then turned back home via Center St. 

Cell phone 5min timer. 4:1 ratio.  Fast counting 200, slow counting 60.  Lots of expectorant, more from chest with headwind.

5.5 mi in 1:13.  AP = 13:16

MCT west running via Center St.  Stopped briefly for drink at 1500W bathroom turn around.  43F will be about the same at the SG Half start, so plan to wear same gear: long sleeve top, black Boston no-lining jacket, cap with thin head bands, capri.  

4:1 ratio per cell phone timer.  5 miles in 60min. 

Got up at 7:00.  Breakfast of oatmeal in half n half, with 1/2 banana, few raspberries and blueberries.  6oz water.  Lowell and I left the house at 8:35 as planned.  Got to Dixie Center with 18 min to spare.  Met up with Amanda and Hailey.  Used the restroom then walked to the start.  Saw Karen and Evan Tree so visited with them a bit while waiting to start.  The announcer said starting temp was 25F.  Race started right on time at 9am.  We jumped in after the 2:30 pacer.  Karen, Evan, Lowell, Hailey and Amanda quickly ran off ahead.  I just loved this fun atmosphere of this race with over 700 participants.  Well, mainly I like races where we just walk up to the start instead of riding the bus to the start! :)

My only goal is to finish this thing before the time limit of 3:30.  I broke my tail bone on Oct 17 last year and hadn't run for the next 6 weeks.  I ran a handful of times in December.  In January I did 9 runs, mostly short runs on the Legacy Center tiny indoor track.  The longest run was last Fri on the MTC for 11 miles. which took me about 2.5 hours.  I had not worn a GPS watch for months.  This morning Lowell slapped on my wrist one of his older Garmin watches and showed me the start/stop button.  So I decided to start running at every 5 min interval, walking for 30 sec. in each interval, so run 4.5 min and walk 30 sec.  I also walked through every aid station taking a cup of gatorade and a cup of water.  I ate a Gu at the third aid station which is just before mile 7, so at half way.  I took off my headband at mile 5, shed the jacket after taking the Gu at half way.

The first couple miles were on River Rd with gradual incline.  The next three miles were running up to the Bloomington Hill neighborhood and by the golf course.  Then the course spilled out on Brigham Rd for the first of two significant inclines up to mile 7.  Then we dropped down for a quarter mile and turned into the trail.  I saw a group of family members cheering on couple of ladies ahead at the turns before the trailhead.  Then I recognized Barbara, mother of Kathie Phillips.  I asked if Kathie was running this to which she said no.  Soon I caught up to the two ladies and recognized Kim (Kathie's younger sister) right away.  We exchanged hugs and chatted a bit.  It was SO great to see her.  I tried to hang with her but she's a much stronger runner than me.

Around mile 9.5 my left calves started to cramp so I walked and pulled out the Hyland cramp tablets which I dropped at which time a lady looked to me in my age group passed me.  I looked at my time after mile 10 and figured if I kept a 13min pace I'd make it under 2:45.  I was leapfrogging with a young man who has some kind of vascular disease that affects his left lower leg.  His left calf is bigger than the right calf and has very visible bunches of varicos veins.  I encourged him along with a taller man who was coughing at one time.  Since I was coughing quite a bit from my asthma, I asked if he too has asthma to which he said no and that he just had a cough.  He was very complimenting of my run despite having asthma.  Anyhow, I had the usualy cough, blow nose, spit during the walk interval.  Never did get into wheezing mode so I was not pushing the pace at all.  Now with 5K to go, I just concentrate on not letting my pace got higher than 12:30.  I passed the lady (who might be in my AG that passed me earlier) at mile 11 and never saw her again until after the finish.  When I passed the 12 mile marker, I called Lowell to let him know I had one mile to go.  He had of course already finished and was planning to run back to find me.  He said, "one mile left ?!! liar, liar, pants on fire!" Then I said, yep, see you in 15 min. and we both laughed.

Saw him soon at a bend looking down at his phone.  I yelled out to him and just in time for the walk break and he pranced right along and then sprinted ahead to snap a few pictures of me.  He said he told Larry when I called so he'd be at the shute before the finish.  I waved to Larry and looked ahead at the finisher clock showing 2:39:xx.  So happy to have finished in 2:38, well under the 3:30 time limit.  Lowell ran a 2:13 and won his AG. 

A little side note:  The last time I ran this was in 2018.  I crossed the finish line with TJ in 2:19 and we both took 3rd in our AG.  It's sad to realize how much slower I've gotten over the last few years.   Today we had perfect weather, in the 30s, sunny no wind.  Legs felt good.  We walked over to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  After shower at Lowell's house, we drove home in the afternoon.  Larry commented that I should just do Halfs from now on, so much easier on the body and on him! Haha!!!

25F East wind @9mph cloudy.  MCT west via Center St. doing the 4.5min to 30 sec ratio.  5 miles  TT: 61min.  Drank at the turnaround (1600W restroom).  Legs a bit heavy today.

Snow turned to rain.  Off to Legacy Center with the hubby.  Ran 1 lap Walked 1 lap.   24 laps total = 3 miles.  TT=39 min.  Lots of mucus today.  Did take Symbicort and Albuterol pre-run.

Rainy and cold.  Picked up Wendy to go walk/jog with Karen at the Legacy Center.  Karen and Amanda were working out on the rowing machines.  Karen had already ran.  Amanda joined us for the last couple laps.  Fun chatting and catching up.  Didn't really keep track of the laps.  Figured we were there for an hour so may be 4 miles. 

Was going to run long today.  Very very foggy out there with poor air quality.  So got on the dreadmill.  First time this year and for the life of me cannot keep going.  Slow jog/walk watching a Neflix.  New shoes...the only way I'd break them in is on the mill.

33F. Wind 9mph NW.  Breakfast of Chobani yogurt and water.  Started out light snow going east via 810 E MCT.  A bit windy and chilly going north and west.  Did the run 4:30min to walk 30sec ratio using phone timer.  Turned around at mile four (Highland 2nd trailside drinking fountain).  Stopped to drink at mile 3 and 5 (Mitch Hollow restroom).  Light snow gave way to cloudy to partly sunny the last couple miles.  Runny nose galore.

33F, wind 5mphSSE, partly cloudy.  MCT West via Center. TT=1 hr.

5 dreadmill miles in 1:00:38, cool down 0.25 mi

Legacy Center. Walk 1 lap Run 1 lap.

32 F sunny calm.  Had a yogurt and water pre-run.  MCT east via 810 E to Orem 800E. Ran 4 min walked 1 min.  Stopped at all 5 restrooms to use the facility, drink and fill up the 6oz flask.  A bit dehydrated with no or little urine output.  Ate 2 gu at 1.5 hours interval. The last 5Ks was really hard, taking more walk breaks.  Legs are trashed like the end of a marathon.  16 mile in 3:45.  Want to sign up for the Sun Marathon.  Will see how legs recover in the next couple days. 

I feel tremendous gratitude to be living here.  While running I was thinking of my family in Hong Kong who have suffered so much over the last 8 months, since the riot in June last year and now the coronavirus outbreak.  My brother is in urgent need of some face masks and I searched high and low and was only able to get 30 pcs.  I feel so helpless being so half a world away from them. 

3 miles at the Legacy Center in 38 min.

6 TM at home.

Walked with Wendy at the Legacy Center.
 

32F start, 45F finish, mostly sunny 10mph SSE wind. 1 yogurt 1 banana water.

18 miles on MCT via Center St. to 800 N 1100 E Orem turn west to 800 E then turn back to 1000 E.  Stopped at 5 restrooms to refill flask.  Drank about 36 oz water and ate 3 gu.

Did the 4:1 ratio. TT: 4hr 18 min. 

