Kerry's Running Blog

Took it easy this morning as my lower back was a bit sore. It eventually eased up, but the soreness never completely disappeared. It should be all right by tomorrow (I think I must have just slept in a weird position).

Had a great run with Paul and Verdon up Provo Canyon. We started off about 6:30 with a stiff head wind keeping us from going out too fast. The wind died down as we got further up the canyon and it turned into an absolutely gorgeous morning with perfect temperatures. It took about an hour and a half to get to the gate at Trefoil Ranch. We met Verdon about a mile or so from the top. Paul wasn't having a great day (after having worn himself out the day before), but we ran together down to Vivian. Paul wanted to rest at that point and insisted I go on ahead. After a mile or so, I was joined by another runner named Jared. It was nice to have the company. We kept up a nice pace to the end. Finished in 2:47. Average heart rate was 144 which is well below my marathon threshold rate.

Laureen did her long run this morning instead of on Saturday, so I went out with the intent of just running part way with her. It was so nice running with her that I just kept going. There were moments when an ache or pain would make me think that I'd overdone it (after Saturday's 20 miler), but I felt great afterwards and throughout the day. My weight is continuing to drop (now 150.2) and my resting heart rate has dropped to 41. I'm feeling fairly confident now about meeting my goal at St. George, but I know that sickness or an injury can throw a wrench into the works. I want to take advantage of the time remaining while avoiding workouts that risk injury.

Felt great this morning. I didn't get any extra sleep, but I felt rested and energetic. After warming up for a few miles, I started pushing the pace. I still feel a little stiffness in my lower back, but it wasn't hurting and it didn't affect my running. It was dark this morning so I had to keep the light on most of the way.

Ran with Laureen this morning. She's been running after the kids get off to school but she needed to get out earlier today. The moon was up but mostly obscured by clouds, so it was dark. It was nice running together. I've been feeling a cold coming on and although I didn't feel too congested this morning, I still wasn't 100 percent.

Ran with Laureen this morning. We got started at 4:45 and took the tour of American Fork, Alpine, Highland and Cedar Hills. I took off when we reached the mouth of American Fork Canyon as I had a meeting at the Marriott Center. I pushed a good pace up the hill, but I had some knee pain starting out that slowed me down for a couple minutes. It went away, but I could still feel a little stiffness even after the run. My running felt light and easy, almost like there was a wind behind me. I ran a 6:34 mile after clearing the top of the hill and was at 5:45 pace as I rounded the corner to my house. The whole stake presidency was waiting in a van outside my house. They'd stopped by to see if I needed a ride. I told them I'd catch up as I needed to take a quick shower and a little something to eat. I managed to get ready in about 10 minutes, but ran into some heavy traffic in Provo. By the time I parked and got in there it was 9:10 (which luckily was earlier than Pres. Monson and Elder Wirthlin made it).

My weight this morning was 148.6.

Felt great this morning. Temperatures were perfect, the stars were bright and the moon was out. As I turned on to 48th west there was another runner just across the road running a bit slower. After a little bit I crossed over to face oncoming traffic and naturally started to speed up as I always do when I feel someone is coming up behind me. I kept thinking I heard his footsteps right behind me so I'd push it a little faster. I turned onto the adventure park trail and just kept up the pace. It felt good to be out and there was just enough moonlight to let you see where you were going. Picked it up a little bit with two miles left and ran even harder when I saw some runners up ahead (I caught them just before turning at the funeral home). All in all, a good run. There was a little lingering soreness in my lower back on the right side, but it seems to be getting better and often disappears completely. I'm shooting for 55 to 60 this week.

Had a hard time getting up this morning. I was so tired when the alarm went off that I just reset it for a half hour later and tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work. After laying there for a few minutes I just got up and headed out. I felt all right once I got moving and ran fairly easily. Ran into Greg and Chad along the adventure park road. Pushed a little harder the last two miles.

Had a good run this morning which was probably helped by the fact that I ended up sleeping in for an hour (the cat woke me up to let her out and I couldn't get back to sleep). After a mile and half warm-up, I started pushing the pace, going faster as I got closer to the end. I imagined that I was doing the last six miles of the marathon and practiced running relaxed and shutting out negative thoughts.

