Every Race is an Adventure!

Easy miles with Larry and Wayne this morning, talking about St. George of course...and politics. It's much more enjoyable to talk about running than politics.

I went for a couple of miles on the 1/2 mile loop around the block in front of my house. After a little over a mile of warm up I opened up for a 1/4 mile. I just wanted to feel the speed, without pushing too hard. I ran it in 90 secs (6:00 pace). I went around the block one more time at an easy pace then walked my dog around the block.

I think all systems are go for the marathon. We're heading down to St. George this afternoon. I hesitate to say this, but I'm feeling pretty good and I think I'm in the (age-adjusted) best shape of my life. My weight is about the same as last year, but I've lost 2" around my waist and many people have commented on how much thinner I look. Did I convert body fat to leg muscle?

I've been playing with the "Age Equivalent Running Results Calculator" at http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/ageequivalent.cfm . My lifetime SGM PR is 2:52 in 1982 when I was 22. (I didn't run it again for 22 years.) Today, at age 48, an age equivalent result would be 3:09:49. I ran 3:07:02 last year (my "old man" PR). If I manage 2:59:59 this year, that would be equivalent to 2:43:04 when I was 22. The scary thing is that if I get anywhere near 3:00:00 this year, my goal next year might be my lifetime PR of 2:52 (age 22 equivalent is 2:35:50!). Oh well, it's fun to dream.

Just for fun I compared a 30 year old woman to a 48 year old man. If the man finishes in 3:00:00, the age equivalent time for the woman is 3:04:53. If the younger woman finishes in 3:00:00, the age equivalent time for the "nearly two decades older" man is 2:55:14. That just doesn't seem right, does it? :o)

I love setting a PR as much as the next guy, but that's not why I run. I've already enjoyed 98% of the benefit of my running this year - good times with good friends, time outdoors, physical exertion, and better fitness. Races are just the icing on the cake. That's why I can face race day calmly, looking forward with excitement to the grand adventure.

We had a nice drive down to St. George yesterday. I enjoyed listening to "Meet the Robinsons" that my 10, 12, and 16 year old daughters were watching in the back seat. One of the key messages of the movie is "let go of the past and keep moving forward".

Lewis: I don't even know what I'm doing.
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: I mean, this stuff is way too advanced for me.
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: And what if I can't fix this, what are we going to do?
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: Why do you keep saying that? And don't just say keep moving forward!
Wilbur: It's my dad's motto.
Lewis: Why would his motto be keep moving forward?
Wilbur: It's what he does.

Running my first two marathons back in 1982 when I was 22 years old changed my life. I was on a sub-3 hour pace in the first marathon then hit the wall hard at 20 miles and ended up walking most of the last 6 miles (I had never heard of carbo loading, and I don't think gels hadn't been invented yet). I ran the second marathon in 2:52 and felt great the whole way. Life is like that. Sometimes life seems easy. Sometimes life seems really really hard. Over the past 26 years, whenever my life has seemed really really hard, so often I've relied on what I learned from those two marathons: 1) I can do hard things (i.e., self confidence), and 2) Just keep taking one more step and you'll eventually get there (i.e., keep moving forward).

When I look back at my life I'm amazed at the distance I've covered, and I'm very grateful to a loving Heavenly Father for being my training partner every step of the way, even when I felt like I was running alone. I went through the typical mid-life crisis (self-evaluation) a few years ago, but I think I'm past that. I've made a lot of mistakes, and continue to, but I have no regrets. The journey, including the hard times and mistakes, has led me to where I am today. It has been an awesome adventure so far, and the adventure rolls on.

I found out about 2.5 weeks ago that after 16+ years at my current company my project is being "restructured" and my position is being eliminated. My first two thoughts after my boss left my office after telling me were, "Well, this will be a new life experience." and "The Lord has always taken care of me. It will be interesting to see how things work out this time." I was ready for a change. This kick in the pants is very likely to turn out to be a great blessing.

I'm not overly concerned at this point. My last day isn't until November 1st. There's a pretty good chance I can find another position in the company, and I also have a good lead outside the company. I will also get a nice severance package that will give me plenty of time to find a new job, and the job market is pretty good. You can never have two many job leads, however. If anyone knows of an opportunity for a senior software engineer (Linux/Windows Java/C/C++/C#) let me know. I know I've got a lot of friends out there. Thank you for your friendship. If you feel to pray for me, that would be great, but please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll just keep moving forward.

I suspect the phrase "keep moving forward" may enter my mind a time or two in the marathon tomorrow. I wish the best of luck to all of you who are running. Whatever the day brings, just appreciate and enjoy the adventure.

Sorry about the lengthy entry...too much time on my hands. I'm sitting here alone in the dark in our hotel room waiting for my family to wake up. I managed to not get up at the normal 5:00am, and even get back to sleep, but I couldn't stay in bed much past 7:00am.

Well, today's race wasn't quite the adventure I expected, but it was definitely an adventure. I mentioned in my blog yesterday that the "Meet the Robinsons" motto "Keep moving forward" might cross my mind today. It turned out to be the theme for most of the race for me.

