Running in Circles

Today I ran in circles for 3 hours. OK - I actually ran in ovals - but it doesn't sound as good. My running buddy Leslie Peterson and her friend Gary wanted to do a 15 mile long run for the day and I had agreed to go along. Then the weather started dumping snow. I did most of my running outside this past week, but I wasn't in the mood to run for so many hours in fresh snow and ice. Instead we went to the Olympic Oval in Kearns.

This is the ice oval set up for speed skating for the 2002 Olympic games in Salt Lake City. We ran here a couple of times last year. The track runs on the outside of the ice and 3 1/2 laps equals a mile. I purchased a lap clicker last year which was invaluable (it would drive me crazy remembering how far I had gone otherwise).

We arrived at the track a little after 9 a.m. and agreed that 52.5 laps would equal 15 miles. We each had our own little goals and I think we each achieved them. My goal was to run longer than I previously had without any walking breaks. My previous record was 10 miles back in November and I was hoping to at least do a half marathon without needing a walking break.

The nice things about the oval are that you don't have to dress warmly, there are lots of people to watch and talk to, and they pipe in music. (The bathrooms are warm and that is nice too).

For the first 10 miles I would try and do a 25 step strider to shake my legs out from running a consistent pace. My knees were a bit sore, but I wrapped the left one after 5 miles and it held out okay. After passing the 13 mile mark without stopping, it got a little harder, but I actually made it all 15 miles before stopping. Endurance has obviously increased as well as my will power since the St. George Marathon.