Every Race is an Adventure!

Ran some easy miles with Larry in the cold this morning. Larry's thermometer said it was 22 degrees when he left his house. It was a little chilly at first, but we were dressed well for the weather and had an enjoyable run. My legs felt pretty good, but I did notice some minor effects from yesterday's speedier run.

Ran some easy miles with Larry again this morning. The weather was about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday morning.

I had decided to play basketball with Andrew and the guys again this morning. Last night I got the bright idea to run the 4.6 miles to the church in Pleasant Grove where we play.

I ran along the canal road. It was dark so I wore my headlamp. I saw three other runners and two walkers along the way.

I averaged 8:14/mi for most of the run, going a little slower on the big hills at the beginning and the end. Overall average was 8:24/mi.

Basketball was fun as usual, but I could definitely feel the effects of the run. I think the main issue was that I didn't eat a very big dinner last night. After a couple of games I felt like I was running on empty, which I probably was.

I had a hard yet very enjoyable run with Kevin, Wayne, and Larry this morning. We targeted 16 miles by running north on the canal road for 8 miles and then turning around and coming back.

Larry and I both have Garmin 201 watches, but they almost never register the same distances. Everyone likes to go by his watch because it tends to register more distance than mine. For example, this morning his registered 16 miles, but mine only had us at about 15.4. I marked and measured the course on Google Earth after the run and it measured at 7.62 miles (times 2 is 15.24), closer to my distance than Larry's. It doesn't really matter. We had a long hard run that was enjoyable because of the beautiful weather and scenery, and good company.

I averaged 8:29/mi overall by my watch. At about 9 miles into the run I stopped for a bio break and told the others to keep going. I averaged 7:26/mi while trying to catch up, which took me about one mile. I found out later that they were pushing the pace slightly trying to hold me off. I didn't mind; I enjoyed pushing hard.

A couple of miles before the end of the run 4 young elite-looking runners (probably from BYU) passed us. Kevin and I picked it up and followed them for a bit (at probably a 6:15 to 6:45 pace) and then slowed a little. I averaged 7:00/mi for the last 1/2 mile, which included going up and down the big hill on Main, south of 2000 North in Orem.

I really enjoyed the canal run. There are too many insects during the summer, but not now. I just wish it had water and restrooms like the Provo Canyon trail. I didn't carry water; I rarely do unless it is really hot. Fortunately the weather was cool, but I was still pretty thirsty when I got home.

I ran a little bit longer variation of the Orem route with Larry this morning. We were both still feeling the effects of Saturday's long run so we just ran at an easy pace.

I didn't run this morning but decided to do some mile intervals at lunch time today. The weather was awesome. Using Google Earth I identified a block about half a mile north of where I work that is just over a mile around (1.07 miles).

After a 1/2 mile warmup (8:49/mi) to get there I ran 4 x 1 mile intervals with a 1/2 mile recovery in between. My goal was to run around 7:00/mi for each of the intervals. I completed the four 1 mile intervals in 6:45, 6:55, 7:05, and 6:54.

During the last interval, I decided to try to count my steps to take my mind off of how tired I was and to keep me going. I think it helped. I incremented my count every breath, which was every 3 steps. I would count to 50 then start over at 1 again, using my thumb and fingers to keep track of how many sets of 50 breaths (150 steps). For the mile, it came out to be almost exactly 450 breaths (1350 steps). If my math is correct, my average stride length was about 47 inches (3 ft. 11 in.) and my turnover rate was about 3.25 steps/second.

I ran a little over 1.6 miles as a cool down (8:52/mi) for a total of about 7.6 miles.

Ran the Orem course at an easy pace with Larry. The workout was light, but the conversation was good.

I almost ran again at lunch time, but I decided to buy a new pair of Wave Riders instead. The weather was nice so I rode my motorcycle over to MVP Sports in Spanish Fork. I like the fact that their shoes are always 20% off (Wave Rider 9 list price $90, their price $72). They were out of my size, so they ordered them and will have them shipped to my house at no extra charge. The new Wave Rider 10's come out in January, but I didn't think I should wait that long.