Routine run this morning. My inside left knee has been a little sore the last couple of mornings just starting out. I guess this is the time of year to worry about every little ache and pain. I don't feel anything after a mile warm-up or throughout the rest of the day. Ran into Lloyd N. just before turning onto Dorchester. He hasn't been running much this year, but plans to do a couple of marathons next year. It'd be nice to do some long runs together.

Listening to the weather forecast, I thought it was going to be cold this morning so I went out a little overdressed. The streets were a little wet from overnight rain, but nothing was coming down when I left. With the fresh air and the extra rest (I slept in until 6), I just felt like picking up the pace after a mile warmup. As I turned onto 48th for the last two mile stretch it started raining, light but steady. Shortly after the lightning and thunder started and by the time I got to Lone Peak HS it was coming down pretty steady. I was running fairly hard at that point, but picked it even more as the lightning started hitting closer. By the time I reached the corner at Deep Creek and Sunset it was a regular downpour. I certainly made it back just in time. Overall, a great run.

I had planned to run a 20 miler with my wife Laureen, but with the overnight storm, we decided to postpone that run until Monday. When the sun came up it looked nice so we decided to go out for a while.

Laureen started her 20 miler while I got the kids off to school. I then ran part of her scheduled route backwards and met her just north of the Highland Park. The weather was almost perfect for a long run. My knee (left inside) was a bit sore for much of the run for some reason. It hasn't bothered me before except for a few minutes here and there. I wondered if it wasn't aggravated by running a slower pace. Laureen did great and was still feeling good at the end of the run.

Felt great this morning. No sign of the knee pain that was bothering me yesterday. Marathon pace felt relaxed and easy. Pushed it a bit harder the last couple of miles (ran up the steep hill on Redwood). I'm planning to push hard this week and do a 20 miler on Saturday in Provo Canyon before starting to taper next week.

Felt great this morning after whimping out yesterday. Legs felt good and strong. No aches or pains. Temperatures were very pleasant. Pushed it fairly hard the last mile.

Beautiful morning for a run up Provo Canyon. Without Paul or Tom around to push me, I kind of took it easy for part of the run and just enjoyed the scenery. I pushed the pace on the way back and although I felt tired at the 20 mile mark, I wasn't exhausted by any means. I only averaged 8:51/mile which was about 15 seconds slower per mile that I wanted to do (it's possible that I left my watch running when I stopped for water and ending up talking to a girl that was was also running St. George). It was a good run in many ways, but it didn't give me any extra confidence for St. George. Laureen had finished her run about ten minutes before and was waiting in the car. After a brief stretch I got in and we left. I probably should have walked around a bit more as my calves soon starting cramping up (I haven't felt that for a while). I recovered quickly and didn't feel any lingering aches or pains or tiredness for that matter.

Felt good this morning getting starting. I wanted to push the pace just to reassure myself about the upcoming marathon. After warming up for a mile, settled into a 7:09 pace for the next mile, then about 7:50 pace through the uphill miles. Pushed it a little harder from the light to the HS (7:18 for mile 5, 6:27 for the downhill section) and finished with a 7:26 for the last mile. Average heart rate was 161 which is about the midpoint of my threshold range.

Ran three easy miles with Laureen and then took off to loop around the high school as she was heading home. Ran 7:07 to 7:40 for last three miles. Beautiful fall weather.

Got to bed late last night and woke up with a bit of a sinus headache (for some reason I've also been bothered by asthma attacks around bedtime). My legs felt good for the run, so even though I was planning on taking it easy today, I pushed it the last mile just to make sure that everything was OK. Before the marathon I sometimes doubt my ability to run 100 yards let alone 26.2 miles, but then other times I think that averaging no worse than an 8:10 pace on a mostly downhill course sounds pretty easy.

Ran the loop around the adventure park lake just as the sun was starting to hit the water. Kind of cool to start out, but was very comfortable after a mile or so. Pushed it fairly hard the whole way as I wanted to run it all at sub-marathon pace. After a one mile warmup at 7:45 pace, maintained 7:20 to 7:30 pace (managed 6:20 or so on the downhill sections and 7:50 on the uphill). Felt good. No aches or pains to speak of.

Had a nice run with Laureen. The weather was beautiful. We ran through the adventure park, around the lake, up to Kohlers, through the golf course to the trail and back along the creek.