| Location: American Fork,UT,USA Member Since: May 20, 2009 Gender: Male Goal Type: Other Running Accomplishments: 6 100 mile finishes:
Wasatch 100- 2011
Wasatch 100- 2012
Buffalo Run 100- 2013
Bryce 100- 2013
Wasatch 100- 2013
Buffalo Run 100- 2014
100 mile PR- 22:42
Multiple ultra distance adventure runs every year
My running focus has been on ultra running since 2011
Climbed 348 peaks from 2010-2013
Short-Term Running Goals: Race Schedule for 2014:
Buffalo 100 (Goal: 22 hours)
Bighorn 100
Wasatch 100 (Goal: Under 30 hours)
Have less than 20 trail diggers in 2014:
Diggers so far in 2014: 1
Climb 100 peaks in 2014
Peaks climbed so far in 2014: 40 Long-Term Running Goals: 24 hour Wasatch 100 finish Personal: Refuse2quit blog
My adventure blog
Summitpost profile |
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| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 175.50 | Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 304.25 | Asics Gel-1150 Miles: 1.00 | Asics Kahana Miles: 15.30 | Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 483.33 | Saucony Kinvara Miles: 103.95 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 151828.00 | Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 231.25 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 63.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 1297.50 | Nap Time: 2.50 | Total Sleep Time: 1300.00 | Weight: 154.61 | Calories: 0.00 | |
| | I had to get these 4 TM miles in early because we were heading out for the day. I felt really crappy after, but I haven't been feeling all that well all week. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I felt crappy again today, but I still ran 4 on the TM while watching football. I was hoping I would feel better after running and I actually did.
I guess it is time to get some new goals now that it is 2011. The main goal for the year will be to complete a 100 mile distance and everything else I do will be gearing up for that. I have put in for the Wasatch 100 and if I don't get into that I'll sign up for another 100 mile race. Last year I did 3 ultra distances and I know I will have to ramp that up if I want to do a 100 miler this year, so I hope to do several adventures that will give me 30+ miles. Here are some of the adventures I am planning for 2011:
One day run/climb of Gannett Peak, Wyoming sometime in early August- This will be 44 tough miles that will require a 20 mile approach just to get to the serious climbing, with 6 hours of tough climbing to get the summit and back to that point with 20 more miles to get out. Other than the 100 this will be the most demanding day of the year.
Kings peak double (52 total miles)- I hope to do this with Jun sometime in July. As far as we can tell it has never been done before and will be really good prep for a 100.
Kings Peak winter ascent- Planning on doing it in March with a local group that does it every year.
Timp double- I wanted to do this last year, but didn't get it done. This year for sure.
Still plan on running/climbing at least 52 peaks in 2011.
I still haven't decided yet on all of the races I am doing, but I will probably do Logan Peak, the Timp marathon and Quest for Kings marathon.
Marathon in 3:30 and a half in 1:35.
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| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. Worked upper body/core. This was the first session of 2011 and all of the resolution folks were out. It was more crowded and stinky than normal, but I still had a great time lifting with the group of guys I have been lifting with for the last year. |
| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I ran Lake Mountain this morning with MatthewVH. We met in Lehi at 5:30... oh wait, I was there at 5:30 and Matt showed up a bit later. The trail was covered in snow and we started running right at 6:00 am. It was really cold, but after a few minutes we both heated up. We ran for the first mile and then it starts to get steep, so we slowed to a fast hike. There were several ATV tracks to follow, but just after a mile it was only a single ATV track.
It was lightly snowing, but it wasn't much of anything. Just a lot of ice crystals falling in the air. The hike up was ok, but after about 3 miles the ATV track stopped, and the only thing left was a snowmobile track. Now we were sinking in the snow with every step and it became much more difficult to keep a fast pace. About .5 from the top we just ran out of time. We both needed to get down because of work and with all of the snow it was going to take us quite a bit more time to get up to the summit so we turned around. I hate not getting to the top, but there wasn't much more we could do.
The run down was tough because the track was so narrow and it was hard to stay in it. After about two miles it opened up and became much easier and we cruised in at a pretty good pace. Total time 2:15. Elevation gain: 2400 ft. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 7.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4 miles on the TM while watching basketball. Nothing exciting, however Jun and I will be climbing Mt. Wire tomorrow morning if any of you are interested in breaking out of this inversion for some clean air. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I usually lift on Friday, unless I am climbing something and if I am I will hit the gym on Thursday night instead. I lifted for an hour (upper body/core) and had a really good workout. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Adding pics: Check out all of that gross air you Salt Lakers are breathing in.
I was supposed to meet MatthewVH and Jun to climb Mt. Wire this morning. Jun is still having issues with his calves and he texted me this morning letting me know he couldn't make it. On my way to the trail I received a text from Matt letting me know he was bailing as well. I know Jun had a good excuse and he told me last night that he wasn't sure he could do it, but I think Matt was just being lazy and wanted to sleep in. Come on Matt!!
This wouldn't be my first solo climb of Wire and I was just glad I brought my ipod. I started at almost exactly 6:00 am and there were three ladies and a dog starting at the same time. I started first and the dog wanted to follow me. I figured that they were probably running on the BST and wouldn't be heading up Wire and sure enough they didn't turn off and head up to the ridge, although the dog followed me for a bit.
The fog was horrible this morning and I was so glad that just after I started heading up the steeper section on the ridge I came out of it. If I didn't know the trail so well it would have been very easy to get lost, as the visibility was terrible. Coming out of the fog was incredibly eerie. The whole city was enveloped by a thick dark cloud, and above the stars were really bright and one of the planets looked really impressive to the southeast. It didn't even look real and I wish I had a picture. The black cloud covered almost the entire valley, but right where I know downtown is there was a small glow of light. I love climbing in the mountains. The views!!
The trail was in great shape and it was obvious that the sun has been shining above the inversion. It was also a lot warmer up there. I just listened to my ipod and completely enjoyed the morning. I made it to the top in 57:00 and I stayed up there at least 10 minutes looking at the valley and taking a few pictures with my phone, which I will add here.
The run down was really fun, and I just took it easy on a few of the icy sections were there is some steep rock, but other than that I was able to run the whole way. Total time was 1:44 (including summit time). I had an excellent time, got to breath some fresh air, got a great workout and still made it on time to work. That is why I love Mt. Wire.
Total elevation gain: 2300 ft
Total for the week: 4900 ft
Total summits for 2011: 1 |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I did the .3 just to throw off PRE. These were TM miles done while watching TV. I mixed in some speed intervals (thx coach :) ) and I was more worked than usual after I finished. I could definitely feel it in my lungs. I am really in the mood for a looooong run, but not on the TM. Hopefully next week. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My quads are a bit sore from the elevation last week, but I wanted to get in a few miles anyway, so I did 3 on the TM while watching the NFL playoffs. I may try and do more later. AP 8:40 nice and easy. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Lifting at the gym for an hour. I had a really good session working upper body and core. After I ran a mile on the TM just to stretch my legs. Look at me work my way up that mileage board. Yeah!! |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 1.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I met MatthewVH and Jun at the Wire trailhead this morning at 5:50. It was a balmy 6 outside. I had to take care of some bathroom bidness while waiting for Matt and I have to say that was the coldest bathroom break of my life. It was nice of Jun to flash and keep his headlights on me though.
When we finally hit the trail there was a slight wind that picked up as we made our way up the mountain and it was just plain cold. I usually heat up within a few minutes, but today it took much longer. My hands and face were numb. Jun and I quickly pulled away from Matt and we wouldn't see him again until the summit. We only ran a little and mostly hiked up the steep slope.
Jun and I had a great time talking and we didn't push too hard, but just had an enjoyable hike up. The views of the city were much different than a few days ago with the disgusting air and it just felt so good to be out and on the trails early in the morning. There was a nice path in the snow until we reached the upper portion of the mountain, and from there we were breaking new trail, although it wasn't that deep, so it wasn't too bad.
Jun and I reached the top in 56:18 and after a few pics we decided to wait for Matt. Surprisingly there wasn't much wind, and that was a good thing because it would not have been bearable if there had been any. After about 10 minutes Matt showed up and then we quickly headed down.
The best part of the day was a herd of Elk that ran just below us as we left the summit. They are big and powerful animals and it was fun watching them move so fast. Awesome! The run down was fun, but I stopped to mess with my ipod and my hands were instantly cold again. When I got back to the cars Jun was already gone and I waited a few minutes for Matt. Once again a really fun morning on Wire. 2300 vert. Total time 1:24 |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I took my running gear to work today hoping I could fit in a run during lunch, but I was too busy, and I ended up staying late to get a few things done. Later in the evening I did manage 3 on the TM before my stomach protested and I had to quit sooner than I wanted. Doing Wire aka Big Beacon in the am so I wasn't too worried about it. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I stayed up late last night watching Dexter, so I only got 4 hours of sleep. I met Jun and Twinkies at the Wire trailhead at 5:50 am. It was in the low twenties, but it actually felt warm compared to Tuesday.
We kept a fairly decent pace up the whole way except when I stopped to mess with my headlamp for a few minutes. I was dressed almost the exact same as Tuesday, but I was sweating a lot more today. I was hot.
We made it up in 53:something and had to take the obligatory peak jumping photos (see Jun's blog). After a few minutes of messing around we ran all the way down and actually made pretty good time. Jun finished in 1:14 and Twinkies and I in 1:17, which was 7 minutes faster than Tues.
So fun! Total elevation gain 2200 ft.
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I met MatthewVH to do Grandeur Peak this morning at 6:30 am via the West Ridge route. It wasn't as cold as it has been the last few weeks, so I didn't bring a jacket. The route was entirely covered in snow and it was actually a bit slick, so after a few minutes on the trail Matt ran back to my car to borrow an extra set of trekking poles that I have.
We had a really fun time making our way up the ridge. We joked and laughed and it actually slowed us down a lot, but we didn't care. The trail was slippery and some micro-spikes would have really helped. about half way up it started to snow on us, but it didn't last long.
Up on the summit ridge the snow was really deep, and Matt got stuck a few times. We made it to the top in a slow 1:55 where we hung out for about 20 minutes talking and enjoying the views. 3 guys came up from the other side of the mountain and we chatted with them for a few minutes. One of the guys is an ultra runner with several 100 milers under his belt.
We went a lot faster on the way down and the poles really helped. When we were about .5 from the trailhead we ran into some friends from the Wasatch Mountain club that we both knew, so we chatted for a few minutes and then ran back to the car. What a fun morning. I'll post up some pics a bit later (Peak jumping picture fail). We gave up after Matt missed me 7 times.
Total elevation gain 3,000+ |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4 TM miles while watching Dexter. My legs were a touch sore, so I didn't want to push anything at all, and they actually felt a lot better after my run. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Monday is always my day to lift weights, but it was so nice outside today that I couldn't pass up a run. I went to the gym and lifted for almost an hour and I was a sweaty mess. On the way home I actually had my window open and the air felt so good, so I decided to go run.
I took my dog Shyla with me for the first few miles and it was the worst! She shot me out like a cannon and I spent the first mile (6:48) trying to slow her down. She is a very strong dog and running with her is really a chore. Usually she settles down after a few miles, but I wasn't in the mood today, so after two miles I finally took her home. I think I deserve extra miles for the effort. We did the second mile in 8:03, but we also went up a really big hill.
After I dropped off the dog I went east to the Highland Hwy and then headed North for two miles where I turned around and went back. I was feeling so good out there and I was hovering between a 7:40-8:10 pace. I still felt really good when I got home, so I decided to do the 2 mile loop again. I really ran hard up the hill and felt stronfg the whole way. I still felt like another mile, so I ran back down the hill and back up again for another mile to finish at 9. My average pace was 8:40 which I was happy with because of the 3 hills. I ran the whole thing in a sleeveless shirt and it felt great. I won't complain about the weather anymore.
Lake Mt. tomorrow. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 9.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I climbed/ran Lake Mountain with Jun and my friend Nate this morning. We were expecting warmer temps and a muddy trail, so when we got there and there was hard icy snow covering the trail right from the start we were surprised. This was both good and bad. The conditions on the lower trail were not great. There were a lot of hard icy ruts to navigate and it was slick, but the upper half of the mountain could not have been better, with nice firm snow that made for really good running conditions. My hammies protested (4 peaks in the last 8 days) on the last mile, which slowed me down a bit.
We didn't run as much as normal because of all of the icy ruts, but we did have a really fast hiking pace on the steeper sections and we made pretty good time to the top, where we witnessed one of the best sunrises of the year (see Jun's blog for a pic). It was really cold up there and after a few peak jumping pics I choked down a gel and then we headed down. Nate started out a little before Jun and I, and Jun quickly caught and passed him and then blazed down the trail. I stayed behind Nate for about two miles until I slipped on some ice and took a dive. Luckily it didn't hurt too much, but I was a lot more tentative going down and then about a mile later I slipped again and banged my knee on some ice. It wasn't serious, but did slow me down. Other than the falls it was a perfect morning.
