Every Race is an Adventure!

Ran the Tri-City course (Orem, Lindon, Pleasant Grove) with Larry, Wayne, and Kevin. It was nice running at 9am. We're back to running at 5:45am tomorrow...brrr!

I ran the lighted streets of Orem with Larry this morning. The temperature was in the low 20's with a little breeze now and then. I dressed for the mid 20's and no wind and was a little cold now and then, but not too bad.

At lunch time I felt like running a few more miles. I ran a little over 4 miles. Most of it was at 7:30/mi, gradually working up to 6:48/mi for the last half mile.

I bought a new cold weather running suit yesterday and was set to try it out this morning but nobody else showed at 5:45am. I was hoping maybe to run with Tom at lunchtime so I opted to go back home and skip the morning run. I figured back-to-back two-a-days was probably pushing it at this point.

At lunchtime, the temperature was in the mid-30's so I decided to run outside. I decided on a tempo run on Kuhni Road. I didn't have my Garmin, just the Timex Ironman I always wear, so after the run I measured the distance using Google Earth.

Overall I averaged 8:03/mi for 8.6 miles (7:52/mi out, 8:15/mi back).

My legs were pretty tired and a little tight after the run, probably due to the cold.

The temperature was in the 40's this morning prior to the pending storm and colder temperatures, so I decided to run this morning instead of at lunchtime. There was a pretty good wind that cooled things down, but it wasn't too bad. I was hoping at least Larry would show up at 5:45am, but I ended up running alone.

My legs felt very tired. That probably has something to do with the extra miles and faster pace the past couple of days. Today I just wanted to put in some easy miles while trying to maintain a decent pace and good form.

I averaged 8:38/mi for the 5.3 miles. The half mile paces were 9:14, 9:00, 8:52, 9:15, 9:02, 8:46, 8:32, 8:01, 7:54, 7:41. I felt like I maintained a steady effort throughout. The times show that it took a while, but I gradually loosened up and was able to gradually pick up the pace.

Today was a basketball day. I played at 8:00, my son Adam at 10:00, my daughter Emily at 1:00, the BYU Cougars in the afternoon, and the Utah Jazz in the evening. We had 12 show up for my game. It was fun fellowshipping, but I didn't get a lot of playing time (and I'm the "coach").

Driving home after my game I saw Larry, Kevin, Wayne, and Jolene starting their run. I decided to hurry and run with them for a while before Adam's game. Andrew drove me to find them. We were lucky and found where they had gone pretty quickly. I ended up running five miles with them before stopping off at Adam's game.

The run was cold, and snowy/icy in some spots, but I enjoyed it. We didn't push hard.

I ran the Orem course with Larry this morning. We didn't set any speed records, but it was a good run.

I played basketball with my son Andrew and others this morning. Only 6 showed up so we played 3 on 3. I had to (try to) guard Andrew. It used to be much easier when he wasn't 3 to 4 inches taller than me and didn't outweigh me by 40 pounds. It was fun. When I scored on him or stopped him on defense I was happy for me, and when he scored on me or stopped me on defense I was happy for him.

I ran the Orem course again, but this time Kevin joined Larry and me. As usual, Kevin pushed the pace. On the way back he couldn't stand it any longer and left us behind. Since I'm tapering a little for the Painter's 1/2 marathon on Saturday, I didn't feel the need for too much speed. I'll save it for Saturday (I hope). We did still manage to average about 30 secs/mile faster than some other mornings recently.

I had a basketball game this evening. I was 2 for 2 on 3 pointers and 2 for 3 on my other shots for a total of 10 points. I think this may be a career high for me. It's definitely better than I normally do. We still lost by 4 points, but at least I achieved my goal of not getting hurt. We only had 2 subs (instead of 7 like our last game) so I got some good exercise.

When I registered for the Painter's 1/2 Marathon in St. George I was hoping for a little break from the cold weather. The normal temperature in St. George in January I think is around 50 degrees. I believe the temperature this morning was around 19 degrees. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a very enjoyable run.

I ran into Nathan Gage just before the race began. He and I ran together for about 8.5 miles, then he slowly pulled away. We had both talked about being content with a 1:45 time today, but we both ran a bit faster than that. It was great running with Nathan.

Shortly after the start I saw Larry and he said that Wayne was up ahead and was pushing to beat his previous PR of 1:36. About 1/2 way into the race (I think) I saw Wayne ahead down below on a big switch back. Nathan and I gradual gained on him. Shortly after Nathan pulled away from me, I saw him pass Wayne up ahead. I managed to maintain the distance between Wayne and me and keep him in sight from about mile 9 to the end. At mile 11 I tried to pick up the pace a little but Wayne did, too. Then we both kicked about the same time near the end. Wayne never knew I was chasing him, but he seemed to match every push I tried to make anyway. He ended up beating me by 5 seconds with 1:36:01...so close to his goal of breaking 1:36.

I was thrilled to finish in 1:36 (average pace of 7:20/mi). I was also surprised, and pleased, to find out I had finished 3rd in the 45-49 division.

Despite the unusually cold weather, I really enjoyed this race. I liked the course and I thought the race was organized pretty well. The finisher medals and awards were nice. I will definitely consider doing this race again next year.

Basketball (3 on 3 this morning).

Basketball game at 9:00 p.m. We had 11 show up. We lost by 2 points.

I definitely need to get more runs in, but with the weather being so cold it's nice to at least get some exercise running up and down the court.