Larry and I were a little later getting started this morning (trouble getting Garmins locked in). Because of this, we saw Kirk and Lyle run by. We decided to run with them for a bit. They started running just a couple of weeks ago and are both planning to run St. George next year. Kirk ran one marathon some time ago, and this will be Lyle's first. They run the neighborhood 5K course, stopping to walk a couple of times. We ran about 2.7 miles with them.

Larry and I then decided to run the 5K course backwards at 8:00/mi or faster. We averaged 7:53/mi.

I joined Larry and Wayne for a 20 mile run along the canal road (ended up being closer to 19.5 miles). They are both planning on doing the Death Valley Marathon on Dec. 2. Although I would really like to, I probably won't run it. But there's a slim chance, so I thought I'd do the long run with them anyway. Kevin started a few miles before the turn around point and met us on our way back and joined us for the run back home.

The weather was a little cold, but I never really got too cold or too warm. Since there is no water along the course, I decided to pack water. It was probably a good idea, especially to help get the gel down on the return trip, but I really don't like running with a water bottle around my waist.

I averaged about 8:49/mi overall, running out at an average pace of 9:01/mi and back at 8:37/mi. At about mile 11 I took a longer than average bio break and then averaged 7:48/mi for 1.28 miles while I caught back up.

The run out was very enjoyable. We covered some terrain none of us had ever seen before. The return trip was a better workout, but not quite as enjoyable for me. My legs were feeling a little tired even before I ran the 7:48 pace to catch back up. From about that point to the end I just tried to hang on behind the other three runners (who quickened the pace by about 20 sec/mi on the way back). The end of the run, and how tired I was after, felt far too much like the end of a marathon.

Larry and I went out this morning in spite of the falling snow. The snow and the wind picked up shortly after we started so we opted to cut the run short. I may try to put in a few miles at lunch time, but I'm leaving work early for my daughter's dance performance and I have a lot of work to do so it may not be possible.

With the wind gusting and rain beating on the windows, Larry and I decided to skip our run this morning. Instead I went with my son Andrew to basketball again. When the weather is bad it's nice to be able to exercise indoors. It was fun. I even took an assist from my son to hit the game winner in one of the games. I also dribbled off my toe to turn the ball over, and barely drew iron on a wide open 10 footer. It's all good. Being 5'7" and 46 years old, if I expect too much I'm almost certain to be disappointed.

Ran the Orem course with Larry. Temperature was in the mid 20's. Canyon breeze had a bit of an edge when we were running east on 400 North.

I ran about 6 miles with Larry this morning. We did the normal Orem route with a little extra at the beginning and end.

Larry has been reading about Jeff Galloway's run-walk approach to running and suggested we try some run-walk intervals of running about 4 minutes then walking for 30 seconds. It sounded interesting.

We warmed up for about half a mile then averaged the following paces/mi for the 10 roughly half mile intervals: 7:49, 7:49, 7:53, 8:02, 7:40, 7:24, 7:59, 7:48, 7:56, 7:22. With the walking included, we averaged about 8:20/mi overall.

Larry wants to try about 13 miles of this on Saturday. It should be an interesting experiment.

Basketball with my son Andrew again.

Larry, Wayne, and I tried something a little different. We alternated running for 3:52 (roughly half a mile) and walking for 30 seconds. We completed 25 intervals, at the paces below:

1 - 9:20 (warmup, uphill to canal road)

2 - 7:55

3 - 7:41

4 - 7:51

5 - 7:56

6 - 7:54

7 - 7:34

8 - 7:50

9 - 7:58

10 - 7:54

11 - 7:39

12 - 7:51

13 - 8:01

14 - 7:39

15 - 8:00

16 - 8:44

17 - 8:05

18 - 7:56

19 - 7:58

20 - 7:32

21 - 8:04

22 - 7:59

23 - 7:44

24 - 7:48

25 - 6:57

Total 12.72 miles 1:47:26 (8:27/mi)

I'm not sure what to make of the run. It was enjoyable running with Larry and Wayne, the weather was pretty good, and I feel like we got a pretty good workout. However, I don't think I would ever use the run-walk for a race. It was interesting only having to worry about holding the pace for half a mile at a time, and it allowed us to stay together even though we were running slightly different paces. For me, however, the frequent walking resulted in a disappointing overall pace.