Legacy Center. Walked first 20 min with the Perry's and ran 20 min.  Guesstimate about 2.5miles.

Legacy Center, walked 1 ran 1 lap for 38 min.

New watch Garmin Vivoactive 3 arrived in the mail this afternoon.  Took it out for a test run around the small inner block.  Will be nice to have a GPS watch for Saturday's long run at the Sun Marathon down in SG.

AM.

2 miles on the treadmill to test drive the new Garmin Vivoactive3.  Watch recorded longer distance and faster pace than that on the treadmill.  It gave a command to calibrate the treadmill by imputing the mileage on the watch but still shows average pace to be a tad faster than what's on the treadmill.  But at least I figured out how to operate the thing for tomorrow's race.  Packed an overnight bag with running gears.  Weather forecast for starting temp at Veyo is 32F, finishing temp in Santa Clara around 52F. 

PM.

Packet pick up location was not confirmed until 2 days ago via email.  Plan was to get there (St. George Running Center) around 4:30 then grab early dinner.  We got there at 4:45 and found that it was not much of a packet pick up.  There was a print out of your names and bib numbers in alphabetical order.  You write your name and bib number on a piece of small note paper and hand it to the guy who pulls out the bibs which were stacked by numerical order.  Then he pulled out the corresponding chip and stick in on the back of the bib.  Then you take the bib to the guy next to him who gives you a shirt.  The shirts run a bit small so I exchange for a size up.  The shirts (and also the medals) are very generic with just the name of the race Sun Marathon, and no indication of the year of the race nor specific distances.  It just list all the distances, 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 5K.  This is so lame.  The whole bib pick up process took couple of minutes. 

Went over to nearby Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  Being Valentines Day there was a long wait.  We sat and waited and listened to loud country music for 90 min.  Needless to say we did not eat until well after 7:00pm. Had 3 dinner rolls while waiting for my main course of grilled salmon and baked sweet potato.

Drove to Haley's house in Diamond Valley and got there around 8:30pm.  It was dark and cold which made me worry that I might not have packed adequate warm gear for the race in the morning.  Retired to bed around 10pm. 

Haley let us stay at her house in Diamond Valley so we don't have to get up early for the bus ride.  Can never sleep well the night before the marathon.  Took a 5mg Melatonin at 9pm.  Up at 5. Breakfast of yogurt, banana, 1/2 Texas RdHouse dinner roll, water.  Dressed and ready to go at 5:45.  Waited for Haley and Alice who's also staying at Haley's. Hubby drove us to the start in Veyo Fairground.  There is no physical address so we just turned on Center St and followed the traffic cones.  I think we got there around 6:30 and they were just setting up the starting arch/mat.  There were already runners waiting in lines in front of the 4 portapotties.  It was pitch dark. 

The RD told hubby he had to move the car so I went looking for Haley and Alice who needed to drop off their jackets for Larry to take back to the house.  There was no mention or labeling of a drop bag truck.  I knew the temp was around 30 so I kept my black Boston jacket on which I removed and wrapped around me around mile 15.  The RD hollered saying 5 min. to start time and runners to line up.  I made one more quick pit stop at the PoP then headed to the starting mat.  Gary saw me and we exchanged a few words learning that he had stayed in Motel 6 last night.  Dang, he could've stayed with us easily.  The RD did a 10 count down and off the runners went.  I stood and waited for Hailey and Alice who are the sweepers so we could cross together.  There was a guy fidgeting with his watch so we waited for him.  It took us about a minute to cross.  We were walking for the first 1000 ft and I was so cold that I just needed to get running.  Soon that guy got his watch to work and ran ahead.  I stayed with Haley and Alice for the first couple miles. I started to pull away from them before the first aid station.

Mile 4 was a steep downhill and U-turn/a switch back at the bottom of the hill.  The scenery was beautiful.  I snapped a few pictures with my phone.  I utilized the 4:1 ration whenever possible.  I came across Debbie Cannon and Rhonda around mile 5 and ran together till around mile 14.  I had to stop at the PortaP at mile 5, 9, 13.  The mile markers were sparodic and consistently off by 0.19-0.22 mile compare to my brand new Garmin Vivoactive 3 GPS.  The course is very hilly and at times winding on a 2 lane highway where the speed limit is 65mph.  So it's a bit scary with oncoming traffic, from mile 11 on the traffic got heavier.  I took a gu at mile at 7, 11, 15, 19 and 23.  Good thing I carried 3 gu with me because they only had gu at two aid stations.  I started feeling some pain in my left groin so my pace slowed a bit and Debbie and Rhonda ran ahead around mile 14. 

I came upon Debbie (again) and John Bozung around mile 17 and I walked with them for the next two miles.  John was having some deep muscle pain and asked for ibuprophen at the aid stations but they didnt have any.  So I gave him the only 2 ibuprofen I carried.  I had taken an Aleve around mile 15 so I should be good.  I took a total of 3 salt caps. and drank water and powerade at each of the 12 aid stations.  The race website states: "fully supported course with aid station every 2 or less miles with water, powerade, cups, volunteers.  Some aid station may have muscle cream, gu or fruits."  Well, from mile 7 on it was the same two teenage boys with the same water/powerade.  I wouldn't call it a fully supported course.  There was a sheriff vehicle circuling back and forth to make sure the back of the packers were okay.  I passed couple of runners around mile 19ish and saw that one of them, a lady, was holding her left eye.  Lowell called just as I entered the aid station around mile 19 and said he was going to check on his division award then would come back on the course to look for me.  Mile 21 was a steady uphill.  As I turned the corner into the town of Ivins, he called again and asking of my location.  He was driving and must've missed the road he's supposed to turn on.  Anyhow we talked on the phone for the entire long uphill climb of mile 23.  I could see some pacers milling around the aid station.  Roy Veater ran back to greet me saying Ruthie is waiting for me.  Well, I ran past Ruthie with a brief hello and she didn't run with me.  I guess they were just waiting for Alice the sweeper.  Anyhow, Lowell finally drove up around mile 24.5 and he stopped to use the portapottie at the last aid station on the corner of the road.  The last mile is a gradual downhill and Lowell said he would park at the finish and ran back on the course to meet me.  

My legs felt like lead.  I had to take more walk breaks.  Crossed the finish with my Garmin registering 5:51:54.  The timing guy asked if I want to know my time and said it was 5:52:47.  He asked what my watch shows and I told him it's 5:51:54 and he said go with that, go with your watch.  They only have one timing mat for start and finish of all four distance races so the marathon was going by gun time.  The lady that I passed came in 6 min after me.  She must've fallen since both her knees were bleeding and her left eye also showed dried blood and some bruising.  The RD took the wood cube (used as make shift podium) for her to sit on.  There was no wash cloth or first aid kit to attend to her.  She was very mad and not laughing when the RD looked up her time and joked to say "20 to 24 age group".  She is clearly an older lady.  She at age 71 is the oldest woman in the Full and me second oldest.  She would've beat me if she hadn't fallen.  Anyway, they gave us our medals (finishers and place) which does not have the year or the distance on it nor on the ribbon.  I have never run a marathon with such generic medal.  In fact, they have a surplus of these medals in the boxes which lead me to think that they must've ordered a whole bunch last year or in its first year and just reuse them.  I understand this is the third year of this running.  I'm not sure if I'll do this again next year.  

I'm glad that I got marathon #82 done. Other than a bit cold at the start and a little breezy headwind in the later miles, it was perfect sunny running weather.  I am also glad that I didn't get hit by oncoming car or fell on the gnarly shoulders of the road. The best part was after the race, we drove to the Larsen's (my son-in-law's parent's house) in Washington.  My daughter, her husband and my four grandkids flew in from Houston to St.  George that morning arriving about the same time.  We visited for 3 hours before driving back home.  Perfect weekend! :)

Jogged walked with Wendy in the new development across the street. Quads were tight and felt it especially going down the little slope of the street.

