Every Race is an Adventure!

I ran with Larry and Wayne this morning. We started at the mouth of Provo Canyon and went up South Fork and back. Wayne and I went a few miles farther than  Larry, but we all had a good hard run.

My goal today was to get in a 3.5 hour run and 20-ish miles. I made that goal, 3.5 hours and 19.2 miles, but the last 6 miles or so really tested me. About mile 13, coming down South Fork, a very strong and cold head wind suddenly hit us, bringing with it a pretty good snowfall. We were quickly wet and cold. The head wind and snow continued for the rest of the run. First my ears got cold, then my thighs, then my right hip started aching and getting stiff, then my hands got very cold (even with gloves on) and some of my fingers started aching and going numb.

With about 3 miles to go I had to stop at Nunn's Park to go to the bathroom. I had slowed so much that Wayne had already pulled way ahead. It was welcome stop for a couple of reasons, one of which was to warm up a bit. For the last few miles my ear plugged up. I had taken to gasping/groaning/moaning with nearly every breath to keep moving, and the plugged ear made it echo through my head. When I finally finished I was soaked to the skin and very cold.

I feel much better now that I'm showered and dressed in dry clothes, including a sweater, but I still feel cold and my fingers are chilled. What a great run! It has to help my 50-mile trail run training...although I still feel like my training is on the low side. Oh well, we do the best we can with the cards we're dealt.

I went out early and got in a couple of miles running around the block waiting to see if anyone else came out at the normal time. I didn't see anyone so I decided to run the neighborhood 5K route a couple of times. I passed Lyle running the opposite direction a couple of times, once alone and once with Kris. My average pace was about 9:45/mi.

I got a 1/2 mile in early then Wayne and I ran the 2000 N route. Average pace about 9:40/mi.

Larry, Kevin and I ran the 2000 N route again. We cut it a little short for Kevin to make a bathroom stop at the Jr. High. We took the hill at a very slow pace today and the average pace for the run was only about 11:00/mi.

Larry, Wayne and I ran the Cascade route. It must have been opposite day, because it was windy everywhere except near the mouth of the canyon. The winds must have been canceling each other out.

I wore my new Saucony Guide TR 2 trail shoes this morning for the first time. I plan to wear them on our 4.5 hour trail run on Saturday and I wanted to get in at least one run in them before then. They felt good.

Larry wore his new Nathan HPL 20 hydration vest to try it out before Saturday. It looked pretty sweet. Mine should arrive today.

As Red Riding Hood said in "Into the Woods", I'm excited and scared to go "into the woods" for a 4.5 hour trail run on Saturday. I'm not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, but I'll likely encounter fatigue and burning muscles (on the uphills),  and possibly nausea, blisters, chafing, heat and exhaustion. Sounds like an adventure.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone.
All of the bad feelings have disappeared.

Actually, I didn't really feel any pain or bad feelings on our very long run today, which is why I do have increased optimism...I do think I can make it now...to the end of the Squaw Peak 50 that is.

Larry and I ran for just over 5 hours. We started at Dry Canyon with Kevin, Grant, Bruce, Joe and Joe's neighbor (I forget his name now). Kevin, Grant and Joe's neighbor weren't going long so they headed back after a while. Larry and I were holding Joe and Bruce back so they went on ahead on the descent from Rock Pile to Canyon Glen.

Larry and I weren't exactly sure which way to go. We maybe took an indirect path to Canyon Glen but eventually got there. We then proceeded to Bridal Veil Falls park and began the climb up Squaw Peak. Joe had given us good directions and we found "the chute" pretty easily. What a climb! We finally made it to Hope campground. At that point we'd been out about 4 hours and decided to start down and head for home.

On our way out of Hope campground we came upon some Boy Scouts and their leaders carrying their coolers and gear on the long hike back to their cars. They were glad to see us and welcomed our offer to help carry some gear. It turns out it was Bishop Larry Howell and the 11-year old Scouts from the 12th Ward in our stake. I carried a (heavy) dutch oven in one hand and helped a Scout named Thayson carry a cooler with the other.