Here are some pics from my Grandeur Peak climb on Saturday:
Matt making his way up near the summit ridge:
Me on the summit:
Matt (looking like an old woman) on top:
After 7 attempts, this was the best peak jumping photo:
Matt on the way back down. Check out that dirty air in the valley:
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 8.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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My hamstrings and ITB on my right side are still a little sore, so the only goal I had today was to do a small run to work them out a bit. I rolled my ITB and stretched the hammies and then ran 3.2 on the TM. I felt really good, but I didn't want to push anything. Average pace: Not fast.
On a more serious note, I was just looking on Amazon for some new running shorts and I found some I LOVE. I need some opinions. Thanks.
Awesome shorts!
Ok all you fast running peeps that want to do Mt. Wire. MattV and I are heading up tomorrow at 5:45. Let me know if you're interested. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym. I worked lats, shoulders and biceps for 50 minutes. I spent a lot of time on the pull up bar and I was worked. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I met MattV at the Wire trailhead at 5:45 this morning. I looked for allie (stalker) on the Sunnyside up route, but I only saw a dude in a yellow vest. Matt was waiting for me and he actually left a few minutes before I did. The trail was frozen mud and it was colder than I expected, but after a few minutes I was quite warm.
I didn't have my ipod because the battery died at the gym last night, and now I was being punished with Santa Claus is coming to town, which somehow ended up in my head and was now playing over and over. Ahhhh! I needed to catch Matt so we could chat. I finally caught him on the start of the ridge, as he was taking his one mile break (at .85). I stopped to wait for him and had a drink while I checked out the city lights below.
The rest of the way up went fast, but we went slow, as we were talking the entire time and not really focusing on speed. When we hit the towers Matt took off running for the summit and I followed and we topped out at 1:03, which is pretty slow. Matt wore a cute black cowboy hat with a blinking star, and we both took turns taking pictures, although it was dark and they were with my Blackberry, so they aren't great, but I'll post them because it was a fun rodeo.
We ran all the way down, and once we got off of the ridge I somehow ended up in a sage bush, and it was stinky! Some of the bush did get on my water bottle and made it taste like sage tea, so that was a bonus. Back to the cars in 1:32. Here are a few summit shots:
Me playing rodeo. Look at those eyes!
Cowboy Matt:
2200 ft of vert. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 3.90 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I really wanted to get outside for a long run today, but I had to settle for the TM. I watched Sara Palin's Alaska... ha! I am not a big Sara fan, however having Kate from John and Kate+8 on there made Sara look like a dream. Kate is a whiny, annoying human being. Good times! |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 6.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I just wanted to stretch my legs, so I did an easy 3 on the TM while watching the NFL playoffs. I couldn't believe how much I sweat for only doing 3. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I got to the gym 10 minutes early because I thought I might leave a little early, but I ended up staying the whole 70 minutes and had an excellent workout. I lifted (upper body/core). So I have been lifting at the gym for 5 years now and last night we had a first. There was a dude wearing tight grey sweats in there that was spending more time texting than lifting, and after one long text session he emerged from the hall obviously more excited than he should have been for the gym. I almost dropped my weights I was laughing so hard. That was the only time I have seen him in there and hopefully the last. ha
Woodrow
One of the guys I lift with took a camera in there and was videoing some of the sets. He threatened to put them on Facebook. Ummm this should be interesting. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 156.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Well, I was going to watch the Jazz/Lakers game while I did the TM tonight, but by time I turned it on in the 2nd qtr the Jazz were already down 20, so I ended up watching the State of the Union address. I'm not sure that was much better. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 156.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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This is why I love living in Utah, and why I love my job. How many people get the opportunity to climb a mountain on their lunch break? Probably not many. Mt. Wire was the peak for the day. Yeah, I have been doing it a lot recently, but I think this is the perfect training mountain when you don't have a lot of time.
The conditions were not great today. There was a packed trail up to the ridge and from there we had to break the trail all the way to the top. I started out, but Jun took over and finished it off. There were signs of elk all over the mountain, and we could tell that a herd had slept up there last night and we used their tracks at times.
The mountain was enveloped by fog most of the time, with brief glimpses of the valley for only a few seconds at a time. We made it up in 57:00 and after a few summit pics (see Jun's blog) we headed back down. We ran the whole way to the car and actually made pretty good time considering all of the snow. I need some micro-spikes. Great day!
2200 ft. of vert
PM update- I played an hour of basketball with guys from my work, and then also did 1 mile on the TM in my bare feet. I'm not sure I liked it much. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.80 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I was so tired tonight after the kids were in bed and I did not want to work out, but I forced myself to get some action on the TM. Nothing exciting. I started slow (9:30) and finished a bit faster (7:10). My legs are a little sore from yesterday. I am not sure if it is from Mt. Wire, basketball or the mile in bare feet. Maybe a combination. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.60 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I woke up an hour early this morning to hit the gym. When the alarm went off I didn't want to get out of bed and I even hit snooze once, but I'm going to the Jazz game later and I know I won't have much time to work out, so I got up and went.
40 minutes of lifting (upper body).
No extra excitement in the gym today. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I had an excellent morning running Grandeur Peak. I invited my friend Bill who is a pretty fast runner and he invited his friend who is also a very fast runner. On the way to the trailhead I found out his friend was Seth Wold, who has won the Ogden marathon a few times, as well as several other races. So MattVH would be meeting us at the trailhead and I was a bit worried about having these two fast runners join us because I wasn't sure we could keep the pace they wanted.
We started about 6:15 and the trail had melted out a lot since the last time we were on it. We started off running, but as soon as we hit the ridge it was a fast hike the rest of the way up. The conversation was great and we talked about running, races, trails and mountains. Bill was pushing the pace with me behind and then Seth and Matt. Once we got above the inversion it was a lot warmer and the views were fantastic.
When we were about 3/4 of the way up I could see some lights coming up the ridge, and I could see that they were moving fast. I didn't want to get passed, so I picked up my pace. I hit the summit first in 1:16 with Bill right behind me, and then a few minutes later the 3 guys made it up. They are all ultra runners that Seth knows and they were cruising. A few minutes later Matt and Seth made it to the top. I had a gel and some water and then we all took off down to Church Fork. The run down was a total blast! Probably the best run of the year. The trail was hard packed snow, but not very slippery. Perfect.
Bill made it down first, then me and then Seth and Matt a few minutes later. I was really impressed with Seth. Obviously he could have blown by all of us, but he spent his time hanging back with Matt. We then ran down the Pipeline trail to Rattlesnake Gulch and the views were sweet. At the gulch we went down toward the canyon road. The trail was very slick here, so the pace slowed a lot. At the canyon road we stopped to arrange our gear and then we took off on a fast pace down the canyon. Once we hit the inversion it got a lot colder right away.
The run down the canyon was fun and Matt did awesome. Once we hit Wasatch BLVD we turned North and ran until we hit 33rd South, where we turned right and made our way back to the trailhead. The conversation was great and it was an awesome day. That was such a fun loop. We finished in 3:05 (including all breaks). My only regret was not taking the camera. The views were so good. Awesome!
3000 ft vert. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 11.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Well, I had worked out 33 out of the last 34 days, so I figured I would give my body a rest and I took yesterday off, and my legs feel a lot better today. I knew I would be lifting today, so that would give me two days to help my legs recover. My hamstrings were a bit sore from Sat.
I lifted for 45 min at the gym tonight, working my upper body and core. Everything feels really good. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I only had time for 4 on the TM. I started at a 9:00 pace and finished it off at 7:40. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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5 TM miles while watching basketball. I started out at a nice and easy 9:00 and then did the next 2 at 8:30. Mile 4 at 7:30 and then kicked it up to 6:40 pace for the last mile. I felt really good.
It has been too cold out for me to want to get out and climb anything, but Friday looks alright, so Jun, Matt and I will probably hit Mt. Wire. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 5.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I hit the gym tonight to lift after the kids were in bed. I met my regular possy and we worked shoulders, chest and arms. My friend had a few new exercises on the pull up bar that were really good and I was pretty worked after 50 minutes. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mt. Wire with Jun and MatthewVH before work. My tummy was doing back flips this morning. The first sign was when I tried to gag down my protein shake it took everything I had not to puke it up. I gagged. (Jun knows the face). I figured things would settle down though once I got to the trail or so I hoped.
I was a few minutes late getting to the trailhead (I think I hit every light on Foothill) and Jun was waiting for me. Matt took off a few minutes before because he figured we would catch up. My stomach was still protesting. Just before the ridge we could see Matt taking his one mile break, and we heard some coyotes howling in the hollow below. Cool. Matt waited for us to catch up and then we all hung together the rest of the way up.
When we got to the towers on the summit ridge it was so COLD! The wind picked up and we didn't stay more than a few seconds on top (52:30). I took a few swigs of my slushy water, but I didn't want to stay up there in that wind. Jun took off fast and Matt and I followed, and we didn't see him again until he jumped out at me from the bushes near the bottom. I think he shook everything in my guts loose because my best efforts to keep everything in were not enough. CRAP!
Other than the stomach issues this was a really fun morning. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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What an incredible run today with Jun and Dorsimus on Antelope Island, in the Great Salt Lake. Antelope is the largest island on the lake and it is absolutely amazing out there. The views are so different from anything else along the Wasatch front, and yet there are very few people out there enjoying them.
We ran the 25K loop for the Buffalo run as a warm up for the race next month. The trails are very nice for the most part and the views never disappointed. The first few miles were slow as we climbed the mountain side. After about two miles Jun started pulling away and Dorsimus wasn't far behind, so I stopped to put on my iPod and they both put some distance on me. the next 3 miles were kind of a grind, as I wasn't feeling it, but I slowly started feeling better.
There is a steep climb up to the Elephant Rock turn off and the guys were there waiting for me. (mile 5) I took a gel and then we bombed it down to the valley below. It has been a very long time since my Garmin was in the 5's and even though I was running a 5:50 pace down the hill those guys were still opening up a lead. It must be their long legs. I got a tad frustrated that I couldn't keep up, so I yelled an expletive at Jun. Dorsimus thought I said "Oh geeez guys." and Jun only heard Charlie Brown's teacher (wah wah wah wah). I ran the next mile between a 6:00-7:00 pace and about the next half mile at 7:15 before the next hill climb. The next few miles we climbed some steep switchbacks, but they were all runnable. Awesome views!
The trail heads back to the Elephant Rock turn off (mile 10) where the guys were again waiting for me. Once again they pushed the pace fast down the other side and I did my best to keep up, but eventually they opened up another lead on me. On the next big hill I caught and passed two guys that started earlier than we did and from there it was a nice two mile downhill to the finish. I felt really good the whole way, with only some minor soreness in my hammies. What a great day. For some pics, see Jun's blog.
2051 vert. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 16.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I had a slight bit of soreness in my legs from the run on Sat, so I decided to just do a quick run to stretch and get them loose. It worked. Nothing special about this run.
I found out on Sat that I got into Wasatch 100, so I really need to crank up my training over the next 6 months. I am planning on getting at least one long tough training run in each month, as well as adding a good hill workout every week, so I'll probably look to get two peaks per week instead of one. I'm really excited, but also pretty nervous actually. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I went to the gym after the kids went to bed and met up with my meathead peeps for a 50 minute lifting session. I worked my core, shoulders, chest and did several sets of pull ups. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 158.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 5 on the TM while watching the Utes get smoked again. I'm hoping for a Wire double up tomorrow. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 5.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 158.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Lunch break run up Wire peak with Jun and Dorsimus. It was pretty warm at the trailhead, so I didn't bring a hat or gloves. We ran all the way to the ridge with Dorsimus leading the way. I took a short cut that is a bit steeper, but much shorter, so I was in front for a few minutes, but at the saddle I waited for the guys to catch up and Dorsimus took the lead the rest of the way. We pushed it pretty good and summitted in 48-something. It was colder on top and I wished I had a hat, but it wasn't bad.
The two guys with the spikes bombed it down the ridge and there was no way I could keep up. It was fun watching them fly. At the bottom Dorsimus had to take off and Jun and I added a few extra miles. The trail was a little muddy, but most of the mud could be avoided. It was a nice break in the day. For a few pics check out Jun's blog. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 6.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 158.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym with the homies for 50 minutes. Worked upper body/core. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I ran Lake Mountain this morning with Seth Wold and Dan Varga. It was an incredibly fun morning. When we got to the trailhead it was 16 degrees and it felt very cold out. I was going to try out my spikes for the first time, so I spent a few minutes getting them on and we were off. We were slow at first, but we had a steady pace for the first mile. Once the grade started to get steep the guys kept running, so I did too. They were both very strong and it was a good push to the top.