I mailed in our team's registration for the Wasatch Back Relay (now called Ragnar Relay Wasatach Back) on Tuesday (early registration ends 1/31.) We're in the Submasters Male division this year (we have been a corporate team the previous three years). We've got a few new team members this year, but once again we have a great bunch of guys to run with and I can hardly wait.

I finally got some running in again today, even if it was on a treadmill:

Pace (min/mi)	Distance (miles)
8:30	0.5
8:00	0.5
7:30	4.0
cool down	0.25
Total
Avg 7:45	5.25

This wasn't a killer workout, but wasn't too easy either. The hardest part was the boredom of running on the treadmill.

Tom was finishing up on a stepping machine when I arrived. He looked like he had worked up a pretty good sweat. Cory was running on the treadmill next to me. His foot is still bothering him a little but he was excited to be running again and got in 5 miles at a pretty good pace. After I had showered and was leaving I saw Scott come in. He had put in a good run outside (tough guy). I found the treadmill to be extremely tedious today. I may follow Scott's lead and brave the cold next time.

Basketball again this morning (4 on 4). Great fun, though I missed my son Andrew being there. I think he is nursing the "dead leg" (thigh bruise?) he got on Tuesday morning. At Wednesday night's game he said it was bothering him. Kevin called last night about running on Saturday.

I ran 6.5 easy miles with Larry, Wayne, and Kevin. It was sunny but quite cold. We ran up to the mouth of Battle Creek Canyon and back. It's great to have great guys to run with. I don't know if I would have braved the cold alone. I know I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

I ran the Eagle View run today. The temperature was about 20 degrees. It was good to run up those hills again. I didn't have my Garmin, but I averaged about 8:24/mi overall for the 5 miles. I'll classify these as easy miles, but they weren't too easy.

I was going to run outside again today, but my long pants were still wet from the Fitness Center laundry. Instead I watched Jackie Chan while I ran 5 miles on the treadmill. I ran most of it at about 7:30/mi, speeding up to 7:00/mi during the last half mile. I averaged 7:36/mi overall including the warmup.

No running today, but had a basketball game at 10:00p.m. We only had 6 players to begin with (a 7th came at half time) so I got a pretty good workout. The team we played against looked more like (and at times played more like) a football team. Three of the guys looked to be 6'4"+ and 300+ lbs. While running a marathon you don't see too many big guys like that trying to hurt you (or hurting you without really trying, like when one of them stepped on my foot). Maybe that's part of why (being 5'7") my first love is running.

I ran the Eagles View course again today in 39:48, an average of 7:58/mi, nearly half a minute per mile faster than my average of 8:24/mi for the same run on Monday. It was about 5 degrees warmer today (25 degrees instead of 20) and I ran in shorts instead of long pants. I think that accounted for the faster time.

Morning basketball with my son Andrew and the guys.

Kevin and I met at 9am to run. We weren't sure if Larry and Wayne were planning to run so we walked the few houses down to Larry's. He wasn't home. As we discussed where to run we decided to try the BYU indoor track. Bad choice. We drove all the way there only do find that they were hosting a high school invitational track meet. By the time we got back home it was nearly time for my son's basketball game so we skipped running.
At 9pm my wife had some things she needed to do so I took the opportunity to get a little running in. I decided to run the hill up 2000 North a couple of times. I warmed up by running up Main Street then up 2000 North to the intersection with the street just above Oak Canyon Jr. High. From here to the manhole cover where we normally turn around at the top of the hill is about 1 mile. The hill is pretty steep for about 0.75 miles then flattens out at the top. The first time up the hill I averaged 10:11/mi, and 7:22/mi back down. The next time up I averaged 10:15/mi, and 7:14/mi back down. On the 0.42 mile stretch back to Main Street and down to my neighborhood I averaged 6:39/mi.
It was a little scary running in the dark near the icy shoulders of the road when cars came by, but there weren't too many. I wouldn't make a habit of doing this run when I did, but I'll probably do it again when it is a little warmer and a little lighter.
While running I thought of my assigned legs in the Wasatch Back Relay this year (1, 13, 25). While running uphill I thought of the climb up Trapper's Loop, and while running downhill I thought of the quick run down Blacksmith Fork Canyon to start the relay. It gave me an idea for a loop run up 2000 N and down 1600 N. I'll have to try it out soon.

I probably should have stayed indoors. The air quality was terrible. Even so, it didn't seem to affect my breathing too much...but I think I can still taste it.

I ran Eagles View again, the same course as last Monday and Thursday. The times were:

Last Monday: 41:57 (8:24/mi)

Last Thursday: 39:48 (7:58/mi)

Today: 37:58 (7:36/mi)

It would be great if this rate of improvement were to continue, but somehow I don't think that is very likely.

My lungs didn't appreciate me running outdoors in the muck yesterday so I stuck to the treadmill today. I warmed up @ 8:00-8:30/mi for 1 mile then bumped it to a 7:30/mi pace for 1.5 miles. I dropped it to 7:42/mi for another 1.5 miles then dropped down to 8:00-8:30/mi for a half mile cooldown.

I don't like running on the treadmill anyway, but today seemed especially bad. I was bored, too warm, and wasn't feeling very good anyway. My kids have been sick and I may have picked up a little something...or maybe it's from running in the gunk on Monday. I don't think it's anything that a good outdoor run in clean fresh air wouldn't cure.