Running on Twinkies

What a fun race. The first 13 miles are dirt roads with rolling hills. The next 18 miles are paved roads and mostly down hill. I was having fun on the dirt road and probably started faster than I should have. I saw Kelli a few times and the dirt road and chatted with her a bit. Down on the pavement, I met Jenny (Neasts). We ran together for a few miles, but her pace was stronger than mine and I dropped back a bit. Near mile 22, I saw Leslie. She was running the 30k. I stopped and gave her a quick hug. About mile 25, my ankle started acting up. It wasn't anything serious, but it slowed me down. I crossed the marathon mark at 3:45. My goal before the race was to finish around 4:30. I was still on track to meet that. At mile 27, I realized that I only had 4 miles left. No problem. At 28.2 miles, my wife called to see where I was at. My family was waiting for me at the finish. I told them I would be there in thirty minutes. there are two hills near the end. They are actually short easy hills, but after thrity miles they seem like monsters. I finished at 4:32:54, a little behind my goal, but still a PR. After the race we went over to Snow Canyon State Park and did some short hikes with the kids. I carried Susanna, our eighteen month old, in a back pack. It was a great way to stretch my legs after the race. Super fun day.

Today was supposed to be a recovery run from Saturday's race. I ran along the shoreline trail with Steve, Ryan, and Matt V. When we got to parish creek, we decided to go up the switchbacks a tag Centerville peak. We came down the really fast way to the flag in Centerville canyon, then headed back on the shoreline trail. So much for easy recovery, but is was super fun run.

Mueller park Trail. Ran up past the Elephant Rock a little ways. There wasn't any snow until about 4.5 miles up. The full loop should be dry soon.

I volunteered to be the assistant race director for the 5k at my son's school, Wasatch Peak Academy. We got there early and marked the course. I ran the race with Connor, my eleven year old. He finished in 24:09. I headed back out and ran Jed (9yrs) in at 33:03. Then I headed out a third time and ran Jaxine (8 yrs) in at 40:59. My wife Susie also ran and came in at 36:45. It was a fun race for everybody.

Shepherd Creek. Ran up the mountain with Steve, Ryan, Aaron, and Jeff.