The 4X4 track was only in for about 1.5 miles and we had to break the trail the rest of the way. Luckily there was a hard pack under a few inches of new snow, so it wasn't too bad, but it wasn't as good as what we have had so far this year. The higher we went the deeper the snow was. Dan ran almost the whole way to the top, and I was alternating between a fast hike and a run. Seth was never breathing hard at all and he would run and hike with me, although we were able to keep up with dan the whole time.
The last 1/4 of a mile before the saddle it became really deep, so it slowed us down a lot, but we pushed it hard to the saddle where it was much colder and there was a slight breeze. At that point Seth decided to push it really fast to the top and he took off on a run on the steepest part of the route. It was fun to watch him. Dan and I pushed pretty hard too, but we couldn't stay close at all. Dan topped out in 1:18 and I was up about 30 seconds later.
We only stayed on top for a few minutes taking in the views and the sunrise and then we all ran fast back down to the saddle. I loved the spikes. I had a lot more confidence and we pushed a really good pace all the way down, going between 6:30-7:20 most of the way to the car. What a fun day! Total time: 1:48. Based on the conditions this was a really fast time. Without all of the trail breaking we would have been a lot faster. This was as hard as I have ever worked getting up and down Lake Mt. 2800 ft of vert.
A few pics (They aren't great. From my Blackberry) First one: Dan and Seth on the summit.
Dan running down the trail
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 8.40 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 157.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Nice and easy 4 on the TM to stretch my legs. They were a bit sore, but felt great after. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I did 5 on the TM to burn off the 3 cinnamon rolls I ate for breakfast.
2.6 more with my kids wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt. What a great day out there. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 7.60 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I hit the gym to lift for almost an hour and had a really goood workout. The regular peeps were not there, so I really worked it hard. No one to BS with and that was probably good. The super excited dude from a few weeks ago was there, but I tried not to look his way. Sick! |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I had a really fun morning climbing/running Mt. Wire with Matt V. The weather forecast was calling for wind, so we both started out with more clothes than we needed. I wore a wind stopper hat, vest and gloves, and probably didn't need them. There was a guy that started about 5 minutes before us, and that is the first person I have seen this year climbing the peak not in our group.
Matt said he wasn't feeling great, so we took it slow. We had a fast hike, but no running on the lower portion. We stopped at .8 for Matt's 'one mile break' and I watched the guy ahead of us as he climbed up the ridge. I had wanted to see if we could catch him, but with the break it wouldn't be possible, as he had a pretty good lead on us.
The rest of the hike was really fun. The wind never really picked up until we were higher on the mountain. It was quite warm and I felt great the whole way. The trail was dry for all but the final push, where there was actually quite a bit of ice on the trail. We passed the guy coming down just below the towers and then we hit the summit in 56:00. It was much colder on top and the wind picked up, so we didn't stay too long.
We ran the whole way down, but had to take care going down the icy section. I slipped once and almost fell on my butt (thought about you Kelli), but I was able to catch myself. We took the long way down and had a really fun run, although it was slower than normal. Total time 1:30.
2200 ft vert.
A few pics:
Matt on the summit looking cool with Salt Lake City below
Me trying to make Matt laugh. Nerdball.
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I ran 6 on the TM while watching basketball. I wasn't feeling great for the first 3-4, but I finally started feeling really good and wanted to do more, but couldn't because of time. I also did 20 minutes of core/ab work on my ball. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 6.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym. Focused mostly on shoulders, biceps and lats. Spent a lot of time on the pull up bar. Mr. Excitement was there again texting, but this time he wore jeans, which was a vast improvement over the tight sweats. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Antelope Island run this morning with Jun, Dorsimus and Adam (Julie's hub). We met Dorsimus in Kaysville, and I dropped my car at the 7-11, where I forgot to lock it. I have a lot of gear in the back, so I was worried about it the rest of the morning. Luckily it was ok when we returned.
Then we went and picked up Adam on our way to the island and he and I got to cuddle in the back, and we barely met. It wasn't by choice, but I enjoyed it none-the-less (ok kidding). There wasn't much room back there.
We did an out and back that is part of the 50 mile race. The weather was cold, but great for running. For the first 4 miles we all hung together chatting, and then Jun and Dorsimus put a bit of distance between us. Adam and I talked the rest of the way to the turnaround and the time flew by. Jun and Dorsimus were not too far ahead until we stopped to take a gel at mile 8.4. We got to the turnaround a few minutes after the other guys and after another gel and a bathroom break we headed back to the start.
I got a little stiff after our break and it took me a few miles to shake off the rust. By then the other guys had left me behind. At about 16-17 my legs did get sore and I wasn't able to push as fast as I wanted, but I did run every step of the trail except when I stopped to take a gel, which I did again at mile 18. The last 3.5 were hard. My legs were tired, but cardio wise I still felt really good. It was really fun listening to my music and checking out the incredible scenery, which included buffalo, antelope, a few coyotes and a falcon.
The last hill was a killer and it didn't help that it had now become muddy. I did hike a bit here, but only for a few yards. What a fun run. I can't wait to do the 50K next month.
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 21.40 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 156.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I took my kids to the pool at the gym and I decided to walk a few laps on the track. My legs were feeling so good that I figured I might as well get in a good workout on the elliptical, so I hit it for 35 minutes. My legs are a touch sore, but the workout really helped. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I didn't want to do too much today, so I did 30 min on the elliptical and ran 3 easy on the TM. Legs feel good. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I usually lift at the gym every Monday night, but since I had work off I decided to go in the middle of the day. Bad move. The gym was crowded and stinky!! oh man was it rank in there. I had a really good session for 50 min.
I rarely run on the days that I lift, but I just wanted to loosen up my legs a bit, so I did a fast (7:10) min mile on the track and then stretched for about 15 min. |
| Asics Gel-1150 Miles: 1.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 155.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I had a really fun morning on Lake Mountain with Jun and Nate. We were not sure what the conditions would be like, so we took snow shoes, which meant carrying a backpack. Not ideal, but not too bad either. It was cold when we started just before 6:00 am and we took it pretty slow for the first mile to get warmed up.
The snow started after about a mile and there was a really good 4X4 track that we followed most of the way up. We made out way up hiking fast, and it was fun talking about various outdoor plans and the time flew by. The snow got deeper on the upper part of the mountain and the 4X4 tracks eventually went away. We followed what looked like a snowmobile track, but it wasn't great. Eventually we decided to put on the snow shoes just before the saddle and they really helped.
The push up to the summit was fun. Usually we post-hole a lot right there, but with the snow shoes it wasn't an issue. Jun made it up first, with Nate and I a few minutes behind. It was so cold and windy on top, and my camera was so cold it wouldn't work. That was the first time I have carried it in a few months, and I only got one picture in the dark. We didn't stay long at all because it was so cold. Jun and Nate took off fast and I was still putting by water bottle back into my pack so they got a pretty good lead on me. Jun flew down.
When I got back down to the saddle I went about 5 more minutes with the snow shoes and then I decided to replace them with my micro spikes, so I took a few minutes to put on my ipod and change to the spikes. From there it was a fun run all the way to the bottom. I had a pretty good pace going the whole way (7:30-8:10) and when I finally came out of the canyon I could see Nate a couple of minutes ahead of me, so I tried hard to catch him. I ran a 6:45 pace the final 3/4 of a mile and I almost reeled him in, but he just beat me to the car.
2800 ft vert. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | An hour of basketball with my work peeps. I didn't bring my gear, so I had to borrow some clothes from my dad. I was playing in some older New Balance shoes with zero tread. Other than the slipping and sliding, I had a great time. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I met Matt V at the Wire trailhead at 5:30 this morning. Our plan was to climb Mt. Wire and then either run the ridge over to Red Butte Peak or run the BST for some extra miles. It was cold, but not windy and we started off with a fast hike, and then ran to the steeper section of the trail, where we started hiking again. There was more snow on the trail than I was expecting, and it did slow us up some.
We had a great time making our way up the ridge laughing and joking. Our pace was good, but not fast. The higher we went the more snow there was and eventually there were only a few tracks to follow. We were sinking to our shins, and it slowed us down a lot. The few tracks that were there petered out and I was breaking the trail most of the way to the top. At times we were post-holing to our shins, and sometimes the snow would be more firm and allowed us to walk on top.
At the towers Matt got a burst of energy and took off running to the summit. I was about 20 yards back, and I just tried to keep up. The wind really picked up on the summit ridge and it was very cold. This was the coldest summit of Wire this year. We reached the top in 1:06 and did not stay long at all.
The run down was tough because the snow had a hard crust on top, but I was sinking to my shins with every step, so it was tough to get any sort of rhythm. Just below the towers I stopped to put on my ipod and I set my handheld water bottle down. After descending almost all the way back to the saddle I realized I didn't have it and quickly debated whether of not I should go back to get it. I had some things in the pocket, so I had to go back. This meant at least a half of a mile back up on the steepest section with the bad snow conditions. I wasn't happy. Matt took a break and then was going to follow me, but he didn't realize how high I had left the bottle. I was hoping it was at the saddle where I had stopped to make an ipod adjustment, but unfortunately it was almost back up to the towers.
Going back for the bottle did give me an extra mile and about 1000 ft more elevation, but it also took the extra time we had planned on for running the BST. After Matt realized how far I had to go he turned around and ran back to the cars. After retrieving the bottle I ran back down as quick as I could given the conditions. At the bottom of the ridge I ran into my friend Judy who had done the Wire X5 with us a few months ago. We chatted for a few minutes and then I ran back to the trailhead. Total time: 2:13. Even with the water bottle issue it was still a fun morning. I'm happy I got in a good summit run before the storm. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 5.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I wanted to do a long run today, but with the weather it wasn't looking good. MattV and I had discussed doing the Bonneville Shoreline trail in Draper, and we decided late last night to just go for it even with the snow. We met at 7:15 am and there was at least 8 fresh inches at the trailhead, so we were thinking maybe it wasn't the best idea, but we decided to just go for it and have fun.
We were the first people on the trail, so we had to break the shin to knee deep snow, which really slowed us down a lot. It was a fantastic workout though. We took turns breaking the trail, and with some good music I was having a great time. It was snowing on and off the whole time, but it never got too bad. We didn't see another soul until 4 miles in where we passed a lone runner. Once we hit the road that leads up Corner Canyon the running became a lot easier because there was a vehicle track most of the way up the road. about 3/4 of the way up the track stopped and we were pushing through the deep snow again.
We saw several deer on the mountain, including one that darted right in front of Matt on the trail. We took some time on one of the big hills to watch several that were moving up the mt.
At the Ghost Falls trailhead we stopped to take a gel and use the bathroom and after a few minutes we headed back down the road, making much better time. We settled in to a nice 8:00 pace which we held to the bottom. Back on the trail we were fighting the deep snow once again all the way to the car. Matt's knee and hip started bothering him a little so he had to slow down, but other than that it was a perfect morning. We both didn't even mind all the trail breaking and snow. This trail gives you a killer workout when it is dry with all of the ups and downs, but with all of the snow it was even better.
We had a fantastic time, and I enjoyed just about everything about this run. It wasn't as many miles as I had wanted to get in, but it felt like a much bigger workout than 10 miles. That gave me over 7K in elevation gain for the week. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My legs were a little sore from my run yesterday, so I just wanted to stretch them out and loosen up the muscles. I took the new Cascadia's out for a spin on the TM for 4 miles. They are incredible and I can't wait to get them out on a trail. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I am going to the Jazz game tonight, so I had to get up early to get in my lifting session. I was really tired and it took me about 15 minutes to get into a groove. 50 minutes of upper body/core work. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I ran the gully trail today with Jun and Dorsimus from the park just east of Jordan High school, all the way to the Bell Canyon trailhead. The weather was perfect. The trail was a bit muddy and wet in places, and on the way up Jun kept us entertained with his story from the weekend. When we reached the Bell Canyon trail (mile 6) we stopped for a break and I had a gel which seemed to give me a boost.
The run back down was really messy, as the snow was melting and the trail became a lot of slush and mud. The other guys started pulling away after a few miles, although I kept them in my sights all the way to 13th east, but after that I didn't see them again until the finish.
The last few miles my energy was really low and I debated on taking another gel, but I decided to push through, and by the finish I was so hungry. It was a perfect day to be outside, and I got some sun on my face. Maybe too much. Someone at work just asked where I went at lunch to get my tan. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 12.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mt. Wire this morning with MattV. Today wasn't my day. My legs were heavy and my energy was low. Matt was pushing me up the hill all morning. It was cold and windy and I forgot my hat, so that became annoying as well.