Ran 1 Walked 1 lap at the legacy center. 

Walked first lap to warm up then ran 24 laps in the Legacy Center.

5 miles on MCT via Center St. west to restroom.  No lingering soreness or tightness.  Did the 4:1 ratio.  Stopped briefly to drink from the restroom at the turn around without stopping the watch.  TT=59min. AP: 11:48.  Splits: 12:38, 11:58, 11:55, 11:16, 11:10.  Very pleased with this run. 

10 miler on MCT east via 810 E.  Lots of runners, dog walkers and bikers out.  Legs felt fatigued, 4:1 ratio.  Walked thru the icy patches in the tunnels and the uphill on Dry Creek hill.  Carried water flask, drank 12 oz water, refilled at Mitch Hollow Park restroom mile 7.  TT: 2:09:06. AP: 12:45.  Splits: 13:01, 12:31, 14:46, 11:37, 12:27, 11:58, 12:17, 13:05, 14:03, 11:58,

Legacy Center indoor track

MCT west via Center. TT: 58:05, one min faster from 4 days ago.  AP: 11:36.  Splits: 13:13, 12:05, 11:20, 10:36, 10:49.

34F sunny.  MCT east. TT: 1:11:24. AP: 11:53. Splits: 12:11, 11:19, 12:45, 11:20, 12:49, 10:56.

36F sunny calm.  Picked up Wendy and ran to Center St. by Ivory Ridge Club House to meet Karen, for 1 mile.  Three of us ran up to MCT east to second overpass then turned back west to 500 W then back to Ivory Ridge where Karen parked her car, almost 4 miles.  Then by myself back up on MCT west to mile 6.5, stopped at restroom to drink and refill water flask, then turned back east to home via Center.  TT: 1:54:10.  AP: 12:17.  Splits: 13:50, 12:44, 12:53, 12:52, 11:34, 11:49, 11:54, 11:34, 11:39, 11:12.

26F rainy. Legacy indoor track. TT: 33:15. AP: 11:20

34F 6mph NW wind sunny.  MCT west to restroom, paused to drink. Total running time: 57:20.  AP: 11:27.  Splits: 13:04, 12:07, 10:55, 10:40,  10:32.

36F real feel 30F, 8mph NW wind, cloudy.  MCT east via 810E to Dry Creek bridge.  TT: 47:07. AP: 11:46.  Splits: 12:44, 11:30, 12:12, 10:38.

West to Center > North on MCT > East to Dry Creek past bridge to first bend > West to 810 E > South on 600 E to home.  4:1 ratio, no water.

TT: 1:01:53  AP: 12:00  Splits:  12:41, 11:13, 12:06, 12:57, 11:27, 9:28.

Decided not to run Sandhollow Marathon down in Hurricane tomorrow.  Weater.com states that it will be windy S 15-20mph with gust possibly at 40mph.  Since we are speaking at sacrament plus teaching 3 sessions, and Pres. LeSeur and his wife will be visiting our branch, I need the time to prepare for Sunday and also not be wasted. 

Ran with Wendy to meet Karen.  West to Center on MCT.  Drank at 1500 W restroom and turned back east.  South to Karen's house then home.

TT: 1:08:02.  AP: 13:35.  Splits:  12:31, 12:48, 13:39, 14:06, 14:55,
 

Since I'm not running the Sandhollow Marathon today, thought I'd do a long run and Karen was kind enough to accompany me the first 8 miles.  Ate a breakfast of yogurt and banana and headed out at 7:15 to meet Karen at her house.  We ran on MCT doing the 4:1 and walking uphill.  Stopped at Mitch Hollow, Lone Peak restroom to use the facility and drank water.  Karen gave me her Chews when we reached the Canyon Rd restroom and her husband came to pick her up.  I had run over 9+ miles at that point and she had run 8 miles.  After a brief visit with Mark and bid goodbye I continued south on MCT and was going to finish at trail end at 800 N Orem which would give me 17+miles. 

Lisa Liddiard texted to ask if I could sub for her this evening at the temple.  After couple of text exchanges, she found Sis. Child to sub for her so did not need me.  The south wind got stronger the further I ran so I decided to turn around at mile 10.25 and called Larry that I'm running home and no need to pick me up in Orem. 

Stopped at the three restrooms breifly to drink.  Took a Gu at Lone Peak reststop.  I was really tired and the wind made it tough.  The thought that I should've run the Sandhollow today crossed my mind.  I know I would regret not having run the marathon. 

TT: 4:13:47  AP: 13:11  Splits: 12:49, 12:39, 11:53, 13:15, 15:46, 12:55, 16:15, 12:11, 12:35, 15:27, 14:37, 11:50, 12:05, 13:55, 12:43, 12:22, 12:31, 13:05, 12:18, 10:18

West on MCT turned around at 3.1 to home.  Stopped at 1500W restroom to drink on return.  TT: 1:12:36  AP: 11:43  Splits: 12:51, 12:02, 10:31, 12:33, 11:24, 11:15, 9:57.

4 miles on TM.  The watch registered 3.5.  TT: 48:00

Ran with Wendy to meet Karen on Center.  Stopped to drink at 1500 W restroom and turned back and ran Karen to her house just like last week.  Except we didn't linger to talk because Wendy needed to attend Keith Nichol's funeral in AF and I needed to go pick up Bro. Earle from the dialysis center. 

TT: 1:05:07  AP: 12:53  Splits: 13:01, 12:45, 12:39, 12:33, 12:57

3.25 treadmill miles but watch only recorded 2.35.  TT: 60 min.

West on MCT via Center to 1500 W restroom drank and turned east to 810 E. home via 600 E.  TT: 1:05:55  AP: 11:59  Splits: 12:59, 11:59, 12:16, 11:46, 11:21, 11:08

Happy St. Patricks Day!  Thought I'd run my own St. Paddy's 10K today.  I wore the green Pokey Marathon ls top.  Temp 52F partly sunny with wind at 12mph so real feel 42F.  Ran East on MCT to Mitch Hollow ran around the park trail and stopped at the restroom to drink.  Took shorter walk breaks of 30 sec. instead of 60 sec. Walked uphill for 30 sec on the outbound east hill of Drycreek but walked for 60 sec on the return west hill. 

1st place, one and only overall winner! :) :) :)

TT: 1:13:30  AP: 11:51  Splits: 12:39, 11:43, 12:38, 11:37, 11:46, 11:05, 10:03.

Treadmill miles and watch miles don't match up.  But rather than record the TM miles today I went with the watch which automatically synced with Garmin connect.  But it also shows my pace being slower.  Oh well.  TT: 44:15. 

39F cloudy light wind.  Started my run at 10:30.  Ever since the home isolation, we've been getting up later and later.  Had hard time falling asleep thus waking up late.  Ran east on MCT to Lone Peak restroom then turned around at mile 6 to almost 4800W Highland.  Stopped to drink at Mitch Hollow, Lone Peak, Mitch Hollow, no gu.  Ever since the "stay home, school closing", the trail is heavily used.  I've never seen so many families with dogs, horses, trikes, bikes, scooters, motorized scooters on the trail before.  I also saw more families using the trailside parks and playgrounds.

TT: 2:22:09.  AP: 11:50.  Splits: 12:57, 11:39, 12:17, 11:16, 11:33, 11:30, 12:20, 11:57, 11:11, 11:51, 12:38, 10:56 

Late start again and encounter tons of walkers, dogs even horses, strollers, trikes, scooters.  Man alive!  West to 1500 W restroom, drank and turned around. TT: 57:05  AP: 11:24  Splits: 12:41, 11:18, 11:24, 10:48, 10:51.  Saw Diane Robison pushing Rosie on the stroller and a very pregnant Sarah on Center on my last mile home so I didn't stop to chat.  Did the 4:30 to 0:30 ratio.  Pleased with this run.

