Every Race is an Adventure!

I mildly twisted my ankle Wednesday when I stepped on a shoe my daughter left at the bottom of the stairs. I was carrying a bag of dirty cat litter and a vacuum cleaner and didn't see the shoe. Luckily, I managed to not spill the cat litter and still not get injured too badly. Still, I took Thursday off to let the ankle heal a bit. Friday I put on my ankle support and played basketball with my two sons, Andrew and Adam, and my old buddies in PG I hadn't seen for a while. It was great, but it left some unused muscles a little sore.

This morning Kevin, Kent, Larry, Wayne, and I ran from our neighborhood up past Bridal Veil Falls and back, about 14.4 miles.

I ran a moderate pace and averaged about 8:57/mi on the way up.

On the way back, Kevin and Wayne pushed the pace and dragged me along. I averaged about 7:19/mi back to the mouth of the canyon. I hung with Kevin and Wayne for 3 of the 4 miles, but they surged ahead the last mile.

We waited for the rest of the group at the mouth then started to run the last 3 miles home. My legs were very tired and sore and were slow to respond. I struggled to average a 9:04/mi pace on the way home. Kevin and Wayne continued their fast pace and quickly left Kent, Larry, and me behind. Larry stayed with Kent and me. We were both struggling but he was running strong and dragging us along. With about a mile to go Larry left us behind and finished very strong.

Kent and I, having been the only two to run in the WBR the previous weekend, and not accustomed to working so hard to run a 9:00/mi pace, were left to deduce that the WBR had taken a harder toll on us than we thought. I hope next week feels better.

Due to the holiday weekend, I ended up running alone this morning. I ran the normal Monday morning course. Due to how slowly I ran, I classified the miles as easy miles, but they didn't feel all that easy. My legs aren't sore at all, but they still feel a little tired.

I ran 6 miles. The mile splits were 8:58, 8:24, 8:03, 8:21, 8:33, and 8:03. I ran pretty steady; the slower miles had some uphill and the faster miles some downhill. My overall average pace was 8:25/mi.

I plan to skip running tomorrow (4th of July) and play basketball again with my old bball buddies and my two sons Andrew and Adam.

Once again I ran alone this morning. It will be nice when everyone gets back to a regular schedule. I ran the normal Wednesday morning hill run.

I warmed up running to the hills. I ran the ascent pretty strong but did not push real hard. I took the descent easy watching my footing to avoid another ankle turn. I picked up the pace some when I reached the bottom and then more when I started the gradual downhill at 400 E. I still had to watch my footing as 1600 N is torn up for construction. Running near a 7:00/mi pace at the end felt good. I'm finally getting a little spring back in my legs after the WBR and the hard long run on Saturday.

I averaged 9:06/mi to the hills, 11:06/mi up the hills, 9:05/mi down the hills, 7:52/mi for the 1/2 mile from 800 E to 400 E, and 7:02/mi the last 0.6 miles home.

At lunch time I ran the Lake View run with Tom. Cory joined us for the return trip. It was about 80 degrees. We went out at a little over an 8 minute pace per mile and came back at a sub-8 minute pace per mile.

It was nice to not run alone this morning. I ran the normal Thursday morning run with Kurt, Kent, and Larry. It was overcast and a little humid.

I averaged about 8:33/mi for the entire run. I pushed the big hill on 2000 N enough (about 9:38/mi) to close a little on Kurt but I couldn't catch him. I averaged 7:34/mi for the first mile back down then pushed to 6:52/mi for the last 1/3 of a mile.

Kurt, Kevin, and I ran from home up Provo Canyon and back. We ran most of it between 8:30/mi and 8:45/mi. We pushed one section on the way down the canyon for about 2.2 miles at an average pace of 7:02/mi. Running from the mouth to home last week I labored to run around a 9:00/mi pace. I vowed to do better this week. I ran the last three 1/2 mile sections at 6:55/mi, 7:13/mi, and 7:22/mi. I felt much better than the previous week.

It took me a little over a week to get my legs back after the WBR, but less than two weeks. This is encouraging as my current plans are to run Top of Utah in 3:20 or better and then run St. George two weeks later and try to stay with Kerry and Larry as they try to qualify with a 3:35 or better.