On the ridge we watched a herd of elk moving up the mountain, and when we reached the saddle we stopped for a few minutes to watch them cross to the other side. Very cool. The summit ridge was very cold and the wind was biting. When we finally made it to the top (About 1:05) I was too cold to stay up there, so we turned around and headed down. It was tough running down because the snow had a hard crust, but we kept sinking, and it was hard to run fast, and then there was a lot of ice to deal with as well. I slipped twice and luckily caught myself before a bad fall.
Our total time was a lot slower than normal, but I still had a fun time and I'm glad I went.
PM: Played an hour of basketball with my work peeps. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 156.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 50 minutes of weights at the gym. Arms, shoulders, chest, lats. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I had an incredible run on Grandeur peak this morning with Seth Wold, MattV, Bill Hiatt and Bill's two friends Zak and Trevor. Zak and Trevor had no idea what we were doing, as Bill told them we were going on a trail run and that the first two miles were just a little steep. I was leading the way from the start and when I turned up the West Ridge Zak said "What are we going straight up that mountain?" :) :) :)
The wind was blowing, which made it a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't bad. Bill and Trevor took off in the lead and the put a little distance on us. I was content to push a nice quick pace all the way to the top. The wind picked up near the summit and about 3/4 of the ay up Seth said he was going to try and catch the other guys, and he did beat them to the summit and then ran back to meet us on the summit ridge. The other two guys hit the top after Seth and then I was behind them with Matt and Zack right behind me.
We didn't stay long on top and the run off of the summit straight down the east side was the most fun we had all day. The snow was deep and we all went fast. The run down to Church Fork was a lot of fun and it was a nice snow packed trail the whole way. When we got to the bottom we turned down the Pipeline and ran that all the way to Rattlesnake Gulch in perfect weather. Awesome!
We all met at Rattlesnake and took a break. I took a gel and we waited a few minutes for the other guys to show up. The best comment of the day was hearing Zak say "Those were the hardesrt 6 miles of my life," while he was bent over with his hands on his thighs. That made me smile. He has been running for several years. We all ran fast down Rattlesnake and the conditions were great. Not as icy as the last time. Once at the bottom we ran down the canyon road at a nice 6:45 - 7:00 pace that we held until we got to the guard shack. At that point Matt's knee was bothering him a bit, so Seth and I stayed with him and the other three guys pulled ahead. We made it back to the cars for a total time of around 3 hours (including all breaks.) 3k+ elevation gain.
It was a perfect morning, until I got a speeding ticket on the way home. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.80 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Warm up on the elliptical and then did 3.7 on the TM. I just wanted to stretch my legs and work out some slight soreness and it helped. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.50 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Monday- Weights. Upper body/core for an hour. I slightly strained an ab muscle doing 'skull-crushers' with a heavy dumbbell. It wasn't serious, but I stopped working my core after that. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 7 on the TM after I put the kids in bed. I started out at a nice 9:30 pace for the first mile, then did one at 9:00 and settled into an 8:35 pace the rest of the way. Everything feels good. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 7.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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90 minutes of basketball with guys from my work. It was like playing church-ball without refs, really physical and a lot of fouls. I usually like the physical play, but it was really annoying yesterday and I came away with a sore heel and I tweaked my back as well.
800 mg of IbuprofenX2 |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo climb of Mt. Wire this morning. Those were some tough miles. I started out just before 6:00 am. It was warmer than usual, but there was a pretty good breeze, so I wore my hat and fleece vest. The lower trail was melted out, so I ran all the way to just before the ridge, and from there the snow just got deeper and sloppier the higher I went. When I made it to the first saddle I knew I was in trouble when I sank to my knee. I was following some tracks, and that helped a bit, but it was much slower than normal.
When I reached the second saddle the foot tracks were gone and the only thing left were some snow shoe tracks that were better than nothing, but I was still post-holing the entire way up. It seemed like it took forever to slog up to the summit ridge. I was sinking to my knees with almost every step. It got old fast, but I was so close to the top, so I kept going up. I reached the top in a slow 1:14, which is the slowest climb of the year on Wire.
The descent was just as bad and slow and I was sinking even more as it had warmed up a lot since I started. I couldn't run much until I got past the last saddle. From there I ran the rest of the way in. My total time was 1:55. 2200 ft. vert. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Today I wanted to do a lunchtime run on the Jordan River Parkway in Lehi. I had never been on the trail before and decided to start at the flight park, so I could get in 20+ miles. The weather was nice, but windy.
I felt good the entire time and settled in at a comfortable 8:20-8:40 pace. At times I would drop below 8 and then others creep up toward 9, so I just tried to do what felt good. I didn't want to push too hard because I wanted a lot of miles. I ended up having to cut the run short, but that's ok I still had an unbelievable day and I will probably get back out there tomorrow to do my long mile run.
The trail is absolutely incredible and I will definitely be back when I want to get in some miles on the pavement. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 8.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I had a sweet run on the JRP in Lehi this morning, starting from the flight park again. I felt really good and it was so relaxing to crank the ipod and run. Usually I like running with someone, but today I thoroughly enjoyed every mile by myself. A little after 5 the trail was closed and ripped up, so I stopped had a gel and then turned around and ran back to the car. There were a lot of people out this morning and the weather was perfect.
Back at the car I took a break to drink some Gatorade, take a gel and an S-cap, and then I ran almost back to where I had before, but because of the time I had to turn around and get home. Everything felt really good. I ran an 8:30 pace for about the first 11 miles and after that I just tried to keep it under 9, although the last few miles I lost a bit of steam. So fun. Total time 2:44. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 19.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Roid night at the gym. The meatheads were out in full force. The gym was stanky!! 50 minutes of lifting upper body/core. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4 miles on the TM after the kids went to bed. Nothing exciting about this. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I did a solo climb of Mt. Wire this morning. I was really worried about the weather, but after looking at it last night I figured the storm would be moving in a little later in the morning, so the only thing I was worried about when I woke up was the wind. There was a slight breeze at the trailhead when I started at 6:00 am but it wasn't bad. The trail was dry all the way to the second saddle, so I made really good time. I saw a headlamp about a mile ahead of me heading up to the towers, which was weird because I rarely see anyone on the mountain that early.
There was some slushy snow to deal with from the saddle to the towers and that slowed me down a little, so I reached the top in 53:00 and didn't stay long because the wind had picked up a little, but it was still warm. The run down was really fun and I enjoyed it so much more than when there is snow.
Back to the car in 1:29 (including all breaks). 2200 vert. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 50 minutes of weights at the gym. I spent a good deal of time on the pull up bar and I was so spent at the end I could barely do one. It was a lot less crowded tonight and smelled a lot better. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I woke up at 4:00 am to go climb/run Grandeur Peak with Matt Van Horn this morning. We definitely had our challenges today. First of all it was wicked cold at the start, and the wind that beat down on us for the first 30 minutes was horrible. That West ridge is sure windy and exposed. At least the lower trail was dry. The last mile to the top took us forever because there was about a half inch of light powder on top of a icy hard crust, and no tracks or trail, so we slipped and slid the rest of the way up. It was tough and slow. We finally hit the summit in 1:40, which is 20 minutes slower than the last two times we did it.
It was still dark when we reached the summit and I took a gel and checked out the incredible view of the valley lights below. Heading down the back side was also quite challenging because the snow had a hard crust that you would punch through to deep powder. It was slow going down to the saddle where we finally hit a packed snow trail. I guess we were the only ones dumb enough to go to the top.
We ran down to Church Fork, and then on the Pipeline to Rattlesnake Gulch. From there we ran down to the canyon road and then back to the car. It took us almost an hour longer than the last time we did this route two weeks ago. It was a lot of fun anyway. We saw some deer, elk and had some impressive views along the way. This route is definitely one of my favorites. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 10.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 3.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 3.50 | Weight: 153.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My legs were sore today from Grandeur Peak, so I did 4 easy on the TM and they felt a lot better afterward. My pull up fest on Thurs must have been really good because my upper body is still quite sore. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 3 miles on the TM. This will be an easy week in preparation for the Buffalo run this Sat. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 50 minutes of weights at the gym. It was so crowded again tonight. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4.5 easy miles on the TM. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 3 easy on the TM. Time to take it easy for the rest of the week until the race on Sat. I can't wait. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | The two easiest miles of the year on the TM while watching the NCAA b-ball games. To all of my friends running the Buffalo run, I hope to see you out there and good luck! |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 2.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Buffalo Run 50K (32 Miles) 05:37:40 | |
Full race report:
I had heard a lot of good things from friends about the Buffalo run, so I wanted to do it this year. I was trying to decide between the 50k and the 50m, and I knew that I could grind out the 50m, but I hadn't run anything long since October and I wanted to gradually build up my miles for later in the year, so I decided on the 50k. I had several friends doing the race, but I was late getting to the start and by time I got to the line we were within a minute of starting. Seth Wold saw me and said hi and we chatted for a bit and I told him to go get it and Jim started the countdown. I started out in the front of the pack and within a minute I found Dorsimus, so the two of us talked during the first mile while we went up the long hill. Eventually he dropped me, but I wasn't far behind. So far I was feeling good, but didn't want to push too hard because I knew it would be a long course.
After we crested the first big hill I could still see Dorsimus, and I wanted to catch up to him so we could chat, but he was moving pretty fast, so I picked up my pace to a 7:00 and finally caught him around mile 4. We chatted some, but he dropped me again before the Lone Tree hill, where I decided to power hike. At the first aid station I just stopped long enough to fill my bottle and then I took off. The run down into the valley was fun and I resisted the temptation to push it hard, although I did pick up my pace and it felt good. There was a group of about 15 of us that headed up the switchbacks together. Everyone was pushing pretty good and it seemed to help me push not wanting to get passed. I ran most of the time, but on the steepest section I power hiked while taking a gel and an S-cap.
The run back to Elephant Head aid station was a bit muddy, so it was a little tricky staying out of it, but overall the course was in excellent shape. I was still feeling really strong, so I didn't even stop at the aid station. Just before the drop to Lone Tree I passed my friend Dustin Erickson, who placed 6th in the 25K. We missed our high five attempt and then I saw Oreo at the bottom of the hill and I made sure I didn't miss this time and gave him a good smack on the shoulder. I wish I could have stopped to say hi, but I didn't want to stop my momentum. Just before climbing the hill back up to the flats I saw my longtime friend Allison from high school and we exchanged "Hi's". On the hill I took another gel and an S-cap and once on top I tried to get into a nice steady pace without pushing too hard. I wanted to save my energy for the second lap.
Once I came around the bend I could see the aid station and the wind picked up quite a bit. I tried to pick up my pace on the downhill and I was still feeling really good. I passed Dorsimus just before the aid station and he was looking good. At the aid station I looked for my drop bag where I had some Cytomax and I had a good drink of that and downed a gel. I was thinking about dropping my long sleeve shirt, but it was so windy that I thought I might need it again. I said hi to Lily and she helped me with a few things and I was off. That was my longest stop of the race.
The first hill on the second loop was an absolute killer. I thought I was feeling pretty good until I started the climb and all of the sudden my energy was gone. I felt wasted. I was thinking I must not be very tough if I am feeling like this at this point. I just tried to power hike and hoped my energy would come back. What made it worse was the strong headwind pounding us relentlessly. I was kind of in a funk from about mile 17-20 and it was very tough to climb back out. The hill took a lot out of me and once I reached the top it was hard to get going again. I was running a 9:30 pace and tried to speed up, but my legs just wouldn't go. Finally when I reached the Lone Tree hill was started power hiking again, I took another gel and an S-cap and hoped I would be feeling good at the top. I filled my water at the aid station and then thankfully on the descent back into the valley I found my groove again. My legs started to feel better and I picked up the pace a lot. I passed 4-5 people that had passed me while I was in my funk and by time I reached the switchbacks to climb back up I was feeling strong and energized.
The climb up the switchbacks was so fun. I felt just as good as I had on lap number one and I passed a few more people on my way to the top. Just before the top I had another gel and S-cap on the steepest section as I hiked and when I reached the top I had two runners in my sights. I was feeling good and eventually passed a guy that was trying to hold me off and then I tried to catch a girl that was moving great. I followed her all the way to the aid station where I finally passed her because my stop was less than 20 seconds to get water. On the downhill I pushed the pace and felt great, but noticed that my second toe on my right foot was hurting a lot. I had put some mole-skin on the toe to prevent a blister and I remember there was a crease at the bottom and I knew that was causing it. It really started to hurt, so at the bottom on the hill I stopped and took off my shoe, gaiter and sock and removed it. I hated stopping, especially since I was feeling so good, but it helped a lot and I felt better. The girl I had passed at the aid station passed me again and I would follow her into the finish.