Larry had told me he wasn't running this morning, so I opted to run at lunch time. It was a good decision because the weather was great for running, clear and cool but not cold.

I didn't feel like running my guts out doing intervals or something like that today. I felt more like doing a good tempo run. I decided to do the 10K version of the Lake View run that Tom Lee and I did once while training for the WBR this year. It's too bad I didn't check with Tom, because he was just coming in from a run as I was headed out.

I decided I wanted to try and run a pace somewhere between 7:45/mi and 8:00/mi. After about a 0.88 mile warmup to the start, I ran the first half in 24:44 (7:59/mi). I was hoping for closer to 7:45, but I realized shortly into the run that I should have made a bathroom stop before the run. I had intended to but didn't. Luckily there is a Walker's gas station at the half way point so I made a pit stop. It made quite a difference. This is a flat out and back course, and I ran back in 23:27 (7:34/mi), 25 secs/mile faster. The overall time for the 10K was 48:11 (7:46/mi). I pushed pretty hard, more so on the way back than on the way out, but this was not an all out 10K. It was a very enjoyable and satisfying tempo run.

No run today. :( I overslept this morning and worked through lunch.

Larry and I had a fun run this morning just running and talking and following no course in particular. A couple of times we weren't even exactly sure where we were for a minute. Larry had watched Da Vince Code with his sons yesterday so we started out talking about that and, as is customary, ended up solving a few of the world's mysteries during our run. :)

I started the day by playing a couple of hours of basketball with my son Andrew (19) and the other morning bball guys. After a brief recovery I then played Turkey Bowl football with my sons Andrew and Adam (17), some of their friends, and one other dad. I did okay with the running part, but the throwing and catching part left something to be desired. I later stuffed myself quite well with turkey et al. at my sister's house with my extended family.

I couldn't bring myself to get up and run or play basketball this morning, so I just enjoyed sleeping in.

Ran the old Monday route with Larry. He's tapering for the Death Valley Marathon next week so we didn't push real hard. It still seemed pretty hard, though. We attributed it to too much turkey.

I was on my own this morning, so I decided to run a few "fast miles" this morning. The weather phone said the temperature was 41 degrees, but it felt much colder to me. There was a cold breeze and a light snow falling.

I warmed up by running the mile or so up to the former WordPerfect buildings. The "fast mile" is from that corner down 1600 N. to 400 E. and then south to 1200 North. It has a little uphill section near the beginning, and is flat at the end, but overall it is mostly downhill. It is about a half mile jog back up the hill through the former WordPerfect buildings to get back to the start.

I ran two "fast miles" on this course. On the third, instead of turning on 400 E. I continued on 1600 N. all the way down to Main on my way back home. My times for these three "fast miles" were 6:36, 6:34, and 6:38. I haven't run this fast for a while, and it felt pretty good. However, my goal of a sub-20 minute 5K (6:27/mi pace) will require me to run just a little faster.

I played basketball again with Andrew and the bball guys this morning. I should probably have stayed in bed. My left knee was acting up (bad knee from football injury in my youth), I was sent flying on my back when I set a pick that wasn't noticed by an aggressive defender, and I rolled my right ankle when I stepped on someone's foot in a crowd. I didn't play all that well either, but that's pretty normal. Fortunately, nothing was too serious and I feel pretty good now.

Recovery day to let my old aching joints heal a little. I wasn't planning it that way, but it was too icy and cold (in the teens) for me this morning so I stayed in bed, and then I worked through lunch and didn't make it to the fitness center. After work my daughter has a dance performance at the Festival of Trees, and then I have band practice, so I won't be running tonight either.

For the curious, band practice is for a band that is being put together for my church congregation's Christmas party in a few weeks. Most of us in this band were in band in high school or college and haven't played for a decade or two. I will be playing my old (1914) silver tenor saxophone, which I've now polished most of the tarnish off. Our first practice is tonight...should be interesting.