First 22 miler of the year....

We had been steadily building our mileage up over the last two months - Leslie getting ready for Ironman St. George on 1st May this year, and me - a myriad of marathons this year with a goal to requalify for Boston with a time vaguely reminiscent of what I used to run several years ago. By Friday 2nd April, the weather forecast for Saturday looked ominous. Rain, snow and wind were in the forecast along with cold temperatures. The plan was to run with Leslie and a new friend, Karie, whom I met met on Facebook through Leslie. Karie ran a 3:37 at TOU last year so Leslie suggested that we might like to run Ogden together this year as we were both vying for a sub 3:30 marathon at that race.

By 2:30 am Friday night, my 7 year old, Bethany, was coughing so much that I took her downstairs to get some medicine. Relax as I might, I could not get back to sleep, and watched the clock for hours. I must have fallen asleep after 4 am, and awoke with a jolt as my alarm went off at 5:10 am. I had everything laid out the night before so just needed to dress and leave. I didn't quite plan enough time - we were supposed to meet at 6am at 4200West and 134th South, but by then I was just driving around the point of the mountain. Both Karie and I were late, probably 6:10 when we met up with Leslie. It was took dark to hit the planned trail as were were not sure how muddy it was . So instead Leslie had us run East then North and into the Daybreak community which she was very familiar was. I am glad she was as I had no idea which planet I was on by that point. We ran on a paved trail around the Daybreak reservoir which was cool and quite windy. I wore my 2000 Boston marathon jacket which is a great windbreaker but not very breathable. That was ok, since I planned to change my upper body clothing back at the car at 11-12 miles. By the time we had finished that loop I was ready for new clothing so donned new armwarmers, a tech shirt and my blue sleeveless windvest and off we went southbound on the canal trail. It seemed that Karie had been happy to take the lead during the first loop and she did so again for the "out " section of the second part of the run. I had gauged my fluid intake well on the first loop - two 7-8 ounce bottles but mistakenly only packed one on the second part of the run. Big mistake as I was feeling dehydrated by 20 miles and it showed. However from 16-19 I was happy to lead us out and put in an 8:05 mile at 18 with Leslie hollering from behind that I sure didn't look tired. That's the pace I need all the way through the marathon, well actually 7:55's would be perfect. By 20 miles I was struggling to keep up with Leslie, but in the last mile she proved that her ice bath last night after hours on the trainer really worked, and she held a good clip to the 22 mile mark. Karie struggled a little the last few miles but looks in great shape to attack 3:30 with me at Ogden.

Leslie, Karie and myself at the end of the 22 miler. Not good light on this so we''ll try again...

Leslie trying to take a photo with her cellphone at the same time...

We were actually very lucky with the weather. Yes, it was cold and windy at times, but it did not snow nor rain. We crossed paths with Heidi and her friend Dorothy in the second part of our run. They really should have joined us as their pace was not much slower than ours.
Adding cold water...

Back home, it was the cold water bath as soon as I was through the doors. Sit in first and add the cold water while listening to music and pretending that the water is much warmer than it really is.........While painful and shocking to the system at first, the 20 minutes in there is worth every second. I kept my hat on and listened to some good running music to pass the time, then finished off with a warm shower then a cold water cooldown on the legs. And guess what this morning ? - no pain. Absolutely none. I cannot really tell that I did a long run yesterday but I will still take tomorrow off and maybe get out the tri bike on Tuesday for a light ride. There's another long(er) run scheduled for next week out of town....hehe....that should be fun..red dirt and all....