Every Race is an Adventure!

I dug out my old Saucony Tangents this morning to try some Yasso 800's at the THS track. My goal was to average sub-4:00 minutes for 8x800 repeats.

Results: 3:30, 3:40, 3:38, 3:51, 3:52, 3:51, 3:56, 3:47 (avg. 3:46)

With two weeks to the Utah Valley Marathon, where my goal is to break 4:00, I'll take it.

6.3 miles @ 10:05/mi.  2000 N hill and canal trail

6 miles @ 11:00/mi.  Water tank hills.

4 miles @ 10:20/mi.  Some easy miles with Larry on his elliptical bike.

3 easy miles @ 9:21/mi

2.8 easy miles @ 8:59/mi

This may be my last run before Saturday's marathon. I hope I'm ready. I know I'm more ready than I've been in the past few years. I wish I hadn't collided with my solid son playing basketball a couple of weeks ago. My ribs are still pretty sore, but they only hurt for the first mile or so on a run, so I hope I'll be okay. I've felt a little numbness in my bad left knee, but that happens sometimes. I don't feel any pain. I'm not too worried. I'll wear my knee strap as a precaution.

The hay's in the barn. I hope it's enough to get me through the winter.

I'm excited to run the Utah Valley marathon on Saturday. Every race is an adventure. Today the excitement is that my daughter Brittany returns from serving her 18 month mission to the Washington Tacoma Mission! We've been thrilled to have her serve. She's had difficult and wonderful experiences, her own marathon of sorts. She has blessed the lives of so many as she's loved and served them and invited and helped them to come unto Christ and partake of his mercy, love, and peace. Now we're excited to have her come home. Beginnings and endings and new beginnings. Every race, every life, is an adventure. There are good days and bad days. Today's a good day.

Race goals (updated from 2012 plan):

More details:

I'm so grateful for Hyrum and his organization, the volunteers, and the spectators that make it possible for me to run and assist and encourage me and so many others to do our best.

My niece Lindsay Jepperson finished her first marathon in 5:20:33. I saw her later in the afternoon at her sister's wedding reception and she was doing great. Congratulations!

I finished 718 of 1409 finishers (51%), and 40 of 71 in the M 50-54 division (56%). Last year I finished 1233 of 1471 (84%), and 79 of 87 (91%) in my division. I finished 13:18 faster than last year, and improved my average pace from 11:27/mi to 9:40/mi. I'm not back to my top level, and may never run a 2:52 or 3:07 or even sub-3:30 or a BQ (3:40) again, but I'm headed in the right direction. For now I intend to consistently improve until my body tells me to back off.

How do I feel about my marathon results? Happy...and that's a very good way to feel.

I walked/ran with Larry and Lyle this morning. This was my first run since the marathon last Saturday and just wanted to shake out the legs. We walked about a mile then ran for about 1.5 miles. I could still feel a little something in the quads, but not bad, and the rest of me felt pretty good.

It was great being with Larry and Lyle. It's good to have good friends, especially on beautiful mornings.

Thomas Family Reunion in Nephi, including the family golf tournament in the morning, lunch, then BB gun competition and Bingo later in the day. The weather was beautiful.

5.6 miles @ 9:10/mi

No lingering pain from the marathon. My legs feel recovered pretty much, except I felt a little sluggish. I didn't push hard this morning.

6.3 miles @ 8:50/mi.  I had predicted my Ragar Relay 10K pace at 8:45/mi, but hadn't really run a 10K at that pace. I also hadn't done a run in the heat, so I decided to do a 10K run in the heat (low 80's) and see how close I could get to 8:45/mi. It ended up being 6.3 miles @ 8:50/mi. Close enough. I gave myself a mental check mark on the success side.

Leg 12 - Trail run at Snowbasin Resort | 2.00 Miles | Hard

The weather was starting to get a little chilly. Matthew came flying into the exchange early. I quickly pulled off my jacket and took off uphill. Steep uphill is never easy, especially at altitude. My legs burned, and I quickly started breathing hard. I just kept my legs churning, waiting for the downhill. When it came, I made the most of it. I passed a runner or two and was cruising...then the trail kept going farther than I had expected. I began to wonder, and then was almost certain, I had missed a turn and was off course. I was trying to decide what to do when I finally saw a trail marker that confirmed I was still on course. With renewed vigor I headed up the last hill then took the brakes off on the final descent to the exchange. I felt strong. It felt good.

Leg 24 - Moderate climb into Oakley | 6.30 Miles (6.4 on watch)  | Hard

Once again Matthew came in early and fast. This time I was ready. It was a little after 3am. It was cold enough that I started with a jacket, headband, and knit gloves. The elevation climbed from a little over 6000' to a little over 6400'. I quickly got into a good pace and just kept motoring. I gradually passed 10 runners, and was quickly passed by 1. I like to greet runners I go by (who are generally pretty friendly) or who go by me (who are sometimes more focused and less friendly). I believe it was the second woman I passed who cheerfully said "Good morning!" It was so pleasant I had to turn and thank her for being the first to wish me a good morning. I then greeted the remaining runners with a cheerful "Good morning." I managed to average 9:18/mi for these moderately uphill miles and really enjoyed the run. I pushed hard to the exchange only to discover that our other van had not yet arrived. They were stuck in traffic and arrived about 15 minutes later. I walked back and forth for a while cooling down, then chatted with a female runner who was also waiting for her van. It was very pleasant. Eventually there were 4 or 5 of us waiting for our handoff runners. By the time I left the chute I was completely recovered from the run. As my teammate Greg says often, "It's all good."

Leg 36 - Climb the PC hill near Park City High School | 2.80 Miles (3.6 on watch) | Hard

Matthew (a soccer player for BYU-Hawaii, not a runner) finally ran out of juice. We expected him early, then his projected arrival time passed, then we waited quite a while for him to finish his 9.8 mile very hard run. All this time my teammates and many other runners were celebrating being done, including Kevin eating a Red Robin cheeseburger right in front of me. I was relieved to finally take the handoff and start the long climb up the PC mountain. My goal was to keep my legs moving up the hill and not walk. I had to take a step or two walking twice as I passed runners on steep turns, but give myself full credit for meeting my goal. I very much enjoyed the downhill on the single track trail. On the uphill into the paved neighborhood streets I passed a couple of more runners, then caught a few more as we approached the school and the finish line. I think I passed 10 or so in total, and was passed by one fast female runner near the beginning. As I approached my teammates at the finish I tried to slow down as planned. It is so hard when you are coming in hot. Kerry grabbed the back of my shirt to slow me down, but when I saw his and Kerry's daughters take off (to race me to the finish I supposed) I pulled his hand off and sprinted to catch them, which I believe I did. It felt so good to run strong and fast again. I only averaged 10:18/mi for the run, but with all that steep uphill, I felt very good about it.

I really enjoyed this relay. The weather was great, as were my vanmates. I knew Greg and Kevin were great vanmates, but Devin, Brian, and Matthew...complete strangers before the race...were also great. We had a really good time together, and everyone ran well.