Very tired today. Rain/snow/wind so opted to walk on the treadmill and watched the news.  TT: 1:20:00

I want to write about my hero and brother-in-law, Gary Lew.  He ran his 100th marathon this morning.  He was determined to run 100 marathons before turning 60 in May.  Boston was to be his #100 but since it was postponed, he signed up for the Mt. Charleston Marathon in Vegas which gives the runners the optional to do a virtual run. 

So Gary started his marathon at 4am from his house in north Provo running up the Provo Canyon on his usual training route and around the neighborhood in Orem.  He finished at dawn breaking the tape on his driveway winning the race. 

Here are some of his marathon trivia as he posted on Instagram:

First Marathon - Feb 16, 2003 Hong Kong Marathon

100th Marathon - March 27, 2020 Revel Mt. Charleston virtual marathon run in Provo

Fastest Marathon: 2:47:52 Chicago Marathon Oct 2006

Slowest Marathon: 7:18:51 Bigfoot Snowshoe Marathon January 2020

Number of sub-3 hour marathons: 13

Number of sub 3:15 hour marathouns: 41

Average pace over 100 marthons: 3:26

Most Scenic Marathons: Bali, Sydney, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Prague, Rome, London

Most Unusual marathons: Snowshoe Marathon, Great Wall of China Marathon, Virtual Marathon

Best Finish: Athens Marathon - finishes in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, home of the first modern day Olympics in 1896 and built entirely of marble.

Weirdest Finish: Bukeye Marathon - a little town in Arizona where the finish is on the runway of the city airport.

Hottest marathons: Mumbai, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore

Coldest marathons: some of the Utah marathons

Best crowds: New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Tokyo, Berlin

Notable marathons not already mentioned (not all marathons are notable...) : Jerusalem, New Zealand, Myanmar, Bangkok, Seoul, Da Nang Vietnam, Nagano, Disney World, California International.

Lily's favorite destination marathon: toss up between Rome and Athens

Marthon run the most times: Hong Kong Marathon 9 times

Proud achievements: running all six World Major marathons (Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlon, Longdon, Tokyo) in 3 hours or under.  Also, running 2016 Boston Marthon in 3:08 just 15 weeks after donating a kidney to my brother. And, taking 1st place and overall winner in my 100th marathon!

Been a rough week, with crazy weather, rain/snow/wind.  So hadn't run the last few days.  This covid-19 is stressing me out, stress eating and sitting around alot.  Time to get back out there.  Didn't start until almost noon.  Thought I tried a different route.  Ran west on MCT then turned sound on Rail Trail (mile 3).  Turned around at mile 4 and back up on MCT to home.  Been doing the 4:30 to 0:30 ratio except when it's downhill then I skipped the walk till it's uphill.  Drank at the 1500W restroom on the way out (mile 2.4 and mile 5.8).

TT: 1:34:05  AP: 11:30  Splits: 12:37, 11:18, 10:45, 11:11, 11:32, 12:42, 11:14, 10:51, 10:31

Rain shower in the morning.  Waited till 2pm to go out, so had already eaten lunch.  52F cloudy with 9mph SW wind.  Ran east to Mitch Hollow around the park and stopped to drink at the restroom mile 3 then turned back home.  Encountered lots of dog walkers and little kids on bikes.  A bit wheezy on expiratory breath. 

TT: 1:09:48  AP: 11:36  Splits: 12:27, 11:17, 12:09, 11:08, 11:59, 10:40

54F partly sunny 8mph SSE wind. Perfect running weather.  I started out wearing a surgical mask but soon found it difficult to breath through and sunglasses keeps getting fogged up.  I only put it on when approaching walkers.  Then totally took it off after having to blow my nose. 

Ran west on MCT turned around at mile 3 (Rail Trail junction), stopped at 1500W restroom (mile 3.6) to drink.  Did the 4:30 run to :30 walk ratio, ran the downhill, did 1 min run 0:30 walk on the uphill.  108' elevation loss, 115' elevation gain over 0.6 mile.

TT: 1:07:59  AP: 11:19  Splits: 12:22, 11:38, 10:42, 11:51, 10:45, 10:40

38F sunny 8mph SW wind.  Smokey smell (burning weed?) in the air...gonna agravate my asthma.  East on MCT to almost 4000W Cedar Hills where a brand new water-park was recently built.  Trail is a bit crowded with dog walkers, joggers, families on bikes and scooters, especially in the Highland and Cedar Hills portion.  Stopped at Mitch Hollow briefly (mile 3 & 11) to drink, at Lone Peak (mile 5.6) ate gu, used the facility and refilled flask and didn't realize I hadn't paused the watch for a 6+min. stop.  Breathing was a bit labored...stupid asthma...especially when heading south with headwind.  Did the 4:30min run to 0:30min walk ratio.  On the uphill 1min run to 0:30 ration. 

Total time: 2:48:17 AP:12:01  Adjusted total run time: 2:42:05 AP:11:37

Splits: 12:27, 10:48, 12:06, 11:28, 11:33, 17:15 (11:15), 11:46, 11:14, 12:04, 11:24, 11:22, 11:37, 12:06, 11:06.

MCT has been so busy lately, so thought I'd go in the early evening before sun-set.  63F partly sunny.  Welp, the trail was just as crowded, if not more, with families going for walks before or after dinner.  West on MCT. Had tummy issues, had to cut the run short, good thing I was not too far from home, lesson learned.

TT: 55:14  AP: 10:59  Splits: 11:44, 10:55, 10:48, 10:33, 10:55

Got a call at 3:10am from Jeff that Jen is in active labor.  So off I went to their house and watch the three grandkids who were asleep till 7:30.  Baby Jonah Jeffrey Lew was born at 6:12am weighing 5 lbs 8 oz and 18.5 in long, a wee little one.  I had fun watching and playing with the kids the rest of the day.  Stayed overnight and the next day (4/9) is Nolan's birthday so I made a birthday cake and decorated the dinning/kitchen room with the help of Skylar.  Welcomed the new baby home in the afternoon, then had birthday party for Nolan.  Went home at 8pm.  Feel so blessed to have 14 wonderful beautiful grandchildren.

52F 9mph SE wind, real feel 45F, partly sunny.  Didn't get out until 9:50am. Breakfast of a yogurt and banana. Carried 2 Gu.  East on MCT to Canyon Rd restroom at Cedar Hills.  The trail was super crowded.  Even saw a family of 14 doing Easter eggs hunt at the Mitch Hollow Park right close to the trail by the restroom.  Stopped to drink at the Mitch Hollow, Lone Peak and Canyon Rd restrooms; Gu'ed at mile 8.15 and 13. Breathing a bit labored, really worked hard to keep 12 min pace.  

TT: 3:16:42  AP: 12:06  Splits: 12:26, 11:01, 12:25, 11:39, 12:02, 12:13, 1152, 11:59, 12:00, 11:36, 12:25, 12:14, 11:48, 12:35, 13:44, 11:57, 11:07.

 40F 9mph SW, partly cloudy, real feel 35F.  Went out at 10:15 when John and Wendy happened to walk by.  Walked with them to just past 600E and realized my watch battery was totally dead and it was so cold that I was underdressed.  So turned back to home to charge the watch to 50% and put on headband and a light jacket. 

Decided to access MCT on 400E trail head. East to 600E, north to 3200N > MCT 400E trailhead > west to ~0.15 mile past Triump Blvd tunnel then turned around back same route to home.  Stopped at 1600W trailhead restroom on the way back to drink and found terrible graffiti inside the women's bathroom walls.  This makes me mad and sad.