Ran an easy 6 miles with Larry this morning. The weather was nice and the conversation enjoyable.

I ran a couple of miles alone then joined Larry for the normal Tuesday run.

After a half mile of warmup I pushed the next 1.5 miles at an average pace of 7:03/mi. Larry and I ran the rest of the run at a moderate pace.

Ran the Wednesday hills in the morning with Larry.

At noon I ran Lake View with Tom. We averaged about 8:08/mi until we hit the neighborhood streets and then dropped to 7:29/mi. On the way out I could feel some abnormal stomach activity and mentioned it to Tom.

We dropped slightly to 7:39/mi as we started back as I struggled with increased stomach discomfort. After a little more than a mile I knew I wasn't going to make it back to Novell, so I asked some friendly looking folks if I could use their bathroom. I sent Tom on ahead.

I felt better but only ran about 1/2 mile before my stomach was cramping again. I alternated walking and jogging my way back to Novell. Tom was waiting, worrying if I was okay. I made a beeline for the bathroom.

I'm entering this log on Saturday. It was very hot on Wednesday, and my problems may have been heat related, but I think I had a 24 hour bug. I felt bad all afternoon on Wednesday. I even had Karen come and pick me up because I felt nauseous and light headed and didn't feel well enough to ride my motorcycle home.

I stayed home Thursday and ended up sleeping most of the day. I felt better Friday morning and went to basketball.

Kent, Kurt, Larry and I ran from home up past Bridal Veil and back. We started at 5:30 am to try to beat the heat.

We were running too slow for Kurt so he took off early and we only saw him again briefly as he passed us on his way back home.

We ran up 7.5 miles. At that point Kent and Larry headed back, like I should have. Instead, I decided to go a half mile farther and then chase them home. I had felt pretty strong last week.

As it turns out, all I did was run about the same speed as them, just farther behind. I don't know if it was the heat, the longer distance, or being sick late in the week, but the run back was very hard.

I averaged 8:56/mi overall for the 16 miles, and only managed a couple of miles at a sub-8:00/mi pace. The last three 1/2 mile sections that I ran last week at 6:55/mi, 7:13/mi, and 7:22/mi I ran this week at 9:22/mi, 9:01/mi, and 8:34/mi.

I was beat after the run. I cooled my legs off and did some stretching in the kids pool in the backyard. I'm feeling better now. It's nice to get a long run behind me. Kent was talking about 18 miles for next week, and maybe 20 miles the week after that. It's that time of year. I hope I'm up for it.

Ran the normal Monday morning run with Kurt, Kent, and Larry. I ran most of the distance at an easy pace. I pushed the 0.75 miles before Lindon Park at 7:09/mi, and Larry and I ran the last mile home at 7:14/mi.

The weather was very nice and the run was very enjoyable. My right calf was a little stiff but felt pretty good. (I was playing with my family in the backyard pool Saturday afternoon. My legs were still pretty tired from that morning's 16 mile run and my right calf cramped up pretty hard and has been a little stiff and sore.)

I ran a couple of miles early then met up with Larry for the normal Tuesday morning run. Jolene ran with us part of the way. As I was walking the dog after the run I saw Kurt, who had overslept, heading out.

After a half mile warmup (8:37/mi) I averaged 7:08 for the next 1.5 miles.

It was very warm for so early in the morning. Nevertheless, Larry and I still had a relatively good run. Except for the uphill, we kept under 9:00/mi for most of the run and were closer to 8:00/mi for the last mile.

Ran the normal Wednesday morning hills with Larry. The skies were mostly overcast and the temperature was a little cooler than yesterday. It was a good run.

It was much warmer (near 90 degrees) when I ran (alone) the Lake View course at noon. After getting so sick last week on that run, I had to get back on the horse and try again. This week I decided to not push the pace as hard and to carry water. I averaged 8:15/mi for the 2.6 miles out and 8:06/mi back. It was a hard and very hot run, but I had no stomach problems whatsoever and recovered fairly quickly. I so much prefer running in the cool of the morning.

I was late leaving early so by the time I finished my 2 mile pre-run it was 5:49 instead of 5:45. There was nobody at the starting corner. I thought maybe Larry, Kevin and Kurt had already left so I headed for 200 West. I ended up running alone. When I wasn't there Larry went with Lee, and I guess the others didn't come out.

