Every Race is an Adventure!

Another run with Wayne, Larry and Jolene. It's good to be getting out again. The weather is great. Wayne and I tossed in a few "run a little faster then go back" stretches again. Wayne referred to it as "shaking out the cobwebs". It fits. It feels good to slip a little 8:00-ish pace in amid the slower paces.

10 easy miles, some with Wayne at the beginning, the rest solo. The headwind out of the canyon was very strong at times. I only averaged 9:59/mi, but its the first time I've done a double digit run since the Utah Valley marathon on June11, nearly 3 months ago.

I went 0.4 miles at 8:44/mi pace then met up with Wayne, Larry, and Jolene. Larry had to cut off short to get back to a bathroom. Wayne and Jolene and I went 5.4 miles at 9:19/mi, the later miles being quicker than the earlier miles.

Red Rock Relay - RedRockHeads - Snow Van (#1)

One of Stacia's (Larry's daughter) friends dropped off the team just before the relay and we couldn't find a replacement so Jeremy (Stacia's husband) moved to the Sun Van, leaving only 5 decrepit old men in the Snow Van:

Larry Marshall - recovering from having a hole in his heart repaired earlier in the year.
Lyle Brereton - running well
Wayne Fairbanks - recovering from long-term Achilles trouble.
Paul Thomas -  recovering from a sacral stress fracture.
Kevin Jessop - suffering from a very swollen left knee. 

Larry, Lyle, and Wayne are all about 55 or 56. I'm 51. Kevin is the youngest at 46.

Despite being old and injured, and having to cover for a missing 6th runner, we survived pretty well.

Leg #2 (The Diablo) - Hard (11:45am)
Larry continued past the first exchange and ran the first 0.8 miles of this leg. I took over just before the ascent up The Diablo. I climbed from about 9,900' to about 10,400' in about a mile or so then it mostly leveled off. My legs felt strong, but it was difficult to catch my breath at that elevation. Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed the run. I speed walked a little when my calves started to burn to catch my breath, but kept up a pretty steady pace. I averaged 11:39/mi, with the steep mile at 13:52/mi. It sounds slow, but I passed one strong female runner I chased for a while, and may have passed a couple more. I was not passed.

Leg #5 (Mammoth Miles) - 3.9 miles - Medium (2:20pm)
This was my first official leg. It climbed from about 7,900' to about 8,400' then back down again. The first two uphill mile splits were 11:26 and 9:28, the downhill 7:07 then 7:06/mi for the last 0.9. Once again my legs felt strong but breathing was difficult due to the altitude. Again I speed walked some of the steeper stretches to catch my breath, but I still managed to pass about 5 runners I think, and was not passed.

Leg #17 (Off Roadie) - 5 miles - Medium (11:55pm)
This leg goes uphill for about a mile then descends from about 6,400' to 5,900'. Running at night with nearly a full moon was great. Running on a dusty dirt road was not. Even when there were no vans around, the dust hung in the air. My headlamp reflected off it making it nearly impossible to see even the road in front of me. The first runner I passed shortly after we started said, "I admit it. I'm terrified." or something to that effect. I tried holding my headlamp down at my waist and that helped, but was very awkward. As I came upon some other runners they had turned their headlamps off. I gave it a try and found that it was far easier to run in the moonlight. I enjoyed it much more and passed a few more runners, and was not passed. I ran the uphill mile in 9:43, and the downhill miles in 7:58, 7:50, 7:33, and the last 0.77 miles at 7:43/mi. Again my legs felt strong. The elevation on these first three runs dropped from 10,400' to 8,400' to 6,400'. I live at 4,800', but my breathing was easier than the two previous legs. The bright light at this exchange was facing the runners that were coming in making it very difficult to see the last 3/4 of a mile or so.

We got a couple of hours of sleep on the church lawn at Veyo, then were off again. 

Five easy miles looping through Lindon with Wayne, Larry, and Jolene. My legs were still feeling a little the effects of the relay, but really surprisingly good.

Some easy miles with Larry.

What am I thinking?!!

I can't believe I'm still planning to attempt the St. George marathon in two weeks, but I am.

14 weeks ago I ran the Utah Valley marathon in 4:03, on insufficient training and with some hip pain in the later miles.