The last 4 miles were fun. I was feeling as good as I had felt all day and nothing hurt, except my toe a little where I had the mole-skin. I actually ran a lot of the last 4 in the 8's and felt so good and strong. Except for the girl nobody had passed me in at least 12 miles and I reeled in 4-5 runners that last 4 miles. I wanted to pass the girl, but she as strong and kept pushing hard. Once we came around the bend and could see the finish we both picked it up and there was another runner in our sights. She passed him with about a quarter of a mile left, but he picked up his pace a lot at the end and I couldn't make up the distance. I was still feeling really strong at the end and felt like I had a lot left in the tank, which makes me feel really good about my training so far this year. It was good to see Dorsimus at the finish. I was really happy for him. He ran a great race and had made incredible strides this year. It was also fun to see Jun and Kelli come in on the 50 mile race. They were awesome. I also got to say hi to Crockett, Bryce and hang out with Seth and the guys for a while and eat some buffalo stew. This was a really fun event and was very well organized and I had a great time. Congrats to everyone that ran and to those that reached their goals. Also, props to Bryce for going 30+ miles while fighting a nasty cold. It is very inspiring to watch everyone out there and makes me want to get better. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 32.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I did an hour of weights at the gym tonight. It was crowded and stinky again, which is making me think I might want to lift on a different night. I thought it was supposed to be family night in Utah county on Monday.
My legs are only slightly sore after the race on Saturday, so I am happy about that. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 50 minutes on the elliptical and two easy miles on the TM. Everything feels really good. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 2.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | After the kids went to bed Kristina and I went downstairs and I hit the TM while she did the elliptical. I have no soreness in my legs at all, but I could tell they were a bit heavy and it took me a good mile before I felt ok. I stopped at 3 miles because I am doing Wire in the morning with Jun and I want my legs to be fresh. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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What a fun morning climbing/running Mt. Wire with Jun. The weather was great, the snow is melting off of the mountain, so we had a very enjoyable hike/run. We decided not to push too much because our legs are recovering from the race last Sat, so we just had a nice quick hiking pace all the way up.
Near the top there was some wind and it was cold, so when he reached the summit (53:00) we didn't stay long. The run down was really fun and we just talked the whole way. We ran into my friend Judy just below the first saddle while Jun was checking out some cougar tracks. We stopped and talked to her for a few minutes and then had a nice run back to the cars. It was a lot of fun and my legs feel really good. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I ran/hiked Mt. Olympus with MattV this afternoon, and we had a really good day. We started about 12:45 and there was quite a lot of wind, so I was really worried that it would be bad on top. It was pretty warm though and we both had on short sleeve shirts. About a half mile up we met up with Carol, a friend of Matt's that has summited Everest, and we chatted with her for a few minutes. She told us that the conditions were not great and she decided to come back down without making it to the top, so I was a bit concerned, but felt like we would be able to make it to the top without too much of a problem.
The snow started about 2/3 of the way up and I put on my spikes and they really helped a lot. I stopped to put on my ipod and Matt kept pushing. There was a lot of snow on the steeper sections and I was going to take a break at the saddle to take a gel, but Matt had already gone up, so I decided to keep going. From the saddle it was a pretty easy climb to the summit with some nice bucket steps almost the whole way in the snow. It was a lot less technical than most of my Olympus summits in the snow, and where there is usually icy boulders to maneuver, there was a lot of snow, so it made it much easier.
We made it to the top just after two hours, and the wind was strong and I got pretty cold. We hung out up there for about 15 minutes and decided to bail. My feet were frozen. We ran as much of the descent as we could, but the steep sections were slick and a little icy and we both slipped and fell a few times. We stopped at the saddle to take a gel and then ran most of the way to the bottom. It was a great day. It took us just over 4 hours round trip, 1:26 on the descent and we got about 4400 feet of elevation gain, which gives me about 6600 for the week. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 7.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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50 minutes of core/weights.
Here are a few pictures from Olympus on Sat:
Matt making going up the steeper snow gully
Me attempting a summit jump in the soft snow:
Matt hanging out on a spur on our descent:
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I went to the gym and did an hour of weights/core. Yesterday I worked my arms, and today I did chest, lats and shoulders. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 5 easy miles on the TM after the kids went to bed. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 5.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mt. Wire with MattV this morning. Today looked like the best day to get out before the weekend, so Matt and I decided to get in a peak. It was much colder than I expected at the trailhead, so I wore my hat, gloves and vest. The trail was damp, but not much mud. We hit snow at the first saddle, but it wasn't bad.
From the second saddle to the summit there was more snow to deal with and it slowed us down some, but we were not pushing all that hard anyway. Up to the top in 1:00 even. SLOW! We didn't stay long and had a nice run all the way back to the cars. Total time 1:30.
2200 vert.
PM update:
6.4 more on the BST in Draper with Jun and Dorsimus. The temps were perfect, but the wind was awful. This trail has a lot of ups and downs and after Wire this morning my legs were a bit sore, so I didn't want to do the big hill up Corner Canyon, so I turned around at 3.2 miles after taking a gel. Jun and Dorsimus continued up the canyon and then did the Ghost Falls trail. I think I did about 1000 more vert, but I'm not exactly sure. So fun! |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.60 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I woke up early this morning to lift weights at the gym. worked upper body/core. I'm planning on getting in a run later. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I wanted to do 15+ today, but that didn't happen. Not a great day at all. 7 on the TM was all I had time for. Plus this weather blows! | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 6 on the TM while watching Deadliest Catch and the Masters. I was not happy with my miles last week, so this week I'm going to have to crank things up. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 6.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I lifted for a full hour at the gym. I worked my upper body/core. I went early and it wasn't nearly as crowded, although my buddy with the tight sweats that tends to get excited was there, and I also saw a young guy wearing knee high pink socks with light blue Keds (without the laces). Weird. If this is the new trend among the young folk I'm sorry, but I won't conform. Purple shorty shorts maybe, but pink socks? No way!
I also ran two on the TM just for fun (Yeah, I said I needed to crank up the miles). :) I wanted to try and run a fast mile for fun, so after a short warm up I finished mile one running 7:30, held that for another half and then finished the last half at 6:40. ugh. That didn't feel so hot.
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| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 2.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I ran the Dimple Dell gully trail with Jun and Dorsimus today. The weather was almost perfect. The guys set a pretty good pace and I was just having fun and enjoying the run until 13th E. when it seemed like they really picked up the pace and I got a little behind. I turned on the ipod and tried to get into a good rhythm and that seemed to help. I kept them in my sights and at the top of Dimple Dell I took a gel and then we pushed it up to the Bells trailhead, where they dropped me again on the uphill. I think the long legs give them an edge.
We took a nice break at the reservoir and then Jun set a blistering pace on the downhill. I could have kept up if I wanted to end up in a face plant, and I wouldn't have enjoyed that so I let them fly down while I once again brought up the rear, and I finally caught up to them at the first light on the street. From there we set a really fast pace back to the Dimple Dell trail. I was feeling really good and I think the next 4+ miles were in the low to mid 7's. That was fun! When we got closer to 13th it seemed like the boys were picking up the pace even more, so I told Jun he was a mother frumper for the pace and out of nowhere it picked up even more. My hip started to bother me, so there was no way I was keeping up on the other side (west) of 13th. After about a mile I had to stop to get a few rocks out of my shoes and I stretched a bit and felt a lot better. I did the last two at a much more reasonable pace, while the guys dropped me again, but I was ok with it. I finished a few minutes behind them and I was famished.
We finished and rewarded ourselves with pizza and coke. I can only think of a few things I would rather do on my lunch break. Awesome.
1225 vert AP: 8:41ish. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 13.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Mt Wire with MattV this morning. It was slightly cold with a little wind at the start, but I heated up fast. Very little soreness in my legs today and I am happy about that after yesterdays run. I did have a slight bit of soreness in my right hip, but nothing major. We didn't push hard going up, in fact Matt asked me if I was feeling ok because I was a lot slower than normal, so at the saddle I told him to lead an push the pace, which he did. He ran/power hiked to the towers and then ran to the top with me chasing. It felt good to push it hard across the ridge to the top. We were still rather pathetic (1:03) but that included all breaks too (Jun please read between the lines...details withheld for the benefit of other bloggers).
On the descent I put on some good tunes and sang along (with some air guitar mixed in)Â for Matt's benefit most of the way down. We had to take it easy from the towers to the saddle because it was icy, but after that we had a pretty good pace all the way down.
1:34 total time (pathetic) 2200 vert.
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I climbed/hiked/ran to the summit of South Mountain Peak in Herriman. This is the mountain that burned last September and I was interested to see the changes since the last time I was up there a year ago with Jun. This is a short peak with only 1500 ft of elevation gain, but don't let that fool you. There is no trail and it is straight up.
I parked in a culdesac right at the base of the mountain and just went straight up. The terrain is very rocky with a lot of cacti, probably the most I have ever seen on a mountain in Northen Utah. The evidence of the fire was everywhere. Most of the scrub oak, bushes and trees were burned, and there wasn't a lot of vegetation, although I could see that some grass and plants were starting to grow. It was actually kind of eerie because there wasn't a lot of birds, bugs or wildlife and really nowhere really for anything to take cover. It just seemed quiet, except for the wind that blasted me once I was on the ridge.
The ridge was black from ash, and I tried to avoid it by stepping on rocks and snow and since the grade wasn't as steep I ran most of the way to the top in 38 minutes. I took a different ridge on the way down that is a little steeper but more direct, and I was back to the car in a little over an hour. I'll post up some pics later. This is a fun peak if you only have an hour.
A few pics: On my way up
Some burned trees on the ridge:
There is a radio tower that has fallen near the summit:
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 2.80 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I woke up early to hit the gym to lift weights. I lifted (upper body/core) for 45 minutes. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I woke up early this morning to get in my run because I won't have much time the rest of the day. I did 10 on the TM while watching The Human Planet on Discovery. What an incredible show with amazing video footage. I did the first 5 at an easy 9:00 pace and then finished the last 5 at 8:30. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 10.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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We spent the weekend at our family condo in Midway, and we didn't get home until late, so after the kids were in bed I did some easy miles on the TM. I wasn't feeling great and didn't have much energy at all.
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| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I went to the gym tonight and lifted with my friends for an hour. Worked arms, delts, lats and chest. I spent a good deal of time on the pull up bar and it really worked me. I was a sweaty mess at the end. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Crazy day! I managed 4 on the TM after the kids were in bed. I felt great and would have done more miles, but I wanted to save my legs for some peaks and the BST in the am. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I met MattV at the U this morning at 5:00 am to drop my car off at the trailhead for Mt. Van Cott and then we drove in his car to the trailhead for the Avenues Twin Peaks, which is part of the BST. It was cold at the start, but we heated up fast. We ran to the summit of the first twin in 30 minutes where we stopped to take in the incredible views take a quick break. I bombed it fast down the face to the saddle and I was up on the West twin in just a few minutes and Matt wasn't far behind. After another stop to take in the views we headed down a faint trail that goes down the face of the mountain. The trail didn't last long and we just worked our way down to the BST below.
Once back on the BST we ran to Dry Canyon where we really picked up the pace and ran fast on the downhill, but eventually the small creek that runs next to the trail was totally covering the trail and the next half mile we were trying to avoid the water as it rushed down right on top of the trail. We had to jump back and forth several times and at one point on a long jump Matt twisted his ankle on a wet rock, so we stopped again for a few minutes. Then we passed two ladies that were walking their dogs and one of them nipped at my leg as I ran by. Ha.
Eventually the trail starts heading south again and we ran at the base of Van Cott to the ridge where we would be climbing up. We were running short on time, but decided to go up anyway. We really pushed it hard and ran at least half of the way up the steep ridge topping out in 25 minutes. I made it up first and waited a few minutes for Matt and then we had a nice run back to my car. Total time was 2:08 including all breaks.
Climbing Van Cott this morning reminded me of taking my kids up there a few years ago. Here is a trip report from my daughter Amelia |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 7.70 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo up Mt. Wire and BST run
Woke up at 4:50 am and could hear the wind howling outside and the thought of bailing on my plan came into my head, so I quickly checked the weather online. The wind was only 6 mph in SLC, so I figured I would just go for it and at the very least get in a good run on the BST.
When I got to the trailhead there wasn't much wind at all and the weather was almost perfect. I started off feeling really good, so I had a nice run/hike mix working my way up the ridge. When I got to the saddle I realized I could get a PR if I really pushed hard, so I would run hard until my heart rate and breathing became too much and then I would power hike for about 30 seconds and then push again. I hit the towers and ran the rest of the way to the top hitting the summit in 46:32 which is a PR, although that is very soft. I know I will do it quicker when I really push it the whole way.