I got on one of the last buses in one of the last seats. I ended up without any of my buddies, but had a nice conversation with the young woman I sat by. She and her two friends were running their first marathon. She was 22, and I was 22 when I ran my first marathon. I can't believe that was 26 years ago.

It was nice being in the elite corral for the first time, especially the short toilet lines. Because I was on one of the last buses I didn't have to stay in the rain as long as many of the other runners, but I was still plenty wet before the race started. I saw a few members of the sub-3 group, but I made a last minute toilet stop and then couldn't find them again.

Fortunately, Nathan found me and we ran the first 7 miles together as planned. The first few miles were really dark. We found James along the way and he joined us. Just before Veyo the arch support in my left foot started slipping around so I had to stop and fix it and tighten my shoe. Some spectators had an empty chair so with their permission I was able to sit down comfortably and fix it. After climbing Veyo I picked up some of the distance on Nathan and James and got within shouting distance, but I didn't shout. I knew I couldn't stay with them up the hills of Dammeron Valley so I just let them go.

I ran the rest of the race alone. I kept thinking that once the rain stopped and the weather warmed up a little I could pick up the pace. The rain never stopped, it never got warmer, and the headwind seemed to only get stronger. If I'm honest, I have to say I didn't enjoy running this marathon very much. My wet shoes and clothes felt heavy, and my feet squished every step. I wear glasses so the dismal weather and wet course was all viewed through wet glasses. It seemed that each time I would get some hope of picking things up a bit the headwind would pick up as if to say, "Not so fast." What a lovely day!

To add to the fun, my right calf started feeling tight around mile 4 and never loosened up. A couple of times later in the race I was afraid it was going to cramp, but it never did. I stopped for a quick rub down at mile 17 and I think that helped.

I did manage to keep moving forward (except for a couple of bathroom stops). I even managed to run mile 24 in 6:32, and the last 0.2 at 6:13/mi and passed a bunched of people in the last few blocks, but it took a lot of effort. I was surprised to see Tom and Terry just after I crossed the finish line. I hadn't seen them the whole race but it turns out they finished just ahead of me, Terry in 3:10 and Tom and I in 3:11.

I actually feel like I ran the best I could under the conditions and I'm satisfied with my performance. I was impressed with the efforts of all the runners today under adverse conditions. I'm especially impressed with those who still managed to reach their goals and set PRs.

I forgot to turn the auto-pause off on my watch, so when I stopped to fix my shoe and for the two bathroom stops my watch also stopped. Here are the splits without those stops:

1 - 7:10
2 - 7:00
3 - 6:40
4 - 6:44
5 - 6:48
6 - 6:24
7 - 6:38
8 - 7:58
9 - 7:44
10 - 7:59
11 - 7:55
12 - 7:37
13 - 7:05
14 - 7:37
15 - 7:04
16 - 6:57
17 - 7:13
18 - 7:19
19 - 8:06
20 - 7:25
21 - 6:51
22 - 7:36
23 - 7:21
24 - 6:32
25 - 7:09
26 - 7:16
26.2 - 1:27 (6:13/mi)
plus time for 3 stops
3:11:18 (7:18/mi)

I just reviewed my placing information from the official race results and thought I'd log it for future reference. Here are my comparisons for 2007 / 2008:

Finish time: 3:07:02 / 3:11:18
Overall: 319 / 262
Gender: 269 / 225
Chicked count: 50 / 37
Male 45-49: 34 / 27
Age grade: ? / 71.6% (Regional Class)

Last year's field was probably stronger because of the OTQ factor, but it's still encouraging to see improvement in the "compared to others" numbers. My goal isn't to be better than others, but it's another way to measure improvement, especially when the weather conditions make comparing times hard to do.

I'm going to be taking a break from the blog for a while. It has been consuming more of my time and energy than it should. It's been a very good thing for me, but I'm going to focus on some other more important things for a while. I'll be running, just not blogging. I'll see you at the races.

Happy running!

This was my first run since the marathon. I couldn't resist running in the first snowstorm of the year. The temperature was in the 30's and it snowed during much of the run, but I was dressed well for it and quite enjoyed the run.

I hadn't told Larry and Wayne I was going to run so I didn't coordinate with them. I ended up going at 8:00am and they went at 7:30am. That was okay. I enjoyed a nice solo run in the snow which gave me time to think. I ended up running up to the fountain in Provo Canyon and back.

My legs felt okay but not fast or strong. I still felt some tightness in my right calf and left Achilles, and my hips and quads felt a little weak, but overall I felt pretty good. I've developed nagging injuries after the past few marathons by trying to pick up too much too soon. I plan to take it nice and easy this time. I only averaged about a 10:00 pace for this run, except for a mile near the end where I picked it up for a bit and ran around 8:00/mi.

I know I said I was going to take a break from the blog, and I have for a few days, but I couldn't resist running some miles, and I have to record the mileage somewhere, so I think I'll continue to blog my runs.

