Every Run is a Great Run!

AM: Kim and I were wanting to do a Payson downhill run this morning but we weren't able to come up with a cost-effective or time-effective way to get it done. So instead we decided to torture ourselves by running up/down Loafer - this time past the gate and all the way to the cabins so we could "enjoy" the insanely steep last mile. Once you get to a certain steepness it almost hurts as much going down as going up. At least if you make it to the top you get rewarded with a drink at a drinking fountain. I did probably 8-10 striders along the way during the uphill so that's why my miles are higher than Kim's. Ali L joined us for some of the the uphill and all of the downhill miles, it was nice to have her join us and chat a bit. Legs feeling pretty good after the 20-miler on Saturday. Overcast and a bit muggy today. Felt a few raindrops at the beginning but that was about it.

Ave pace 9:40.

PM: Ran 5-miles EagleView hills with Nate and Bill. Started out easy but then pushed the last couple of miles to get under 7-min pace so I'll count them as MP miles. Legs still feeling good so that makes me happy.

Ave pace 7:45.

RHR 49

AM: Ran 5 mile river bottoms loop with Kim then 1 additional solo mile. Also ran into the Lewis's and ran/chatted with them for part of the way. Lots of runners/walkers/bikers out today. Kept the pace nice and easy wanting to save our energy for the 10K on Thursday. No taper for me for this race but I will be keeping all the miles between now and then on the very easy side. Still have minimal abdomen and groin pains but better this week than last.

Ave pace 9:47.

Late AM: Ran Lakeview 10K loop solo. Pretty much uneventful. A bit hot and muggy. Didn't pay any attention to the garmin.

Ave pace 8:50.

RHR 49

Slept in a bit this morning as today is Lagoon Day at my work so we'll all be headed up to Lagoon shortly. Probably not the best thing to do the day before a race but hey we gotta have fun with the family too! Also since my employer is footing the bill we can't pass that up.

Ran 5 miles solo then 2 more with Kim. Taking it easy today with hopes that the legs might be a little fresher tomorrow for the 10K. Was originally going to go 8 miles but for whatever reason my legs felt like lead today so I stopped at 7. Hope I have a bit more zip tomorrow.

No big goals for the race tomorrow. I haven't tapered so I'll just be treating this one as a glorified tempo run. It's not typically a PR-type course so I'm not sure where I'll end up, hopefully a bit under 40 minutes. Kim has a chance to go under 50 minutes but she really hasn't tapered much either and has had a string of hard workouts in the last week or so so it may be more of a tempo/training run for her as well.

After the race we'll be watching the parade and in particular we'll be cheering my boy Jansen as he he'll be riding on the Icelandic Association float all dressed in native Icelandic attire. My Aunt made these outfits years ago and I've worn them on many occasions in years past including the parade so I was glad that Jansen could get a turn. My Aunt had initially asked if I could do it but with the race timing it wouldn't work so good this year. But I think it will be better with Jansen doing it anyway and the rest of us will enjoy sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the parade and other festivities.

Ave pace 9:25.

RHR 48

The race went better than I expected. A PR for this race by over 4 minutes but not a 10K PR, and it did feel more like a tempo/training run at times rather than a race, but that was the plan and I stuck to it. The good news is that I was still able to run sub-39 with no taper and on a not-so-PR-ish type course. So perhaps this 3-4 month slump I've been in is finally starting to fade and the 70+ mile weeks will start to work some magic.

Kim did a super job and got a huge PR and broke the magic 50 minute threshold with a time of 49:57, good enough for 2nd in her AG. Good job KIM!!!

I think maybe only in Spanish Fork can I run a sub-39 10K in a local race and still not place in the top 3 in AG. Top 2 in AG of course were my neighborhood nemeses Carl Hanson and Darin Cable. I didn't have a prayer against those guys as I think Carl ran 35 something (4th overall) and Darin ran around 37:30. Perhaps on my very, very best, tapered day I could stay close to Darin.

The biggest downer of the race was that 3rd place in my AG was a guy from Payson I don't know who beat me by only 3 seconds!!! Dang if could have just kicked like Tyler S (who ran most of the last 1/2 of the race with me then had a massive kick at the end) I would have caught the guy! I just had no kick in me today.

This was however the first time I've ever beaten lost sheep Pat Loss or Kent Wing. But man those 2 sure run great for being in their mid-50s. Tyler S (also a recent lost sheep?) also is running great and has great speed, I think once he gets a little mileage base and endurance he will be running marathons in the 2:45-2:55 range. Sub-3 this year should be pretty doable for him I think.

I went out a little conservative and drafted of Tyler, Pat, Kent and Scott N for much of the first 1/2 the race. Thanks for the lift guys! At that point Tyler and I went ahead and just tried to hold the pace around 6:15-6:20 until the last 1/2 mile then we picked it up. I measured the race at 6.15 but others measured 6.2 so I think the length is pretty close to true.

Splits were 6:47 (all uphill comes during this mile), 6:08, 6:15, 6:21, 6:19, 6:03, :58 (.2)

It was also good to see Paul T at the finish and see that he ran a great race right at 41 minutes (he was shooting for 42), beating Hal A by just a few seconds. Was planning on doing a cooldown run with Paul but lost track of him. Ended up finding Hal doing his cooldown run so I joined him for a mile or so.

After cooldown and picking up Kim's 2nd place medal we relaxed by watching the Fiesta Days parade. Jansen was looking pretty snazzy in the Icelandic outfit, albeit a bit warm. Looking forward to another couple days off from work today and tomorrow.

Day off work today so we slept in a bit after staying up late to enjoy fireworks and other festivities. Ran about 3 miles with Kim then 5 more solo. Legs feeling pretty good after the race, not really much different than any other day. Kept the pace very easy and relaxed so hopefully I'll have some pep for a 20-miler tomorrow.

Ave pace 9:37.

RHR 44 

Had a nice run today, although I'm pretty pooped. Still a bit tired from the 10K on Thursday I think. Drove over to Utah Lake and met Paul at 5am at the end of the Provo river trail. We then headed up the canyon, picking up Kevin, Kerry, and Scott along the way and eventually making our way up to Trefoil. We than ran down the river trail. From Vivian to the base of the canyon I decided to push the tempo a bit and ran alone for about 6 miles, backtracking at the 10 mile point to go back and hook back up with the group. Kevin, Kerry and Scott were only wanting 10 miles so at that point Paul and I said bye to the others and headed down to the lake. I haven't run the river trail for a while so it was a nice change of pace with some good downhill training for SGM. We passed FastRunningMommy Sarah, looked like she was running great even while packing a little extra "bundle" :-) It's always nice to run with Paul and the other guys from the WBR team. Everyone seems to be running very well.

Ave pace 8:05.

RHR 49