I didn't stay long on top. Most of the snow is gone and the conditions are perfect. I had a sweet run back down to the BST and then I wanted to get a few more miles, so I ran to Red Butte Canyon where I stopped and had a break and then back to the car. Total time including all breaks 1:38.
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 6.80 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I had a crazy busy weekend with birthday and family parties, so I wasn't able to run much at all. I did find time to get in 6 on the TM. I felt like crap most of the run. Maybe it was the 4K cals I consumed yesterday. Oh well. This has to be a big mileage week for me. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 6.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Monday = Weights at the gym. Lifted for an hour (upper body/core) with my gym homies. The gym didn't stink, it wasn't crowded, and nobody in sweats was over-excited. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | TM run after the kids went to bed. I had a killer stitch in my side for the first mile. Worst! It finally went away, but I never really got into a good groove. I am not a fan of the TM. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 5.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Sweet run today with Jun and Dorsimus on the BST in Draper. This is just what I needed. Last night I was miserable on the TM so I knew I wanted to get out with the boys today. The weather was fantastic and the trail was in really good shape. We started at the Red Rock trailhead and went up to Ghost Falls to Corner Canyon. I actually hung with the speed goats today, although they were both running on tired legs.
We took a break at the Ghost Falls trailhead and then had a fun run 1.5 miles back down to the BST. Dors said we did the 1.5 in 9:00 min. It was the best part of the run for me. On the way back Jun pushed the pace and slowly put a lead on us. I tried to hang the last mile, but I had lost my steam. I think I finished about 2 min behind them.
AP: Just over 9:00. 1400 elevation gain. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 8.22 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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With Jun, Dorsimus and JSH on Stansbury Island. I wanted to get my long training run for the month in and found a really cool loop on Stansbury that I thought would be fun. Jun agreed and Dorsimus and JSH were in as well. It was a great group and we had a blast!
With the forecast for snow and rain I wasn't sure what to expect, but we had no rain or snow, a fair amount of sun and it would have been perfect without the wind that blasted us at times, but wasn't bad overall.
We did 3 10 mile loops that took us from the west side of the island to the ridge top, to the south end of the island and then back. The trail is pretty rocky in places and fairly technical. The views are absolutely amazing out there. Dorsimus did a great job explaining the trail and Jun has some excellent pics of the day, so check out their trip reports.
I felt really good on lap one, but struggled with some stomach issues on lap two. Luckily they only lasted about 3 miles. Lap 3 I had a nasty fall at mile 23. I was checking out the sweet views and my foot caught a rock and sent me face first off the trail, nearly missing a sharp rock. My handheld bottle flew out of my hand and almost went off a cliff. I tweaked my angle and banged my knee, but it wasn't serious.
I was running by myself for most of laps 2-3 because the other guys were faster. I wasn't feeling strong today, but on a positive note nothing really hurt all that much and at the finish I was still feeling quite good considering we just did 30.
This is an amazing trail and it was really nice being able to use the car as an aid station every 10 miles. I'll definitely be back to run it again. If you like Antelope Island you will love Stansbury.
3350 vert |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00 | Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 20.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | This morning I did the Salt Lake Running free 5K with my two girls (Emma 13 and Amelia 11). We had a really fun time. This would be their first race and both of them can't wait for the next one. After running 30 miles yesterday I wasn't sure how I would feel out there, but surprisingly my legs felt great. They are a touch sore, but I didn't even notice it while running. We got there and signed in, got our free shirts, which are actually pretty nice for free and then hung out with Jun and MattV until the raffle. I won another tech shirt and so did Amelia. After the raffle we went outside in the cold for a few min and then to the start. I was so proud of my girls. Emma had two goals: Not come in last place and run the whole way. She accomplished both. Amelia had to stop and walk a bit, but eventually she caught back up to Emma and they finished within seconds of each other in just over 36 min. Then we hung out with Jun and Matt for a bit. The race was very fun and you can't get any better for free. My girls keep asking me when the next race is. I'll post up some pics later. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 3.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 40 minutes on the elliptical to try and work out some of the soreness from the run on Friday. Everything feels really good and I only have some slight soreness in my legs. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. I worked my upper body and core. My regular peeps weren't there, so I worked out by myself and I was a sweaty mess at the end. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Dimple Dell gully trail with Jun and Dorsimus. The weather was a little windy, but almost perfect. We hung together all the way up the trail to the Bell Canyon TH and from there Jun loves to push the pace and my legs were not in the mood to even try and hang, so I held back while the guys pushed it to the top and I got there a few minutes after. After a quick break and a gel we headed back.
The run back to the car was fun, but I think all of us were a little sore from the 30 mile run we did 4 days ago. By time we hit the Wrangler TH my hammies were hurting. We stopped there and filled our bottles and then pushed the pace back to the finish. I got into a groove and pushed the pace, but Matt wouldn't let me go and eventually passed me with about 1/4 mile to go and I couldn't get by him at the end. My legs are worked. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 13.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Easy 3 on the TM after the kids went to bed. Saving my legs for trails and hills. |
| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 3.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I think I got a sunburn today- What the??? Lunch break run up Mt. Wire. The weather was perfect and it was the first time this year I stripped off my shirt (wasn't pretty). It felt so nice and I actually enjoyed running without my ipod today. I tried to go fast and set a new PR of 43 min to the top. That is still very soft and I know I can do it in under 40 if I really push. I took a quick break and then had a nice run all the way down passing a few peeps on their way up. Perfect day.
2180 vert
*PM Update*
3 miles on the TM after the kids went to bed. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Grandeur Peak this morning with MattV. I just wasn't feeling it today. Not much energy and I never got into a good groove. My ipod crapped out on me about 3/4 of the way up so no tunes and I basically followed Matt all the way to the top. He beat me to the summit by a couple of minutes where he waited for me while playing some air guitar. I topped out in 1:22 which is not fast. It was very cold and windy on top, so we didn't stay long. I downed (gagged) a gel quickly and we headed down.
On the way down we ran into our friend Judy and stopped to chat about some upcoming spring mountaineering climbs. The run down was slow and my legs were heavy and sore. Total time 2:05.
On a positive note we did have a helluva lot of laughs on the hill today.
3268 vert |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.53 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I went to the gym to lift on Sat, but it was closed so they could take the bubble off the pool. I thought about running, but I ended up just eating abour 2X the cals I normally would. Oh well, I think I needed the break.
Did 4 easy on the TM. My legs are still a little sore from all of the elevation at the end of the week.
I got into St. George marathon, so now I have to figure out how to train and run a marathon 3 weeks after running Wasatch 100. Maybe that wasn't the best idea. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I will never complain about my gym being crowded again. Since it is closed for 6 days for maintenance (which I think it a total joke) I went to the Lehi Legacy Center to lift. When I got into the weight room it was so packed that I couldn't find a single machine or bench open and when I went to the free weights my options were anything below 10 lbs or above 70. What the?? After walking around for a minute like a confused dumbA I finally saw a bench open so I jumped on picked up a 70 lb dumbbell and started doing some skull crushers. Ha! Eventually it thinned out some, but what a mess.
Lifted for 50 minutes (arms, chest, shoulders, core).
One thing the LLC has going for it is 2-3 times more roiders than AF Fitness Center. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I have had better days. My son was up all night puking, so I didn't get much sleep and then while driving home from work I got hit by a truck while I was parked in a turn lane. The impact was hard enough to scare the pee out of me and made my neck really sore. The truck was in much worse shape than my CR-V but now I have to deal with all of the insurance company crap and get my car fixed. Lame.
I did get to try running on muscle relaxers though. It was kind of hard to get into a groove and after 4 miles I stopped because I was worried about my neck. |
| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Lunch run with Jun on the BST in Sandy/Draper starting at Willow Park. We had a really good time. The weather was perfect, although a bit humid at first. We didn't push hard at all and just chatted most of the way. My neck was stiff, but didn't bother me too much. Total time 1:02 with 680 ft. of elevation gain. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 6.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 153.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I met Jun and MattVB east of the capitol building this morning at 5:30 am to run to the Ave Twin Peaks via the BST. It was kind of windy at first which made it cold, but after about 5 minutes I had warmed up. We ran up City Creek Canyon to access the BST. Jun was pushing a pretty good pace and once on the BST he dropped Matt and I and we ended up taking a wrong turn which took us up a gully instead of winding around on the BST. We ended up topping out onto the ridge before Jun and we couldn't see him anywhere, so we both thought maybe we went the wrong way. We came to another junction and we knew both ways would get us to the top. Matt stopped to take a break and I climbed up the hill to see if I could see Jun and I saw him coming up the trail behind us. We all met up and decided to hang together the rest of the way.
Jun really pushed a good pace all the way to the summit of the first twin and I just tried to stay with him. What a gorgeous day! The views on of the city and valley are just incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed every second up there. On the summit I downed a gel and Craig ate a clif bar and VB wanted to tag the second summit, and of course I did too, so we made the quick trip over and tagged that one as well. we commented on how far away the capitol building looked and it did.
The run back was a lot of fun. We just had a nice quick pace the whole way. Jun got ahead a few times and had to stop and wait, but once we got back to the paved road I stayed with him at a comfortable 7:20 pace to the finish.
1:36 with 2000 ft. of vert. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 6.5 easy miles. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 5 easy miles on the TM. I'm taking it easy because I'll be doing the Zion traverse on Wednesday and I want to keep my legs fresh. I'm pretty much shutting things down until then. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym for an hour. It was crowded, but not as bad as the LLC. Worked lats, chest, arms and delts. Pull ups- I am a fan.
So the weather is looking a bit nasty tomorrow in Zion, but we are going for it anyway. Worst case scenario- We get in some good miles in between storms and tag Angels Landing. Best case- We get to do the whole traverse, have a lot of laughs and only get a little wet. We'll see. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Zion traverse attempt with Jun, Dorsimus and JSH
We failed to complete the entire Zion traverse yesterday, but what we got instead might be the most incredible run I have ever done. The weather forecast looked terrible, but we were hoping to get lucky like we did on Stansbury Island last month. Worst case scenario we would run the East Rim trail, get wet and bail from there and we were all ok with that.
We set up camp just outside of the park for a very restless night of sleep. It rained most of the night and I had failed to properly secure my rain fly, so it was flapping all night long. Annoying. My hips and back did not like the hard ground either, but I felt pretty good when we broke camp and headed for the east entrance of the park. The weather looked like it might not get too bad. There were a lot of clouds and we even had a brief shower on the way to the park, but nothing serious. When we started it was cool, but it looked like the storm might hold off for a while.
The East Rim trail is amazing. The miles were flying by and the views were constantly impressive. We settled into an easy pace as we made the climb to the rim. We were all just enjoying the run, talking, laughing and taking pictures. It was almost like Christmas morning, as each bend brought a new and exciting view for us to take in. I was having a blast! We took our time to check out several canyons and the steep drops off of the trail.
About an hour in it started to snow on us, but only last a few minutes. For the most part on this section the weather was great. The last 4 miles of the East rim are the most impressive and I don't think you can find a more scenic trail anywhere. The steep canyons and sheer cliffs are spectacular and you wind around and down the walls on trails that have been carved into the side of the cliffs. Unreal. Eventually, we made our way into a very tight canyon with very high sheer walls on both sides. Stunning. Around the bend and Zion Canyon opens up to you and the trail down to Weeping Rock is magical. It was trail running heaven and we were all soaking it in, laughing, yelling and smiling.
At Weeping Rock we ran down the canyon road to the Grotto, where we met my nephews that had been waiting for us. I took some Cytomax, and we all used the restroom there. Just as we were about to leave it started to rain and the weather only got worse from there. We ran across the street and started our climb up the West Rim trail (Angels Landing Trail). It is very steep and gains a few thousand feet very fast. We only ran a small portion of this because it is just so steep. We had a good hiking pace, but after about 20 minutes Jun and I broke out the garbage bags to keep the rain off. Dorsimus was having some stomach issues and slowed a bit, but he kept pushing hard and we passed several tourists on their way up to Angels Landing.
When we got to the Scout Overlook near Angels Landing the weather had not improved, but we decided to keep pushing up. The trail was wet and we were mostly hiking the steep slopes up to the West Rim. It was gorgeous. All of the rain had caused several water falls to start spilling over the cliff faces and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.
At about mile 17 we had to climb a really steep slope and we were just getting pounded with snow. It was cold and whenever we would stop for a few seconds we would get chilled. We stopped at a spring so Matt could get some water and it was snowing hard. We were all quite cold and my fingers were numb. At that point it things got ugly. The trail turned into a mud bog, the weather showed no signs of improving, we were going slow and we still had 30 more miles. Jun thought it might be a good idea to turn around and after talking and thinking about it we all came to the same conclusion. It would have taken us considerably longer to finish the traverse, we were already wet and cold and we were one broken ankle or accident away from someone getting hypothermia. Not to mention it was just nasty. It was an easy decision.