TT: 1:09:07  AP: 11:20  Splits: 12:48, 11:19, 10:31, 12:14, 10:36, 10:42
 

Too tired to run.  Didn't sleep well last night.

39F feels like 35F 7mph S wind, partly cloudy.  Felt like winter has returned.  Left feet was numb then achy during the first warm up mile.  West on MCT via Center.  Stopped at mile 3 Rail Trail junction where there was a construction crew laying pipes trail side so I had to run around them on the grass.  Quads were feeling tight running down so stopped to stretch and didn't realize I had not pause the watch for the 2.5 min I spent stretching until it was time to resume the return run back up the trail.  Stopped at 1600W restroom to drink.  Glad to see that the graffiti I saw in there on Tue has now been painted over. 

Adjusted TT: 1:08:10  AP: 11:25  Splits: 12:23, 11:12, 10:29, 12:10, 11:10, 10:50

48F cloudy, perfect weather.  Today would've been SLC Marathon if not for Covid-19. Had a yogurt, carried 2 Gu and 1 pack of Chews (that has peanut butter in the center). Head west to access MCT from Center St. then east on MTC to 800 N Orem, turn right (west) to 800E and back to 1100 E and waited for Larry to pick me up.

Took it easy today since I ran yesterday.  Stopped at all the restrooms for drink, the drinking fountains by bathrooms are all turned on so I didn't need to go inside.  Saw a guy running down Mitch Hollow Park with two bikers and a child biker following him.  Then realized he was turning toward his finish line which was held up by family members greeting him with balloons and cheers.  I ran past on the grass and congratulated him on his finish asking "Salt Lake City Marathon?" as he had a SLC race shirt on.  "What was your time?" "3:20" "Wow!!! Way to go! U Da Man!" 

At Lone Peak rest stop, saw two ladies with SLC Running shirts on and I asked if they were doing their virtual race while I ate a Gu.  They said nope they had run 14 miles and could've done the SLC Half virtual.  They wished me luck as I continued on my long run.

At Canyon Rd rest stop, I ate one chews and drank.  Visited with a lady who had Boston 2019 shirt on.  Visited with a lady whom I've been leepfroging.  She had a tiny black poodle type dog running/walking with her.  I commented that her dog with little legs sure could run fast.  She tried to feed the dog some water unsuccessfully and was worried that she might've worn it out.  She said she's 5 miles from home on her 11 miler. 

Ate the second Gu at the Lindon rest stop (with 4 more miles to go).  None of the trailside drinking fountains were turned on...should've brought a flask to fill up.  Anyhow, drank as much as possible.  At around mile 16+  I ran past a fellow whome I've passed couple times, the first time being on Alpine Hwy and he was talking on the phone and heard him say something like sorry... can I push it to 3pm.  Anyhow when I passed him I asked, "how many miles today?"  "26.2"  "Yay, congrats!"  "Thanks, but I'm only at 24."  "You're almost done! Way to finish a marathon!"  "You too, I've seen you a few times.  You just keep running and running!"  I was too tired to reply as I left him realizing I have about 1.5 more to go.  Garmin read 17.22 at the end of MCT on 800N, so I turned right to go west towards the 800E light where I turned right (north) for another 0.1 mile then turned back around and ran up east on 800N.  Got back to trail head exactly 18 miles and didn't see Larry's car.  I took a picture of my watch and texted Lowell with a message of my 18 lonely miles and missed him terribly.  Then called Larry who was only couple minutes away.  The trail was super crowded today with bazillion bikers, runners, dogwalkers.  It was awesome to see two guys running their virtual SLC Marathon.  I could've done the same if I had prepared better with hydration and not run yesterday.  I think I will do a virtual Utah Valley Marathon if it was cancelled and they offered that option.  I feel like I have missed out on two marathons, the Sand Hollow in March and SLC in April.  

TT: 3:38:55  AP: 12:10  Splits: 12:17, 11:45, 11:10, 12:30, 12:08, 12:38, 12:06, 12:20, 11:54, 11:57, 11:45, 11:44, 12:09, 12:24, 12:41, 12:28, 12:37, 12:21

50F sunny 5mph E wind.  Ran east on MCT via Center.  Felt sluggish today especially the first mile.  Turned around at mile 3 (Rail Trail junction).  Took a call from Annie as I headed up to the 1600W restroom.  We talked for quite sometimes, so after taking a drink from the restroom fountain I resumed the run east and it was like starting all over again with warmup.  Decided to run home via 810 E trail access for an extra half mile.  It got warm and I was very thirsty. 

TT: 1:16:25  AP: 11:45  Splits: 12:58, 11:45, 10:37, 12:37, 11:48, 11:17, 10:48

Walked with Larry for 1.5 mile in 25 min.

Today is our 42nd wedding anniversary.  We would've been celebrating on a Panama Cruise.  52F partly sunny 5mph NNW wind.  Ran east on MCT to Mitch Hollow.  Stopped to drink from the restroom fountain and the sun was beating down so I wet my hair.  Welp, with 1.5 mile to go it started to rain, a dark cloud overhead and breezy. 

TT: 1:06:55  AP: 11:03  Splits: 12:10, 10:31, 11:35, 10:30, 11:31, 10:08  Pleased with this run.  I tried to run 0.5 mile without stopping to walk in my last mile.  So the last mile had 30 second of walking.  I tried to keep the uphill walking in less than 100 sec. so the uphill going east mile split was 11:35 and the returning uphill going west mile split was 11:31.

Walk with hubby cut short due to GI emergency (his).

50F partly sunny 5mph E wind.  MCT east via Center to Rail Trail junction. 

TT: 1:05:30  AP: 10:54  Splits: 12:03 (only 1 walk break at 9:40), 10:56, 10:19, 11:19, 10:22, 10:28).  First run to break under 11mph.  Did take a stretch break at turnaround and drink break at 3.6 so elapsed time was 1:10:52.

Plan was to leave around 8:30 but ended up cleaning hubby's razor and BR stuff so didn't leave until almost 9:57, subsequently it got warmer.  Starting temp 55F, finishing temp 65F.  Sunny blue sky with 5mph SW wind.  East on MCT to 4500 W Highland.  Took it nice and easy today still trying to keep sub 12mph.  Bazillion cyclists, walkers, dogs, kids on the trail.  As the previous two weekends, saw Terry Grimley running the opposite direction, today saw him twice.  He is also training for Utah Valley Marathon. 

TT: 2:31:50  AP: 11:35  Splits: 12:45, 11:32, 12:12, 11:26, 11:34, 11:33, 11:15, 11:30, 11:31, 11:10, 11:04, 12:15, 11:08, last 0.1 mile @ 9:07
 

57F Sunny 7mph SW.  Decided to do a 10K today since I did a Half on Sat.  West on MCT to Rail Trail junction stopped briefly at 2.65 to drink and douse water on head, at turnaround mile 3 to stretch and again on the way up to 1600W (@3.45) to drink and douse water on head.  I think the total pause time for the three stops is 6min. 

TT: 1:10:09  AP: 11:19  Splits: 12:22, 11:28, 10:46, 11:52, 10:57, 10:37 10:32

Ran past the house (hubby mowing lawn) for 0.1 mile and saw Cindy Sloan walking with Laura Newburt so when finished we visited at 6' distancing to catch up on each other's lives.  So good to have that face to face talk.

61F cloudy 9mph Nwind.  Ran/walk with Wendy.  Saw Karen on 3200N 810E running towards us.  So happy to have her join us.  We ran west on MCT back to Karen's house.  We did the 4:1 ratio.  When we got to her house, we jogged to the intersection of Center and 2600 N and stood there to talk for a long time, standing at 6' distance.  The last time three of us ran/walked together was March 6 and Karen ran with me part of my 19 miler the next day March 7.  So it's been over 7 weeks.  This COVID-19 stay at home and social distancing has been going on for two months now. 

