“Why drive if you can run?”
I am currently training for Across the Years, a fixed-time race on Dec 28th where you try to run as many miles as you can during a fixed period of time. I entered the 48-hour race again this year. For me, effective training leading into the race involves high mileage on mostly flat terrain. Treadmill miles also helps, increasing foot speed.
So, my challenge is to keep motivation up and boredom down doing this training. I recently bought a good incline treadmill which is more convenient that using our neighborhood rec center with poor treadmills that seem to always break down often. I’ve also grown weary of reactions as people come in, seeing me on “their treadmill.”
As weather gets poor another option I’ve used recently is to run at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah. That is the site of the 2002 Olympics speed skating events. There is a 442 meter running track around it. One day recently I ran 140 laps for nearly 39 miles in about seven hours. It was cool watching the USA teams train, including speed skating (with gold medalist Shani Davis) and short track teams. Some China team members also were training there. I mostly had the entire track to myself during that time.
This weekend, we had our annual extended family Christmas Party at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday in Midway, Utah (near Park City). Wanting to still have a long run to finish off the week, my son-in-law joked that I should just run to the party. To me, it wasn’t a crazy suggestion. I looked at the route options and discovered it would be about 41 miles along familiar roads and trails. It didn’t take long for me to decide I would do it.
Early Saturday morning at 3:08 a.m. I was on the road in the dark starting my long trip to the party. A slight breeze from the north chilled the 35 degrees, but by mile three I was heading east and feeling warm. Snow flurries fell and make the road a little wet. For the first five miles I kept my pace under 10-minute miles, trying to keep it solid so I wouldn’t show up late to the party.
Not a single car passed by me until mile five running in Lehi when a police car came from behind, taking a close look at me, but then driving on. At about the two-hour mark, at mile 10.7 I stopped at on open convenient store on State Street in Pleasant Grove to use the facilities and warm up. My stop was ten minutes and then I was back into the cold.
I headed east through Pleasant Grove and connected to the Murdock Canal paved trail at 200 South. This trail would lead me all the way to the mouth of Provo Canyon without dealing with traffic and stop lights. It was below freezing and the recent precipitation that fell was now black ice on that trail making it pretty slick in spots. In sections I would jump off the paved trail and run along the gravel shoulder for better footing. I ran on the Murdock trail from miles 12.7-17.7.
When I reached Provo Canyon, I first stopped at the store there, again to use the facilities, eat donuts, and fill one of my bottles with chocolate milk. I was now at mile 18.4 and I had been running for 3:40. My stop was for fifteen minutes and it was still dark when I continued but dawn was quickly coming. Now it was quite cold. A morning wind was coming down that canyon and in sections would make it really cold.
I now ran up the paved Provo River trail and soon could turn off my headlamp. Just a few runners were out that early. As I ran near Bridal Veil Falls, an inch of snow was on the trail and I could see tracks from many runners. Sure enough, very soon a large group came down toward me, some sort of organized run, and a couple runners recognized me. Running through Provo Canyon in the morning is wonderful with the river beside you and the light growing on the cliffs above.
I reached Vivian Park (mile 24.1) at about the five-hour mark. The paved trail ends here. In the past, from here I have run on the railroad tracks but my pace had slowed (about 13-minute miles) on the uphill and I thought I could speed things up by running on the highway shoulder. The morning traffic wasn’t too bad, but it still wasn’t very fun running near cars speeding several feet away. At the parking turnoffs were trucks belonging to a few hardy fly fisherman casting in the freezing river water below.
It was cold. My two hand-held bottles were starting to freeze and I was drinking chocolate milk slush. My highway run only lasted about 3.5 miles and then I was again running on a continuation of the Provo River trail, reaching the trailhead at the Deer Creek Dam at mile 29.4 at 6:16 into my run.
For the next eight miles I ran on the dirt trail that runs along the west side of Deer Creek Reservoir above the Heber Creeper railroad tracks. I ran on the tracks in a couple sections to avoid some climbs, knowing that no train would be on the tracks at this time of day. I heard chimes on my phone from a family group Facebook chat, so I took out my phone and shared a picture of the beautiful view toward the south end of the reservoir.
I feared that my pace had been too slow, that my wife would pick me up on the road a couple miles from my Dad’s home. The sun came out and started to warm things up and I eventually stopped to take off a layer. The views of the snow-covered mountains shrouded in clouds were impressive.
Heber and Midway came into view and I again shared my view with my family at about mile 34 at 7:20 into my run. It was about 10:30 a.m. I had two hours left to arrive before my wife did and I only had about seven more miles. I now knew I would make it.
Near the Soldier Hollow trailhead, a lone runner came toward me who I greeted. I bet he wondered where I came from with my two bottles and small pack. Little did he know that I had been running for 8 hours and had covered 37 miles. I’m glad he didn’t stop to ask me where I started from because my answer would be unbelievable and embarrassing.
Back on the pavement I ran on familiar rural roads into the town of Midway. I reached my destination early, just after noon, covering the 41.1 miles with 2,200 feet climbing in 8:55. Soon family members arrived including my wife with my clothes to change into. After a quick shower, I joined the party and had a great afternoon.