There was some initial disappointment when we turned around, but after a few minutes we were running again and my numb hands and toes started to warm back up. Our spirits picked up and we were having fun again. We took a break to drink some fresh rain water spilling off of one of the cliffs and then we had a really fun (although wet) run back down to Angels Landing. We had planned on climbing it, but the weather actually got worse and it was raining hard and the wind had picked up as well, so we took a break in some rocks that had a nice roof shelter and we decided it was just too nasty. I am a peak bagger and rarely miss an opportunity to grab a summit and we were very close to tagging Angels Landing, but I had no interest in going up that thing in those conditions.
After the break we ran all the way back down to the Grotto. The trail was really wet and full of tourists. I got a little behind the other three as I just tried to take it easy. Jun was setting a pretty face past all the way down. There was so much water coming off of the cliffs that we actually had to run right through a waterfall. It was pretty cool.
Back at the Grotto we decided to run back down the canyon to the visitors center to get in a few more miles. My legs did not like the pavement as much as the trails, but the views were stunning. We were all in good spirits and even though we didn't complete the traverse we had an amazing time. I would say that there is no trail anywhere that can top these views. I was in awe the entire day and I can't wait to go back and finish it off.
Here are some pics from our trip:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.1968051328502.114980.1459523495
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| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 29.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I got up early and hit the gym this morning to lift. My legs are only slightly sore from our run on Wed, so I am very happy about that. The first song that popped into my ipod playlist shuffle was "It's the end of the world as we know it" by R.E.M. It made me laugh. Rapture!!!
I had a really good session working my chest, shoulders and lats. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I got out for a sweet evening run. The weather was almost perfect. I haven't run on the road in a while and sometimes it is fun. I ran down the Highland Hwy down to AF Main St. The first 3 were in 23:00 and I was feeling really good. I ran down to Olive Garden and then back home.The last 2 I slowed a bit as I went back up the hills, but it was a lot of fun. My legs feel great. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 6.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Just some easy TM miles. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 1.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym for an hour. I think I might need to pick a new night for lifting at the AF fitness center. I have been lifting every Monday night for about 4 years now (although you wouldn't know it by the size of my guns). It was so crowded and annoying. Usually the New Years folks are all gone by now and it is relatively quiet, but not this year. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Lunch run with Jun and Dorsimus on the BST in Draper/Sandy. I showed up at the trailhead and thought Karl Meltzer would be joining us, as he was chatting with the boys, but he took off a little before we did.
Jun set a really good pace and it wasn't long before Karl came into view, but I think he pushed his pace a bit and we never did quite catch up to him before he turned off on another trail at mile 3. It was very humid out there today and the weather was just fickle. It would be hot for a few minutes and then windy and cold with some mist and light showers mixed in, and then back to hot.
Once we got up to Corner Canyon we started getting into more mud and when we turned off on the Clark's trail it was mostly muddy all the way down, but we still managed to run a pretty fast pace. At the bottom we took a trail back up to the BST and then had a nice easy run back to the cars, although the wind picked up and was a little annoying. When we stopped to take a quick break at the top of the largest hill we saw a golden eagle flying just below us. It was really impressive to watch it glide around with ease.
1500 ft of gain. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 11.40 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4 easy on the TM |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mt. Wire/BST run with MattV
I went to sleep at midnight and woke up at 3:00 and had a tough time falling back asleep. I finally did and then the alarm woke me up at 4:30. The wind was fierce outside and I was hoping it was a lot calmer in SLC. Met Matt at 5:30 and we were off by 5:40.
We ran where we could and hiked the hills up to the ridge. We were not pushing hard today. We just had a nice pace and a lot of laughs. It was only slightly windy on the trail on the way up, but it was a lot colder than we thought it would be. The higher we went the more wind we had and by time we reached the towers it was really blowing, so we ran hard the rest of the way to the top, reaching the summit in 48:00. We only stayed for a few seconds and then quickly made our way back down to the saddle.
The run down was not fast. We talked all the way down about future plans and some mountaineering stuff and then when we got back to the BST we ran north all the way to Red Butte Canyon and back to the cars, picking up an extra couple of miles. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 6.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 154.20 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Lake Mountain with MattV
I met Matt at 7:00 am for a run up Lake Mountain. I love this run. It was a lot warmer than both of us thought it would be and we both lost a shirt after the first mile. We ran as much as we could today, only hiking the steepest sections. We tried to run several of the big hills and it was a lot of fun and we had some good laughs. About a mile from the top there was a truck that had gone off the road into a gully in one of the steepest sections. We stopped and checked it out and found a Brooks and Dunn CD (Surprise!!), a pair of rustler jeans and a few old shirts. No treasure!
We made it to the top in 1:15 and we took a few peak jumping photos and then a couple showed up on the summit. They had come up on a ridge and had a bit of a bushwhack. We told them the easy way to get down and then we took off. I love running down this mountain. After the first steep rocky section I ran the next 3 miles fast at 6:33, 6:44 and 6:46. It was a lot of fun. I cruised all the way back to the car and then went back up to meet Matt to get in a little more mileage. I will definitely be back several times this year.
Total time: 1:48
Vert 3100 ft. and about 7k for the week. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 153.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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5 very easy miles on the mill.
Rain blows. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 153.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I went to the gym and lifted for an hour working my upper body and core. I'll probably consume 5K cals today. I can't wait. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Last year I climbed 58 peaks, which is the most I have ever done in a year. I was really happy with that total, but this year I knew I could do more, so I set the mark at 65 and today I climbed my 33rd peak of the year, so I am half way to my goal with 7 months left in the year.
I ran up Lake Mountain with Jun and MattVB. We had an awesome run. Jun set the pace and typically we stop running and start hiking about 1.5 miles in when the trail gets steep, but not today. Jun kept running up the steep hills, so Matt and I did too. It was a lot of fun. I ran up the hills without stopping until 3.3 miles in. It was really steep and I could have kept running, but I realized my hiking pace would actually be a little faster going straight up, so I hiked the steeper sections near the top, but I think we ran at least 90% of the 4.2 miles up and it showed with a PR of 1:02:50. My previous PR was last Sat at 1:15. It was cold and windy at the top, so after I gagged down a gel we went down.
Jun took off like a rabbit and after about a half mile I couldn't see him anymore. After the steep rocky section I kept it under 7:00 most of the way back to the car and finished in 1:33. I love running down that mountain. I wonder if playing air guitar while blasting Janes Addiction slows your pace? My previous best time was 1:48, so it was a good day for sure. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 8.40 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | After my run up Lake Mountain on Tues I played 18 holes of golf at Thanksgiving Pt. (I totally blew up out there and lost at least 25 balls). On about the 16th hole I noticed some sorenes in my left achilles. By time I got home it was hurting, so I took some ibuprofen and then it was still a touch sore on Wed, so I wanted to take it easy, so I just did 4 really easy miles on the TM. I planned on 3, but it felt ok so I did another mile. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym. I lifted for an hour and had a really good session. I worked my chest, arms, delts and lats. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I wanted to test out my achilles today, so I went up Mt. Wire after work. I took it easy and I was surprised at how good everything felt. The weather was perfect and I enjoyed the dry trails and wild flowers. I made it up in 44 minutes and there was a couple on the summit that were surprised to see me running up the summit ridge. They asked me my time and couldn't believe it. It took them two hours. We chatted for a few minutes and then I headed down. The run down was fun and my achilles felt good. I had a smile on my face and my pace picked up. I finished in 1:11:11 and my achilles still felt good, so I was really happy about that, but it didn't last. By time I got home it was sore and it just got worse from there. I iced it which seemed to help, but it was really sore again after I woke up this morning (Sat) and after icing it a few more times today it is still sore. I guess I am injured and I'll probably be taking some time off to rest this so my whole summer isn't ruined. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My achilles is still sore, but it is getting better, so I don't think I will run this week, but I will be doing some cross training. I went to the gym and lifted for 90 minutes, which is about 30-40 more than I usually do. I spent the first hour by myself and then worked with my friend for the last 30 minutes. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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30 minutes on the elliptical just to test things out and my achilles never hurt or got sore. I wanted to go longer, but I also don't want to rush anything. I want to make sure this is healed up before I push it at all.
Iced and stretched and no soreness after. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I went to the gym to try the bike and after 30 minutes my legs were burning, and I was starting to really sweat. I could tell I was working muscles that I wasn't used to using much. It hurt. Then I did 15 min on the elliptical. My achilles was a touch sore after, but not bad, so I iced it and then stretched and rolled my legs.
I'm hoping that another 3-4 days without running should really help this achilles to calm down. I'm also noticing some of my nagging running pains are going away which is good. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I have run once in the last 10 days and I still have some soreness in my achilles. This sucks! I did 35 min on the elliptical while watching the NBA finals. I thought I might do more, but I felt a twinge in the heel and stopped. If this doesn't get better in the next few days I'll probably go see a specialist. Any recommendations? |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I ran for the first time since last Friday today. I went to the gym to lift this morning and after lifting for 45 minutes I decided to try running on the track because my achilles was feeling good. I figured I could always stop if it hurt. After walking a few laps to warm up I started out running easy and I didn't have any pain at all. On the turns I could feel that it was tight, but no pain. I went a mile and still felt good, so I picked up the pace and ran another one. After two miles I stopped, but I was feeling so good that I decided to run one more. The last mile I ran close to an 8:00 pace and felt good the whole way. I got home and iced it and now 6 hours later I still feel great without much soreness, so I am pretty psyched, although I know I still need to be careful with this, so I'm not going to push it, but at least I can run. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I think I have finally turned the corner with this achilles soreness. I went out for a run today. I planned on doing 5, but I felt so good that I kept going. I ran from my house to the Alpine Highway and then headed North and ran all the way to Kohlers in Alpine and then back home. I felt solid the whole way and I just ran a comfortable pace, never pushing it hard. it felt so good to be out running again. I went inside and took a quick break and my achilles felt great so I decided to run a little more. I ran back to the Alpine hwy and then back home for exactly 8 miles. I felt like I could have gone several more miles without any problem, so I don't think my fitness has suffered too much. I will still take it a little easier this week and won't do any hills or peaks just to make sure I don't have any setbacks. Total time: 1:08 |
| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Easy TM miles to shake out some of the rust. No pain, but just a touch of soreness in my heel after I finished. Nothing to get worried about though.
Stay thirsty my friends:
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I felt a little soreness in my heel today, but it went away and I wanted to do some easy TM miles to see how it felt. No pain at all while running, but it got a little stiff after which makes me worried. I'll probably go for a longer run tonight (Wed) to see where I am at. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I wanted to get out for a longer run, but I wasn't sure how far I could go with my achilles issues, so the plan was to run up Provo Canyon as far as I felt like I could. It was hot, but near the river it wasn't bad and I was in the shade a good portion of the time. I parked at the park at the bottom of the canyon and just started off at a nice easy pace.
The first few miles went by really fast. There were a lot of people out enjoying the trail, mostly bikers. I stopped at Nunn's Park just to make sure the water was running. I had my handheld and wasn't too worried, but I wanted to know what my options were because it was hot. Bridal Veil Falls was amazing, but there were so many people on the trail, so I didn't want to stop. After that the next 1/4 of a mile was in thick trees with a lot of hanging caterpillars and that got kind of annoying. I had them all over me and I had to keep brushing them off.
At Vivian Park I stopped to have a gel and take a quick break. There were a lot of people out. I was feeling good, but it was hot and I was a sweaty mess already. The run back down to the car was fun. I just cruised at a comfortable pace (between 8-8:30) all the way and I stopped for a quick second at the falls and then again at Nunn's to refill my water. I got back to the car in 1:20 (9.5 miles) and took a break. I had to re-apply glide, use the bathroom and had another gel and an S-cap. I wanted to keep going, so I headed back down the canyon this time. I stayed on the trail and ran past Riverwoods and then just after 12 miles I was getting low on energy. I hadn't eaten solid food in about 7 hours and I was feeling it, so I turned around and ran back to the car. The last two miles were pretty slow because of my energy issues. I would have liked a few more miles, but I would have bonked pretty hard, so I am ok with 15.