After we reached their vehicles, Larry and I headed down Squaw Peak road. We eventually cut across on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and explored/adventured our way to Smith's Ditch road and down to East Lawn Cemetery. Once we knew where we were going to come out I called Karen (as planned) and she met us just as we reached the entrance to the cemetery. It was sure good to see her.

The total time on my watch was 5:03, which included all of our rest time except a bathroom stop I made at Nunn's Park. It showed a total distance of only about 17.25 miles, at about 15:00/mi pace. I feel okay about that because we ran (walked) a lot of tough uphill, and I never really pushed very hard. I still felt okay at the end of the run, and recovered really quickly. The distance was about 1/3 of the 50 miles, so at that same pace we could finish in about 15 hours. I think I can make it.

Our new Nathan HPL 20 hydration packs worked out very well. They were very comfortable. The Dirty Girl gaiters also worked well. My new Saucony Guide TR 2 trail shoes were also very comfortable and I ended up with just the beginning of a small blister on my left instep.

This was my longest run ever (by time) to date, a few minutes longer than mine and Kerry's Boston Marathon adventure. I was surprised a bit by how quickly I recovered. Trail running, especially at an easy pace, is apparently far easier on my body than pavement pounding at a steady pace.

The weather was perfect for running and I thoroughly enjoyed this run with Larry (and the other guys while we were with them). What a blessing it was to be able to do it. What a beautiful place we live in. The scenery was amazing.

There's nothing quite like a Monday morning solo run in the rain. As I mentioned to Larry on Saturday's long run, some ultra marathon advice I read online is to just keep moving forward. ("Keep moving forward" is also the motto from the movie "Meet the Robinsons".) It's probably the single most important thing I've learned from running. It applies to so much more than just running a long race. This morning it got me out of bed to run alone in the rain. I've got a goal to be as ready as I can be for the Squaw Peak 50, and this 6.2 mile run in the rain at 9:28/mi average pace was one more small step in the right direction.

I ran the 2000 N hill route, 9:41/mi average pace.

Another solo run. I started the normal Wednesday run up the water tank hills. As I started up the dirt road at hill two it felt too soft. I didn't want to run in mud, so I ended up running the paved first hill up to the parking lot twice, then dropped down 800 E to 1200 N then back up the 800 E hill and down 1600 N to home. With all the hills my average pace was only 10:24/mi.

It was good to see Larry and Wayne out this morning. We ran the Cascade route at an easy pace. Between leaving a little late and not running fast I was a little behind schedule so I pushed the last 0.4 miles or so home at about 6:30/mi pace. I was a little pleasantly surprised that I still had that kind of speed in me, if only for a short distance.

I met Wayne and Kevin at the mouth of Provo Canyon at 5:30am. Actually, Kevin was a little late so he parked at Timpanogos Park and we met him there. On our way there, John Gillespie joined us and ran with us as far as Vivian Park. There he and Kevin headed back. Wayne and I ran up past South Fork Park until our Garmin's showed 8 miles. We should have had 16 miles when we got back to the parking lot, but we ended up with 21 miles.

When we reach the Bonneville Shoreline Trail turnoff near Bridal Veil Falls Park, we decided to go on up a ways. We were too late to join the John Bozung group who were preparing the trail for the Squaw Peak 50 in 3 weeks, but we saw a biker and other runners, including Rich & Marci Lamoreaux and Paul Nielsen. We ran with Rich and Paul for a bit...Marci was up ahead.

I took Wayne up far enough to get a feel for the climb up the chute to Hope campground. We turned around when our Garmins showed 15 miles and headed back to the Provo Parkway Trail and then the last 3 miles to the parking lot.