Walked with hubby around the new neighborhood development in the south then back up around our inner block including the Ozancin development.  These new homes sure have beautiful landscape.  Beautiful warm sunny blue sky with lots of blossoming trees.  It's warmest day of the year, I think high is going to be 85, a record high for April. 

Already 66F at 8:30, 5mph SE wind.  West on MCT via Center to Rail Trail Junction and back.  Stopped briefly at restrooms both ways and at the turnaround.  Passed twice the lady walking a big dog whose snout was in somekind of basket/harness. Wonder if it acts as a face mask to prevent the dog from sniffing up germs/virus. 

TT: 1:06:10  AP: 10:51  Splits: 11:58, 10:55, 10:05, 11:01 (that's the fastest I've run on that 0.6 mile of uphill), 10:31, 10:41, 9:53

Got an email notification from Utah Valley Marathon that the "government" will not permit the event despite organizers trying different options such as staggered starts.  So the two options of running own virtual race or deferment is considered.  I've been anticipating this and pretty much decided early on that I will choose virtual running even though it is so NOT fun and unmotivating.  Well, it is what it is.  I just hope the Fall races will nor meet the same demise. 

I signed up for St. George last night before the price increase today.  I have penciled in 10 marathons for this year.  I will be luck to get 6 in.  I am eyeing Mesa Falls (8/22), Pocatello (9/5), Huntsville (9/19), may be Ogden a week later (9/19) then St. George (10/3).  Too bad SoJo has announced to terminate their marathon/half marathon and instead concentrate on shorter distance races in the city to promote better health for its citizens.  I can totally understand that as it did not have too many participants and they have to hire lots of traffic cops to man all those busy intersections.

I should be grateful that as a retired person, I am blessed to not have to worry about income.  So many people are now jobless.  My hearts go out to those who are hurting financially, emotionally and healthwise. 

55F at 7:30 sunny calm.  Ran 3.14 on MCT via 810E west to center then east on 3200N south on 600E.  I just wanted to see if the trail side drinking fountain is turned on.  Man alive, the trail was so crowded.  I encountered bazillion runners, walkers, cyclists on just the 0.6 mile stretch of the MCT between 800 E and Center St.  I nearly got hit by a team of cyclists.  I was about to pass a couple walking when I heard a cyclist called out "Sister Lew".  As I turned my head over my left shoulder to wave, I saw a pack of at least 12 cyclists riding two deep behind coming up fast yelling "on your left".  I literally came to a dead stop behind the walking couple.  After the team of cyclists whisked by, the couple commented, "it's a good thing you waited!"  I also crossed path with a pack of 9 women (all but 3 are blonde) chatting happily as they ran up on the trail and I was running off the trail.  Anyway, it's becoming dangerous with such a crowded trail.  The road is not much safer with speeding motorists zooming down the street and the rising sun in their eyes, hardly paying any attention to pedestrians.  I only ran a short 5K, not worth getting hit. 

Hopefully the trail will be less crowded on Monday when I will run my 83rd marathon, the Virtual Conquer Covid-19 race.  At least the weather is supposed to be cooler.

Walked 1.5 miles with hubby around the neighborhood and immediately encountered a team of high school age boys running past our house. I've seen them running around here almost every time I go out.  Today they were accompanied by a boy on a bike.

Been cooking every day, no eating out for nearly two months, I was craving some Singapore noodles.  So I googled a recipe and made Singapore noodles for the first time.  It turned out pretty good and tasty.  Hubby who normally doesn't like curry anything, loved it.  I'm pleased with my experimental cooking lately.

I signed up for this virtual race last Thursday night after Wendy told me about it and she has signed up for the 10K back in April.  The registration fee for all distances (5K, 10K, half and full marathon) is only $28 + tax and if you want a T-shirt it's $10.  For $30 you get a medal in the shape of a roll of toilet paper and in the middle where the hole is is a spindable "coin" replicating the coronavirus, decal.  You have until midnight May 15 to submit your race time which will be posted on the registration site where you can also see other runners' results.  I printed out my bib the next day.  My bib#1269 means one easy lucky longevity.  I also invited Karen to join us.  I'm bad influence like that.  We decided on a time to start and at the last minute, Karen offered Wendy her bike so she could ride alongside us when she's done with her 10K.  In my fuel belt I carried 4 Gu's, an empty 5oz flask, small pill box with 4 salt caps and 2 ibuprofen, hand sanitizer and a few chlorox wipes which I ended up did not use. 

Got up at 6am, ate breakfast of one chobani and a banaa, drank 6 oz orange juice and sips of water.  I left my house and started the watch precisely at 7am just as planned.  Picked up Wendy from her house and met Karen at Skyridge High School on Center St from there we ran north onto Murdock Canal Trail.  Weather was perfect 43F sunny 5mph N wind.  The trail was not as crowded as on weekends.  We did not worry about time, just enjoy doing a long run together maintaing 5'-6' apart.  We stopped at every restroom and most of the trailside drinking fountains. 

We reached Lone Peak restroom at 10K where John was to meet us and bring Wendy Karen's bike.  Mile 7 split was 16:02 because of the stop.  Our next longish stop was the Canyon Rd restroom and we had run 9.1 miles.  Mile 10 split was 15:19.  Karen figured that we would need to run to 17.2 to turn around so we can finish at the Canyon Rd restroom.  I have run this route when I did my 18 miler 3 weeks ago so I know from my house to trailend at 800 N Orem is 17.1 miles, so will just need to add a little bit on 800N.  The last restroom in Lindon is about 3 miles from the trail end so we all made it a point to use the facility.  However, I wasn't producing any urine.  I made sure I drank every 1-2 miles.  I took my first Gu at the 10K stop then about every hour thereafter.  Also took salt cap with the last two Gu, ibuprofen at trail end (mile 17) and again at mile 23.  We did skip about 3-4  of the trailside drinking fountains.  We were doing the 4:1 ratio regularly except when we're close to reaching the drinking fountain.  When we got to the Canyon Rd restroom, my watch registered 26 miles, John wasn't there yet, and there were two ladies with stroller just finishing their jog.  They cheered as I announced "26 miles".  Karen and I ran out of the parking lot down the street and back up for the 0.2.  These ladies cheered our finish and I had one of them take a picture for us.  John got there without couple minutes.  He brought us bread and popsicles.  We managed to squeeze the bike in the trunk while Wendy and Karen sat in the middle single seat and I sat in the front seat giving me the "maximum protection' for social distancing since I'm the oldest there and also with a husband who is immunocompromised.

It was such a fun virtual race.  I couldn't have asked for better.  Perfect weather, perfect friends, perfect course.  We didn't feel sore at all, just pleasantly tired.  Wendy had run her 10K on Friday, then ran another 10K and rode 20 miles today.  Karen had run 17/18 miles on Thursday so neither of them had rested or "tapered".  I was supposed to run a 20 miler on Sat. but decided to do this instead.  So, our time is not bad for a spontaneous marathon.

TT: 5:49:07  AP: 13:19  Splits: 12:18, 12:31, 12:21, 13:39, 12:58, 12:29, 16:02, 11:46, 12:30, 15:19, 13:49, 12:18, 12:44, 12:05, 16:12, 12:36, 13:09, 13:18, 12:47, 12:24, 12:26, 17:14, 12:42, 13:32, 14:02, 13:18, 13:57

52F at 8am.  Walked with hubby around the new neighborhood southwest and our little block.  A bit of heel pain particularly the right foot.  TT: 47:55

55 at 8am, cloudy breezy.  Walked with hubby on the extended southwest neighborhood small block route.  Stopped and visited with Sue Christensen, Laura Olsen, passing Patricia Owens and other ladies in our ward.  TT: 1:00:13

54F sunny 20mph NW wind.  It felt much colder than 54, with the wind.  Good thing I wore the Huntsville Marathon purple hoodle and capri.  Ran my usual 5 mile route to the 1600W restroom stopped briefly to drink then run back.  Decided to just keep a steady recovery pace to see how the legs feel, NO walking breaks.  Going north and west with headwind was a bit taxing but otherwise felt good.  Saw hubby walking west on 2600N as I was running east towards home.  Told him to keep going and I would turn around after I'm done (had another 0.18 to go) to walk with him.