After a half mile warmup (8:40/mi) my legs still felt tired but I managed to average 7:12/mi for the next 1.5 miles, only slightly slower than the 7:08/mi on Tuesday.

After failing to meet up with the others, I averaged 7:55/mi for the next 1.6 miles, hoping to catch my phantom running buddies.

I then ran the first 0.5 mile hill at 11:02/mi, ran the 0.8 miles in between at 8:34/mi, then ran the 0.7 mile hill up 2000 N at 11:55/mi. My legs were so tired prior to, and especially after, the first hill that I was really dreading the second hill. I think I went ahead and ran it out of habit, and because I was too tired to change the planned run.

I averaged 7:04/mi the 1.2 miles back down 2000 N and down Main to the stop sign. I then surprised myself by pushing the last 0.15 miles at 6:27/mi.

This run showed me once again what the body is capable of when the mind doesn't give in when things get hard.

I ran the 18 mile Fort Utah run with Kurt, Kent, Larry, and Wayne. We started at 5:30am to try to beat the heat. It was about 70 degrees when we started. Most of the run was nice, but it was pretty hot near the end.

Wayne ran strong the whole run. The rest of us took turns running in the lead with him. In the end, Larry was the only one who could keep up with him. Larry had a great run and ran very strong at the end.

I averaged 8:45/mi overall for the 18 miles. I was pretty tired but managed to push my pace slightly the last couple of miles to 8:20/mi.

I was the only one to show up at the starting corner at 5:45am so I ran alone again. I felt like I wanted a few good tempo miles this morning, and the normal route wasn't appealing, so I decided to run the neighborhood 5K course. I didn't want to run all out, but a little faster than my goal marathon pace (7:38/mi = 3:20 finish time).

After a half mile warmup over to the starting line, I ran the first (mostly downhill) mile at 7:01/mi, the next (flat) mile at 7:30/mi, and the final (mostly uphill) mile or so at 7:28/mi. I then ran another couple of easy miles (8:29/mi).

I can't believe it. Once again I stepped on a rock in the dark and rolled my ankle. I was putting in my two extra miles before meeting up with Larry. I had warmed up for a half mile and then had run about another half mile at about a 7:45 pace. There was no moon and it was pretty dark between the street lights. I was cruising along thinking happy thoughts when I suddenly felt the pain. I tried to walk it off. I was able to put weight on it, and even managed to jog part of the way back home, but I could tell I was going to have to take a day or two off.

No running. Letting ankle heal.

I was going to try running on my ankle this morning but the only person at the corner was Lee, heading out for a walk. He said he had heard the guys were running 20 miles Friday morning instead of Saturday, due to conflicts, so they weren't running this morning. I decided to give my ankle another day.

The guys ran the 20 miler from Trefoil to the lake this morning. I love that run, but decided to give my ankle one more day.

I ran alone from Vivian Park up to the Trefoil gate at the top of South Fork. I averaged 9:24/mi for the 1.6 miles up to the park, and 8:52/mi for the 2.7 miles up to the gate. Coming back down I averaged 7:29/mi for the 2.7 miles to the park, and 7:07/mi for the 1.6 miles back to Vivian Park. I averaged 8:13/mi overall for the 8.6 miles. My ankle felt good. Even my left knee that had been bothering me for a couple of weeks felt better. It was a great run.

Instead of interval speed work at the track, Kurt, Kent, Larry and I decided to do the 6 mile Lindon loop and push the last 3 miles as a hard tempo run. We ended up pushing the first 3 miles a little, too.

We averaged 8:06/mi for the first 3 miles. We then kicked it up a little. I ran the next 0.6 miles at 6:43/mi. I slowed to 8:28/mi for 0.2 miles up the hill, picked back up to 7:14/mi for a 0.2 mile level stretch, then 8:35/mi for 0.15 miles through the big dip on Main St. next to Lindon Park. I averaged 7:52 for the last 1.75 miles, and 7:53/mi overall for the 6 miles. It was a good hard run. I nearly caught Kurt on 280 West, but then he saw me and finished a block or so ahead of me.