I learned (was reminded of) two key things during this morning's run: 1) old guys shouldn't forget to take pain killers before a long run, and 2) dirt trails are much easier on the body than asphalt. The last few miles were tough. My old friends, right hip pain and right PF heel pain, decided to return for a visit at the same. I'm somewhat proud of my response when I was so tired I could barely keep moving. It makes me feel like a true runner. I picked up the cadence of my foot turnover and focused on maintaining good running form. In other words, when I got so tired it was hard to keep going, I tried to go faster. One great side effect of going faster, besides running more efficiently, is getting done sooner.

Wayne was only planning on about16 miles and 3 hours. He stayed with me for 21 miles and 4+ hours. Good running buddies are a true treasure. We both felt good about the run. It should benefit me in the Squaw Peak 50 on June 5, and him in the Teton Dam Marathon on June 12.

By the way, we were expecting sun but didn't run into any until about mile 18 or 19. That was fine by me. It was great running weather, but I guess some heat training would be good.

It was nice to have Kevin out this morning. It was a beautiful morning. We ran the Lindon loop. Our 8:47/mi pace was far from race pace, but a little faster than most of our training runs through the winter and wet/cold spring. We actually had several minutes to talk after the run before I had to go in.

2000 N hill route with Larry and Kevin. We left late and ran slow so we had to turn back on the canal road and cut the run a little short to get me back home on time.

I ran solo the modified water tank route I ran last week, up the first hill to the parking lot twice then down to 1200 N and back up the 800 E hill.

Wayne and I ran the Cascade route. We actually managed sub-8:30 pace for a mile near the end then sub-8:00 the last 1/4 mile, but only about 9:00 pace overall. But that's faster than most of my training runs this year, so I'll take it.

Ever since I developed PF pain in my right heel in January I've been trying to get in enough miles to have a hope of finishing the Squaw Peak 50 without the training making my PF pain worse. I've been fairly successful I think. The pain is still there, some days worse than others, but it's not getting worse and is manageable.

I've been focusing on more miles and time on my feet instead of speed, so I'm curious to see how much speed I'll be able to pull out for the neighborhood 5K on Saturday. I plan to not run on Friday to rest my foot a little. We have a team run Saturday morning so I plan to run 6-8 miles easy early in the morning with my teammates as a warm up for the 5K. I don't plan to PR or win the 5K so I'm not concerned about how fast I can run, just curious. There are a lot of fast youngin's in the neighborhood. It will be fun to see who shows up and how we all finish.

I drove to the mouth of the canyon for the scheduled team run at 5:30am despite the cold, wind and rain. I didn't know if I would find anyone there. Kerry was there waiting in his car. We had decided to not run since we were both planning to run again later, but then Ryan came. It was his only time to run so we decided to go a few miles with him. After about 3 miles (at Nunns Park) Kerry and I turned back and Ryan went on (to Vivian Park I think). Like many bad weather runs, it took a little effort to get started but it wasn't so bad and we felt good about having done it afterward.

It was still cold and rainy as the time for the neighborhood Fun Run 5K approached. I was proud that Amy and Emily still decided to go with me and do it. By the time the race started the rain had let up. It was a little cold at the breakfast afterward, but the sun came out and it wasn't too bad. On the way home afterward Amy said she had fun with Libby and was glad she went. Emily had so much fun with Brianna that we were some of the last ones to leave.

Turn out at the race was somewhat light due to the bad weather. I think there were about 25 walkers/runners plus some bikers. I was worried about some of the fast youngsters like Kurt, Nate, Lecy, Tiffanie, and Brianna. They've all been running at 6:00-ish to 6:30-ish pace recently. Fortunately, Tiffanie and Brianna were the only ones who showed up for the race. Brianna's mom told me Brianna's knee had gone out this week and she considered not running, but like any true runner, she was there. Brad Davies, a 40-something who moved into the ward recently, ran a 23:00-ish 5K recently was also there. I thought I could go faster than that, but without doing much speed work in the last 6 months I wasn't sure.

