The objective of my run today was to get in 18 miles, as I haven't gone farther than 15 all year and Top of Utah is only a few weeks away.
I got a ride up South Fork with Melanie and some others to the start of the Provo River 1/2 Marathon. One mile warm-up then I started the race with Melanie. We went out a little faster than we planned. The first 6 miles were: 6:03, 6:11, 6:20, 6:10, 6:32, 6:25. Then my calf cramped up on me and I thought "This is stupid!" I had a cramp at mile 7 of an 18 mile run. I needed the 18 miles much more than I needed to do a few fast ones and I wasn't even registered for the race.
I slowed down and a mile or so later my calf felt better. I also started stopping at the water stations to drink a lot. Miles 7 - 9 were slow: 6:48 (slowed down about 1/2 way through this one), 7:04 (uphill switch back section), 7:05 (pee in bushes).
Miles 10 - 13 I got back into a good pace and felt comfortable again: 6:39, 6:35, 6:45, 6:31, Last .2 (6:15 pace). This was a down the canyon course. My time was 1:26:22 Avg 6:32.
Then I headed out for another 4 miles. Ran back along the course about 3 miles up the canyon and one mile back down to my car. Avg for this part 7:03. I was happy I didn't feel horrible at the end. My 18th mile coming down the canyon was 6:36. Overall I was pleased with the workout I got. | 