Ran 5:01 in 59:17  AP: 11:51  Splits: 13:19, 12:33, 12:06, 11:02, 10:13

After the 5 miler run, I turned around and jogged west to meet hubby and walked with him for another 1.27 miles in 31:49

50F sunny 3mph north breeze.  What a beautiful day for a run.  Decided to do the same route as yesterday and also No walk breaks.  Did stop briefly at the 1600W restroom to drink. 

TT: 53:45  AP: 10:44  Splits: 11:28, 11:05, 10:36, 10:25, 10:08

I think this is the fastest I've run on this route since Feb 2018 when I was training for the Woodlands Marathon, so been over 2 years. Yay!

Short walk with hubby > 100E >2700N > 400E
 

66F at 9am. Cloudy.  6 miler to Mitch Hollow.  Walk breaks only on uphill and stopped to drink at Mitch Hollow restroom. 

TT: 1:11:47  AP: 11:50  Splits: 12:21, 11:11, 12:25, 12:32, 12:50, 10:50

55F cloudy windy 18mph NNW.  Ran/walked with Wendy. Up on MCT via 810E > Center > 3200N > 600E.  Nice conversational pace.

TT: 43:42  AP: 12:29  Splits: 12:37, 12:33, 12:30, 12:06

Drove down to Richfield just before 2pm. in our Trend.  Top off the propane tank before leaving Lehi.  Got to packet pick up at the Richfield City Park on 50N Main around 4:15pm.  Lowell got there about the same time.  He and I and the race staffs were the only ones wearing masks.  He was their top tier sponsor ($250).  The names "Smootheroo Enterprises & SOS Pocatello Road Racers" was printed on the back of the shirts which run small.  Because I signed up late, they let me pick a shirt from the extra men's shirts.  Lowell also got Larry a men's medium which is what I chose.  Lowell said Amanda Vereekan's husband will pick him up and can pick me up at the finish parking lot on the way.  Lowell is staying a hotel in Richfield and the Vereekans' hotel is across the street from his.  The RD showed Lowell how to get to the finish line parking lot (take Exit 23) and there will be sign directing him.  We agreed on a time of 6:30am. 

We left the city park and drove to Sevier about an18 miles drive and checked out the finish line parking lot which is a sage brush field that the race directors have cleared and leveled off.  There's also an option of parking our RV at the mountain bike trail head parking lot at the intersection of Hwy 89 and Clear Creek Canyon Dr, about 0.25 mile walk.  We liked the finish line field better as it is somewhat secluded and right where the buses would pick up the runners anyway.  There are also campgrounds in the Fremont Indians State Park.

We drove to the start via I-70 and back down on the race course which is Clear Creek Canyon Dr.  The drive up to the start took a little longer than expected.  Got back around 6:30pm.  Cooked my dinner of Chinese egg noodles with spinach and charsiu.  Warmed up Larry's dinner of sloppyjoes.  Bed down at 9:30. 

Like most night before a race, I slept very little especially in the Trend when hubby gets up to use the bathroom.  He tried to be quiet but the RV rocks a little everytime he moves.  It got cold for him around 4 so he turned on the heat.  Anyhow, I got up at 5:15.  Ate a banana and chobani.  Dressed in capri, long sleeve top, and armwarmersock, fuel belt with handsanitizer, chlorox wipes, pill box, mask, tissues and one Gu.  Three buses pulled in at 5:50 and parked where we would've parked last night when we were eating dinner.  But I had a feeling we should move it to the east side, so that was the right thing to do.  There was one other camping trailer parked at the northeast corner.  Runners started to pull in and parked at the north end and in the middle of the field.  Two porta-potties were stationed at the "entrance" on the south side.  When the last of the buses pulled out (one remained and was not going to the start), I texted Lowell, Amanda to make sure they're already on their way.  It was 6:14am.  Amanda texted me as they got off the exit which is about 0.25 mile away and gave description of their vehicle.  I got out and walked to the entrance where Chelsie (the RD and some race staff) were standing and directing traffic.  I asked them where the finish line is.  It's about 0.15 mile off on the frontage road directly west of the parking lot.  Patrick drove up shortly and off we went.  In the Highlander were also Amanda's two kids (Landrey 15 and Scottie 10).  They're making this a little family getaway trip.  They brought 4 bikes with them. 

Got to the start with 15 min to spare.  Met up with Amanda Roberts, Haley Lane and her brother Joseph Bradshaw (who ended up taking 2nd place overall).  Amanda and Haley drove up from St. George that morning.  Landry would drive Amanda's car down to the finish, he being from Idaho already got his driver's license at age 15. 

We took some group pictures with and without our masks.  Lowell brought bandanas for them to use as mask.  While he shed his tights and down jacket, Haley, Amanda V and I used the portapotties.  The Half capped at 90 for the Half.  We ended up with 85 participants.  There were fire barrels, 5 porta potties, music.  The start line is a reflective tape laid across the road.  The RD made a brief announcement asking who's the first-timer, 4th timer for this race.  He commented that the first timers might get hooked after running this beautiful course and would wanna come back.  He explained the course is semi-closed off, there are couple of ranchers living in the canyon and of course the Fremont Indians State Park & Museum is at mile 8 and is opened at 9am. so we could encounter traffic there.  I've only seen one car going down and one car coming up the canyon during the entire race.

I was worried that I might be overdressed as I looked around most runners were wearing shorts and singlets.  I used the mylar blanket from the race packet to wrap around me so I could avoid the firepit smoke.  The race started on time with a 5-4-3-2-1-rifleshot.  The two Amandas and Joe were off like a bullet while Haley, Lowell and I stayed with the back of the pack.  We leap frogged with few runners.  Ran with a lady from St. George who donated her kidney to a friend two months ago in March.  We came across Willow, a tall 14 year old with her mother Rhonda.  Lowell asked Willow to join us saying it would help her and us.  She said she was having breathing issues.  So Lowell showed her how to breath properly to get more oxygen.  Lowell would make us pose for pictures by running ahead of every mile marker then turn around and run towards the mile marker so he could capture the moments.  He'd make us sing the "boot camp" song with him making up words as we go along.  We stopped at every interesting geoformation and road signs to pose for pictures.  At one point, about 10K into the race, Lowell made Haley posed for a rock-climbing pic.  The canyon walls are that amazing, lots of holes and slots undoubtedly created by years of water and wind.  The clear creek runs alongside to the right of us.  This really is a beautiful course.  So safe too that you can look up at the interesting geo-formation.  We would point out a T-Rex head, a toad, a giant mushroom, a maiden, a fisherman, a dog, a horse, an Indian chief, a giraffe, etc. SO FUN!!! 

We lost Lowell and Haley soon after that "rock climbing" pose.  Willow started asking me how to get rid of cramps.  I asked where her cramp was.  She pointed to her left side just under her ribs.  So I showed her some tricks to get rid of the sideache.  To her delight, she said it works.  Then a bit later, she asked what if it's all the way across.  I figured may be it's her diaphragm spasm.  So we walked and did some exercise to stretch out the rib cage.  Then she asked what if she was not eating well.  Then she asked about what to do for the leg cramps.  Well, needless to say for two miles I gave her lessons on quads and calves stretches, breathing exercises, proper nutritions.  When she wanted to stop again around mile 8 I told her I would run ahead to catch her mom and have her run with us.  She said, why? My mom doesn't like to run with people.  I said but you're a mother-daughter-team, you should run together.  She reintereated that earlier when Lowell tried to get her mom to run with us, she refused.  I learned a litte more about her mom who's actually an ultra runner and does prefer to run solo.  I caught up to Rhonda and told her that Willow is having some issues.  She simply said, Oh I know, she is okay, she will finish.  With that I ran ahead knowing that if Willow doesn't catch up with her mom, Lowell and Haley would run along and accompany her.