12 weeks ago I ran the Gruesome Grizzly 8K. I wasn't especially fast, and the race was small, but I ran fairly well and won the 50+ age division

The next Wednesday, June 29, I went to Dr. McLane about the hip pain I've been feeling for about 3 years. The next day, June 30, I had an MRI. The next day, July 1, I reviewed the results with Dr. McLane. They showed a sacral stress fracture and a labral tear in my right hip. She referred me Dr. Aoki at the U of U Orthopedic Center. I couldn't get in to see him for almost 6 weeks, until Aug 10.

I didn't run at all from July 1 to August 15. (6 weeks)

Dr. Aoki said the labral tear did not appear to be causing me pain and I would probably not benefit from surgery. That left the sacral stress fracture as the cause of my pain. He did order an x-ray guided steroid injection in my hip. As he suspected, it didn't help, confirming that the hip wasn't the source of the pain. He suggested I try running a little to see how it felt.

I ran 4-ish easy miles T/Th/Sat for a couple of weeks.

4 weeks ago, on Aug 27, I hiked Mt. Timpanogos with my daughter Emily and Larry and Jolene Marshall. After the round trip hike to the summit, plus a mile to and from where I had to park the car, I had covered about 17 miles and been on my feet about 9.5 hours, and I felt good. This encouraged me to go ahead and run the Red Rock Relay.

1 week ago, I ran the Red Rock Relay. Because we were short 1 runner in our van, I ended up running 5 times for a total of about 19 miles. I passed other runners and was not passed a single time. I felt strong and ran pretty well with no pain. This firmed up my commitment to go ahead and attempt the marathon.

The big concern remaining was how my body would respond to the pounding for more than 5 or 6 miles. Since the Utah Valley marathon on June 11, I've only had two double-digit runs, a 10 mile run 2 weeks ago on Sept 3, and today's 13 mile run.

Today's run went about as I expected, some good, some bad.

Pros:
New shoes felt great.
No blisters, minor chafing that I know how to prevent in the marathon.
Felt good for about 10 miles.

Cons:
At 10 miles:
Felt numbness in right foot. I thought the neuroma was gone. It didn't bother me in the UV marathon.
Felt some minor IT band pain by right knee. I've felt this on and off for most of this year.
Felt some right hip pain. Not the "in the back" pain from the sacral stress fracture, but the "in the groin, upper thigh" hip joint kind of pain. Dr. Aoki couldn't reproduce this pain in his examination, nor can I except during a run after about 10 miles.

I'm disappointed in the pains I started feeling at 10 miles, but they are old companions. I've felt them off and on for the past 3 years, during which time I've run a half dozen marathons and a 50 mile ultramarathon. I don't think any of these issues is a showstopper for me running the marathon.

I reserve the right to change my mind, but my current plan is attempt the marathon, take it easy, and see what happens. My stretch goal is finish anywhere near Lyle or Wayne. My first fallback goal is to break 5 hours. If not that, then just to finish before being pulled from the course. There is also the real possibility of a DNF if an injury flares up too early or is too painful.

Adventures come in all shapes and sizes. Not too many years ago I was headed towards the goal of a sub-3 hour marathon. Now I'm just hoping to finish. It's all good. The joy is in the journey, and strength comes from struggle. 

Easy miles with the gang.

Solo easy miles. About 10:00/mi pace.

I started at the top of South Fork with Wayne, Larry, and Jolene. The 2nd mile Wayne and I let loose a little and ran it in 7:41, but overall for the 7-ish miles we averaged about 9:10/mi. I was beginning to feel a little something in my hip by the end, but it wasn't bad, and I recovered almost immediately when we stopped.

I was telling some friends recently that adventures, and challenges, come in all shapes and sizes. This year's St. George marathon will most certainly be an adventure for me. The most difficult challenge may come if my body gives up before I do and I have to decide to not finish. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but I think it's best to be prepared for all potentialities.

Every time I think about not running I feel like I'd be cheating myself out of a new experience and challenge. Like I tell my children, you miss every shot you don't take. At least if I start, there's a chance I'll finish. Even if I don't, I'll have an experience to remember.  I love exploring my limits. I just may take a different path and get there sooner this time. The only real danger is if I'm too stupid to stop if I need to. I'll just have to try really hard to not be stupid. Some of you may be saying it's already too late.

Easy miles with Wayne and Jolene, about 10:00/mi.

As a friend at work put it recently when I was telling him about my running struggles, "It sucks to get old." 

But we're also expecting our first grandchild (next March). So getting old has its benefits, too.