As the race started various children pushed to the front as usual. As they faded and we settled into position Brad was slightly ahead of me with Tiffanie's footsteps right behind me. Before the first mile marker Tiffanie and I had passed Brad, and Brianna was behind him. They both held pretty strong to the end, but the race was between Tiffanie and me.

Tiffanie was plugged in (wearing headphones) so we didn't talk much. For the first 1.5 miles or so I could hear her footsteps right behind me. For the next mile or so we were pretty much side by side. As we ran the uphill at 1600 N she pulled a little ahead, and as we header north up the hill on 210 E she extended the lead. She ended up beating me by 18 seconds, a well earned victory.

I finished 2nd overall in 21:31. It's far from a PR, but given my training this year and the weather conditions I'm satisfied. As the first male finisher, I got to take home the traveling trophy and record my name on it. It's an old New Balance running shoe mounted and painted with gold paint. The matching shoe is the women's traveling trophy. The tradition of the traveling trophy started 4 years ago. I'm the first non-teenage runner to win it, so I guess that's something, even though it's probably only because there weren't any teenage young men that ran the race today. My time is about 3 minutes slower than the other times on the shoe. Oh well, sometimes the key to success is just showing up.

My splits were 6:41 (uphill), 7:26 (flat), and 7:30 (uphill). My watch only measured the race at 2.99 miles.

After I finished I ran back to meet up with Emily. I found her about 1/2 mile from the end and ran it with her. As I recall, this was the first time I've ever run with one of my children, definitely the first time in a race. I loved every second. She has good running form and finished strong, 14th overall. I hope this positive experience leads to more running. She's a natural.

Despite the cold, windy and rainy start to this day, it's turned out pretty darn well so far. Life's good.

Tuesday run up 2000 N with the guys.

Water tank hills with Kent.

Cascade route with Larry, Wayne and Kent. Just running easy pace this week and next while tapering for the Squaw Peak 50.

I had offered to help John Bozung today to clear/mark the trail for the Squaw Peak 50 from Little Valley to Big Springs. Due to rain in the forecast, John was thinking of postponing it until Monday. I had decided to just go ahead and run with my buddies at 7:00am. About 6:45am John called and said the weather looked good. He wanted to go ahead with the run, but nobody had shown up. He asked if I could still help out. I hustled to get ready and was at Vivian Park by around 7:15am.

John got another couple to change their running plans and help out. His name was Adam, but I've totally spaced it on her name and their last name. John's neighbor drove us through Wallsburg to Little Valley and we started from there about 8:30am and finished at Big Springs about 3:30pm. The four of us covered 14 miles in about 7 hours. We cleared deadfall, cut a path through some steep snow at one point, marked the trail with ribbons, and painted blue cougar paws along the way.

The scenery was beautiful, especially at the top at about 9500 ft. I'm going to have to remember to stop occasionally during the race to appreciate the vistas, and maybe snap a few pictures.

I wasn't sure if this long of a run (with a lot of walking) was a good idea just a week before the race, but it was good to see and experience this tough part of the course near the end. I survived it pretty well...one face plant, a few slides down the snow, and an array of leg scratches...and now I know what to expect. It is a little intimidating, however, to think of doing this again on Saturday, having run 35 miles just to get to where we started.

Physically, the hay is in the barn. I'm either in good enough shape to finish this race, or I'm not. I plan to take it easy this week to make sure I'm recovered and rested as much as I can be. The work that remains is to figure out the final logistics...what to eat, drink, wear, carry, and put in drop bags.

I'm feeling fairly confident, a little anxious, and overall pretty excited. Regardless of the outcome, it will a life experience, another adventure into the outskirts of my perceived limits. I feel blessed for the opportunity.

I went 4 very easy miles this morning. I felt a little pain in my left knee (my bad weather knee) that scared me a little, but after walking a bit it felt better. The weather was beautiful.