The moment we passed the mile 7ish aid station, I realized I had not taken a Gu.  I asked Haley if she saw any Gu at the last aid station and she assured me that there wasn't any and the next aid station should have it.  Anyhow, when I approached mile 9 aid station I decided to take the Gu I carried.  Sure enough, they did not have any energy gel.  The last 5K was flat with a little rollers, parrallel I-70.  It was getting a bit breezy and at times a headwind.  I just kept in sight a runner ahead and would reel each one in.  I passed about 8 or 9 runners after Rhonda and no one passed me.  The last mile has an uphill of 0.75 long, it's a long steady climb.  I was about 60 seconds behind my last victim but that last climb onto the freeway overpass dashed my hope of catching her and my hope of finishing under 2:30.  I had to take couple of walk breaks as my heart rate soared.  The finish line arch was visible on the other side of I-70.  Saw hubby down below on the frontage road calling out to me.  Twitches of leg cramps started to creep up as I ran down the overpass and made the U-turn onto the frontage road.  Saw Amanda V and her family at the U-turn and I commented on the demoralizing uphill of the last mile, then ran straight ahead towards the finish arch to the cheers of the RDs and staff. 

They had fig bars, chocolate milk and bottled water for post race refreshment.  We cheered other runners in keeping a safe distance.  I recommend this race and will come back and run it again in the future.  Haley, Scottie and I ran back up the course when we spotted Lowell and Haley coming down and we all ran in together.  We took some finish line group pictures and said goodbye with "air hugs".  Hubby was extra cautious and stayed some distance away.  We got back in our RV and drove home by 2pm.  It was a quick 24 hours trip. 

Official time: 2:32:15  Splits: 10:03, 10:57, 11:18, 12:05, 11:06, 11:35, 13:37, 11:23, 11:59, 11:07, 11:44, 11:17, 11:38, 9:45

Walked with hubby on this nice 63F cloudy breezy morning.

walked with hubby

52F cloudy strong south wind.  First run after the half marathon on Sat.  PF is noticeable. Ran the usual west MCT 5 mile route.  Paused at 1600W restroom for quick drink.  No walking breaks.  The last mile with headwind took my breathe away.  Wheezing after I got in the house so took two puffs of ProAir.

TT: 53:47  AP: 10:45  Splits: 11:29, 10:42, 10:43, 10:26, 10:24

Almost same time as the run on May 8 (which was 2 seconds faster), except today's splits were more even.

48F cloudy south breeze.  Ran with Wendy east to 810E west on MCT to center west on Ivory Ridge Clubview Ln, south on 460E thru Bronson corner to 600E.  Saw hubby coming out of the house as we turned west on 2600N where we walked and stopped the watch at 3.26 miles.  Nice chatty 5K doing 4:1 ratio

3.26 miles in 41:36  AP: 12:46  Splits: 12:17, 11:54, 12:38, the last 0.26 walked 18:27.

Once we reached Wendy's house, said goodbye, caught up to hubby and restarted the watch to walk with him.

1.27 miles in 26:06

63F sunny north wind at 7mph. walked with hubby.

Planning to run the Utah Valley Marathon virtually this weekend, but with the forecast of rain/strong wind, I will run it on Monday Memorial Day instead even though it means I have to do it solo. 

Perfect Memorial Day Weather. Starting temp 45F sunny, calm, finishing temp was probably high 60s.  Got up at 5:45, ate one chobani and banana, water.  Left the house at 6:45 ran one mile to pick up Karen.  Plan was to meet Rachel at 9am at the Canyon Rd Trailhead where Karen's husband will drive Karen home. Got there at 8:50 so was going to run 5 min south and turn back.  Lowell called right then so was chatting with him and lost track of time.  Ended up running extra mile to mile 10+.  Turned back and met Rachel at my mile 11.3  Rachel's dog, Daisy, accompanied us the next 15+ miles.  There were SO many bikers in all shapes, sizes and ages on the path. I got nervous especially when Daisy went leashless the last 8+ miles.  She is a very obedient dog and always turns/runs back to Rachel whenever called.  I just got stressed watching for bikers.  I've never seen so many bikers on that trail in all these years I ran there.  

Got to the end of trail in 800 N Orem at almost mile 19, then turned back.  Stopped my watch at mile 26.21 and walked the last 0.6 or so mile back to the trailhead parking lot.  During that walk, my left foot (where the foot bends) started to cramp.  So I took a sub-linqual cramp tab and it helped.  Ate one Gu every hour+ so had 4 Gu and drank every 2 or so miles the first 18 miles, then drank from every fountain and doused my hat the last 8 miles back. It got a bit warm with no breeze and the sun beating down on us.  Lowell called 2-3 more times during the last 16 miles.  I don't do well running and talking because of my asthma.  Even though my pace always slow a bit, it was great to chat with him.  Did the 4:30 to 0.30 ratio most of the time and walk on incline and when getting phone out talking.  No walk breaks the last 1.26 mile.  Was really hoping to get in under 5:30 but calf cramps came on the last 5K.

TT: 5:33:11  AP: 12:43  Splits: 11:46, 11:16, 10:57, 12:16, 11:40, 12:34, 12:39, 12:09, 12:01, 13:12. 14:35 (talking to Lowell and texting Rachel), 12:45, 12:50, 12:24, 12:37, 12:52, 13:39. 12:31, 13:42, 13:13, 12:53. 13:28, 14:30 (talking to Lowell), 13:05 (back of calf cramp), 12:32, 11:58

Signed up for this race on Sat. and noticed forecast showing perfect race weather today so decided to run this even though it's only been 15 days since my last marthon on Memorial Day.  I have done back to back marathons last year (St. George then SoJo) so figure I should be able to finish fine.  Texted Lowell, Rachel, Karen and Wendy to seek comapny.  Last night Karen responded that she may be able to run some with me, she having returned from a family beach vacation in California last night. 

Got up at 5:40.  Ate breakfast of chobani, banana and a small cresent roll.  Out the door at 6:45 and ran 1.3 miles before meeting Karen at her house.  Amanda Ashby also came in her bike to accompany us.  After bidding her goodbye at her mile 10 (my mile 11.2) she turned back home in a much faster speed.  Karen stayed with me all the way to the finish.  We chatted making the miles go by fast.  Lowell called us twice to chat and sing his "unique" songs to us.  Love his funny wittiness and singing.  At almost age 78, he sure is amazing!

PF pain during almost the whole run.  Perfect weather starting temp 43F finish temp 65F sunny with a little breeze in Orem.  We turned back when my watch reached mile 18 about a block east on 800 N Orem.  Didn't manage Gu taking very well today.  I missed my last and 4th Gu so I think I bonked during the last 5 miles.  I also talked alot as a result walked alot.  Today's run is not about time, it's about visiting and enjoying Karen's company.  However, we missed Rachel and Wendy.

TT: 5:55:22  AP: 13:34  Splits: 12:19, 11:45, 11:12, 12:47, 12:04, 12:01, 13:16, 12:21, 12:24, 13:25, 12:30, 13:25, 12:36, 14:31, 14:16, 14:19, 14:39, 13:54, 14:07, 14:00, 13:32, 15:00, 14:34, 15:14, 14:38, 17:30, 14:43