I wandered around the streets near my home this morning for 4.8 miles at a very easy pace. I looked for Larry and Wayne at 5:45am, but they have been going out later when it's lighter. I don't blame them. I may have to start switching to more noon runs. Even with the big moon this morning it seemed pretty dark. It seems like I'm always tense trying not to step on something and roll an ankle. All the car headlights shining in my eyes don't help, and I'm never quite sure if they are going to see me. Ah, the joys of winter running in Utah are just beginning.

I'm still feeling the effects of the marathon a little my left Achilles and right hip. The right calf is feeling pretty good now.

I ran a modified 5.2 mile Eagles View loop solo today @ 8:50/mi. I felt pretty good starting out. Near the end my left Achilles was a little sore and I felt a little pain behind my left knee. I guess my old body needs a little more recovery time from the marathon.

With no school for the kids today, I was able to play basketball this morning with my son Andrew this morning. For those who watched the BYU football team lose to TCU yesterday, I played a lot like BYU, but our team managed to win 2 out of 3 games anyway. It was fun.

It was great to run with Larry and Wayne again for the first time since St. George two weeks ago. The weather was great. We headed north on the canal road. About 4 miles out Wayne suggested we head uphill and loop back home a different way. After some steep climbing, Larry suggested we continue on up to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. We ran on the trail for a while, took a detour or two, and finally got back on pavement and headed home. Our 8 mile run ended up at 10.25 miles. We all agreed that our legs aren't quite back to 100%. But it was sure nice to be back running with my buddies.

I ran the Lake View route on a beautiful day with Tom, Nathan, Cory, and Will (he cut it short as this was his first run since his knee surgery). We all enjoyed the beautiful weather, the easy pace, and the great company. If I end up leaving Novell soon, this will be what I miss the most, the noon runs with my buddies. I get a little emotional just thinking about it.

I ran the 2000 N route with Larry. We added an extra loop at the top of 2000 N with plans to cut off some distance at the end. We forgot to cut it short so we just ended up with the extra distance. My legs are still feeling a little dead. I felt it in the quads this morning.

It was great (as usual) running and talking with Larry. I've got some important career decisions coming up and talking with Larry really helped.

I wandered the hills of north Orem and Lindon with Larry and Wayne this morning.

I ran some easy miles with Larry and Wayne this morning. We headed toward the canyon then headed south on Palisades to its dead end then back. We crossed paths with John Gillispie and we ran with him for a while.

I received and accepted a new job offer yesterday. I'll be working for the LDS Church in their Family History division. I'll be back working in the old WordPerfect buildings that are a mile from my house. We moved here back in 1992 when I started working for WordPerfect. An interesting twist is that the manager that hired me is the same person that hired me into the WordPerfect UNIX Division back in 1992. My last day at Novell is November 3rd and I start my new job on November 10th.

It seems at times that the only constant is change. This change was forced upon me, but it's turning out to be a great blessing. When I first found out they were eliminating my position and I was getting laid off I was surprised. I'd survived so many previous layoffs I guess I thought I was immune. Curiously, I never felt any fear. My first thought was that this would be an interesting new life experience. The Lord has taken care of me throughout my life, and I had complete faith that He would do so again. Faith is truly the opposite of fear.

I'm excited about the new job, and especially about the nice severance package I'll be getting as a going away gift, but I'm going to miss a lot of people at Novell. I'm especially going to miss the noon runs with my Novell running buddies. They've been the bright spot of my work week for many years. Of course, it seems nobody works at Novell forever, and some of my Novell running buddies have left previously. Kerry works in the same building complex I'll be working at and we've already talked about running together again.

You already know I believe every race is an adventure. Life itself is quite an adventure.

I ran at noon with Nathan, Will, Darin, and Tyler. Will kept it short as he is still recovering from his knee surgery. Nathan and Tyler turned back after a couple of miles. Nathan had to get to a meeting. Darin and I completed the 5.2 mile Lake View course. I was worried about stomach cramps, but they held off until I got back.

It was a beautiful fall day and I enjoyed the run. Darin helped me average 7:55/mi for the run. I think it's the first time I've run a sub-8:00 pace since the marathon. It's nice to know I still can. I still think it will be a while before I try sub-7:00.

I met Larry at 5:45am, no Wayne. Larry came out to tell me he had a conflict and couldn't run. I ran 3 miles solo on the neighborhood 5K course then took the dog for a walk. I may go out again at noon.

AM. I ran some easy miles with Larry towards the canyon and back. We stopped at Building Q (where I start working on Nov. 10) and explored it a bit. I've heard some of the buildings have showers and I was hoping to find some in Q. No luck, but we didn't really look that hard. Verdon told me today there are some in K he used to use.

PM. I ran the Lake View route with Nathan, Cory, and Darin. My average pace was 8:20. It was nice to have lots of company for my final noon run. The weather was sunny and warm, well above normal for late October. It was awesome. After the run I cleaned out my locker in the fitness center and turned in my lock. I'm sure going to miss the noon runs with my Novell buddies. Tom's going to have to keep blogging (once he gets healed and running again) so I can keep up a little on how everyone's doing.

Wayne finally made it out this week and he, Larry and I ran 5.5 easy miles up towards the canyon and back. The weather sure has been nice this week for late October.