My achilles didn't hurt at all. I used some heel inserts and they seemed to really help. Hopefully I can resume my regular training soon. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 15.15 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 400.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym. I lifted for 60 minutes, working my upper body/core. I think I accidentally licked the pull up bar. SICK! |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Jrp in Lehi with the FRB peeps. This was the perfect run to cap off a really good week of running for me. I met Chad, Maynard, Smooth, karen, RAD and Annette at 7:00 am. We set a nice casual pace that allowed for some good conversation and the miles flew by. When we got to Willow Park Chad helped us get around the flooded trail by taking us around a neighborhood that connected back to the trail. At the flight park we went a little further on the trail until we hit 6 miles and then we turned around. By time we got back to Willow Park it was getting hot and a bit humid. I felt great the whole run and the achilles didn't bother me at all. The miles flew by. We had a great time. Thanks everyone. Total time: 1:46 PM- volunteered at the Ragnar finish with my wife. I got stuck moving fences and picking up trash, while she got to hang out with the funny, cute announcer dude and chat the whole time. I think I got the short end of that one. Oh well, it was fun. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 12.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 30 minutes of ab/core work using my ball. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 50 minutes of lifting (upper body) at the gym. My core was very sore from my workout yesterday. I had an excellent session. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I was hoping to get outside for a run, but I was pretty busy with family stuff and by time I got a chance to run it was dark, so I did 4 on the TM while channel surfing- Nothing on! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I met Jun and two of his friends at the Pipeline trail in Millcreeek this morning for a sweet morning run. The weather was perfect and it was an incredible run. I love that trail. We had a nice easy pace and just chatted until Jun and Jason turned back at mile 2.5. After a nice slap on the butt from Jun (which of course I welcomed and enjoyed), Chris and I kept going to the point. The conversation was good and as always the views were amazing.
At the turnaround we stopped and took a quick break and I downed (gagged) a gel. The run back was just as good and I enjoyed every second. I didn't get my Garmin started until .3, so the last 9 were at 1:18. I have no clue about the first .3. My achilles is slightly tight, but no pain. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.30 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 200.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I will be lifting for an hour tonight at the gym.
My workout yesterday was spending 10 hours at Lagoon with my kids. Whoooooah! People watching, lots of bad tattoos, larger folks squeezed into very tight clothes, roller coasters with my 9 year old until I was on the verge of puking- Good times. I must have walked at least 5 miles out there. Sweat!!!
I'm also going to do a longer (13+ mile) run tomorrow. Not sure where yet, but if anyone is getting out let me know. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I wanted to do a longer run today, but I left a bit later than I had hoped, so it was already hot when I started, so I had my handheld bottle and a few gels. I ran north on the Alpine Hwy and then I turned east at Kohlers and headed up to the canyon. I had planned to turn around at the mouth, but I was feeling really good, so I just kept going. My legs felt strong and my achilles wasn't hurting at all. After about a mile I figured I would just go all the way to the Timpanogos Cave trailhead, so I could refill my bottle. The river was running full and fast and there are a few places where there isn't much room off the road. I was being very careful watching the cars and the road. I reached the trailhead and had a gel and a drink and then took off on a much faster pace down the canyon. This was my favorite paert of the run. It was shady and cool and I just cruised down. After I got to the bottom I ran back to the Chevron where I stopped and bought a 20 ounce Coke. That hit the spot. The last three miles back home were fun and I just enjoyed being out there running without pain. I was a sweaty mess by time I got home at noon. This run was just what I needed. Fun! 2:19 total time. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 450.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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12 ounce steak and potato 90 minutes before your run = BAD move.
I just wanted to get out and stretch my legs, so I took off for the Alpine Hwy, which is becoming my new track since I have been only trying to do flat miles. Right from the start I knew I should have run before dinner. Ugh! Eating a big steak is just not wise before a run, even if it is only 4 miles. It felt like I had a ferret lodged into my throat the entire time and it was tough just to keep the pace under 9.
My legs felt incredible. Not even a hint of soreness from my 15 mile run yesterday, so that is encouraging.
AP 8:44 |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 1.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym for an hour. The last few weeks have been nice because it seems like only the hardcore folks come in the summer, so it isn't as hot and not very stinky. I worked my upper body and core and had a really good session.
I need to get in a long run this weekend, so if anyone wants to do anything let me know. My tentative plans are to run from my house up AF canyon, around the Alpine loop, down Provo Canyon and then back home (about 41 miles). Let me know if you are at all interested. I would rather not go alone. Right now I am thinking Sun or Mon. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | After the sun went down I got out for a good quick run. I felt a lot better today, so after warming up for the first mile I kept it around an 8:00 pace for the rest of the run. I ran the Alpine Hwy again. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I did not want to get up when my alarm went off at 4:40, but I am glad I did. I met Matt in Millcreek Canyon and we ran the Pipeline trail, which is one of my favorite runs in the Wasatch. Matt started out FAST but after about a half mile we settled into a comfortable 8:40 pace.
We stopped to take the usual one mile break and the mosquitoes were horrible, but once we got moving again they weren't an issue. There was a pretty good wind that would really blow whenever we rounded a corner on the outsides of the canyon. At times it was really strong, but luckily it wasn't bad once we rounded the corners and ran back to the inside of the canyon.
We stopped at the lookout point to have a gel and then both of us put the headphones on and had a nice cruise back to the car. my legs felt a bit heavy today and my achilles was a touch tight, but no pain. Matt also took a little tumble at about mile 7. Nothing serious, just some hamburger hand. 9.3 miles 1:24 total time. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.30 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 200.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Mt. Wire this morning with MatthewVB (WARNING Kelli please stop reading here) I wanted to test out my achilles since it has been feeling a lot better the last few weeks, but I have been staying away from any elevation, so I wanted to see where I am at. I climbed my last peak exactly 4 weeks ago today. I took it slow the whole way. The weather was perfect and I just got a nice steady pace and kept it. I only ran the flatter sections and hiked everything that was steep. Just before the summit ridge Matt passed me and pushed hard to the top summitting in exactly 51 minutes. I was a little more than a minute behind. We decided that we wanted to keep running on the other side of the mountain on the ridge that heads east. The trail is kind of rocky and overgrown, but I was taking it slow. Matt was out in front just running in his zone and just before we reached the highpoint on the ridge I saw a Great Basin rattle snake right in the middle of the trail. Matt had brushed right by it and didn't even notice and I was able to put the brakes on before I ran right into it. I called to Matt to come back and we checked it out and the snake did not look happy. It was moving its head and Matt's leg was literally inches from it. It sent a chill down my spine and we decided to turn back. We went back up to the summit of Wire and then ran back down. The run down was fun, but I kept wanting to look off the trail to see if I saw anything move. We definitely dodged a bullet out there, but it was really cool to see. That is the second time I have been with Matt in that area and seen a rattler and he didn't see the last one either. Haha! My achilles felt a little tight the first mile, but I didn't have any pain and it isn't sore now (two hours later) so I am very happy about that. I'll still take it easy, but now I can start adding some hills again. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 5.60 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2400.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I went to the gym with my wife and lifted for 50 minutes (core upper body). She lifted for 30 with me and then ran 2 on the TM while I finished. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Tomorrow I am going to run the Alpine loop from my house and back. I am estimating that it will be about 43 miles. My legs still had a touch of soreness from my Wire run, so I wanted to stretch and shake them out a bit, so I did 3 easy miles. I ran to the Alpine Hwy and turned around just after 1.5. Total time 26:40.
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I did the Alpine Loop run today with Adam Hall from my house, up AF Canyon to the Alpine loop summit, down to Sunance, out Provo Canyon and back to my house in American Fork. It took is 8:41 and was an incredible experience. No achilles or other issues. Details later.
With my wife being out of town for the week I wanted to take the opportunity to get in a long run, but I was nervous about my recent achilles issues, so I wanted something that wasn't technical and wouldn't have too much elevation, but at the same time I did want to test it out to see where I am. After a lot of thought running the Alpine Loop seemed like a really good idea, but where to start? I figured why not start at my house. It would give me the miles I was looking for and add a little extra spice to the challenge. I asked my FRB and FB friends if anyone wanted to run with me and luckily Adam Hall was in.
We met at my house a little after 3:00 am and were running in perfect temps. There were very few cars out on the roads and it was a lot of fun. We didn't want to burn ourselves out, so we ran at an easy 9:00 pace and had some really good conversation and the miles were just clicking by. It took about 50 minutes to get to the canyon and we both turned on our headlamps. The river was running high and it was really cool to run up in the dark. We didn't see the first car for a few miles and we didn't see many cars at all until we were almost to the top of the loop.
I stopped at the Timpanogos cave parking lot (mile 7.6) to refill my water and take a gel while Adam hiked up and had a snack. It took me a few minutes to catch back up to him and then we got back into a nice comfortable run. We were not pushing the pace at all and when I would check my watch we were anywhere from 10-11:30 on the uphill climb. Eventually the climb starts to get steeper and we decided to hike the steepest parts to save our legs. I did feel some slight tightness in my achilles, but it didn't last long.
The sun started coming up as we hiked the steeper sections and about a mile from the top we had a moose on the side of the road that didn't want to move. As we got closer we made some noise, but it didn't seem to want to budge until a car drove by and spooked it. The mosquitoes were a slight pain, but we had applied deet, so they never became much of an issue. The views on this run were absolutely incredible and the last few miles climbing to the top of the loop are about as good as it gets with some stunning vistas, including some really great views of Timpanogos. I showed Adam some of the climbing routes on the mountain and we stopped a few times just to take in the sights.
We were really happy to reach the top of the loop because we knew it would be all downhill or flat from there. We had well over 3K of climbing so far and my legs were ready for a change. It took about a half mile to get used to the faster downhill running, but eventually we were in a groove and loving it. From the Cascade Springs turn off to Sundance was some of the best running I have ever done. The views on this road are unreal. It was as green as anything I have ever seen in Utah. I love this loop in the fall, but it is also pretty amazing right now as well. After a few miles of running through the lush green aspen forest you start to get the views of Timp again and we were both just giddy. I was smiling and loving every minute. This was probably the best part of the run for me. Our pace kept creeping into the 7's and I kept trying to slow Adam down so we could save our legs. It was tough because that road is the perfect place to open it up. We also passed a few runners coming uphill toward us and we gave them fives and it was fun to see them smile and get excited too.
We stopped at a campground just before Aspen Grove (about mile 21) to refill our water and I took a gel. It was the fourth one I had taken and I also took an S-cap. From Aspen Grove to Sundance we started to see a lot more cars, so we had to really be careful. We cruised at an easy 8:30 pace most of the way out of the canyon, but occasionally Adam would pace us into the 6's or 7's and I would remind him to slow down.
When we reached Provo Canyon we stopped to take another break. I was really hungry, so I downed a Snickers bar and a gel, but it didn't seem like enough. The next few miles I could tell that I needed more energy. I was hoping to make it to the gas station at the mouth of the canyon to refuel, but my energy levels were definitely low for a few miles.
We stopped again at Bridal Veil falls (mile 27) to take a few pictures and I was still craving salty foods. I took another S-cap and over the next few miles kept thinking about what I wanted to eat when we got out of the canyon. About mile 29 we had a guy pass us and I could tell Adam didn't like it at all and then a few minutes later a few girls started to pass us and Adam picked up the speed, so I came along and pretty soon we were running in the 7's. :) It actually was good because before that our pace had slipped into the 10's, so the last few miles going out of the canyon we kept just under a 9 pace.
There is a gas station at the mouth of the canyon and we stopped to refuel. I really wanted some salty potatoes, but my choices were pre-made sandwiches, cold hot dogs or a burrito. I settled on a chimichanga and a Reeses cup with a large Coke. The first few bites of the Chimmy were sooo good and I was moaning with delight, but after about half of it was gone it started to taste like... well, a gas station burrito. I was about 3/4 of the way through it and it started making me sick. I told Adam that was the best and worst burrito I had ever eaten and that made him laugh.
We walked for a couple of minutes after the rest stop to get our legs going again and it was tough when we started running again, especially with several ounces of Coke and chimmy sloshing around in my tummy. The next 5-6 miles were tough. The perfect weather we had up to that point was gone. It was hot, humid and the sun was now out for the first time beating on us. We would get stopped at red lights at times and we both hated that because that meant we had to stop running and get started again, which was tough on sore legs.
About mile 37 we stopped at a Chevron to refill our water and drink some Gatorade. I noticed that almost everyone was staring at us and we were greasy, salty and I'm pretty sure downright rank. I apologized to one lady that was standing by me and she politely said it's ok. Haha. We stunk!!!
The last 6 miles were hard. I definitely prefer running in the mountains to running on city streets and when you are getting close to 40 miles it is even worse, but we just kept pushing and grinding and the miles just seemed to go by. We both felt relatively good, and my energy was up (thanks to the chimmy). About mile 41 we turned back onto the Alpine Hwy and stated the climb back up to my neighborhood. There is a nice big hill by the cemetery that we had to deal with. Adam ran the steepest part, while I hiked and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The last mile wasn't so bad. We just had a nice and easy pace and ran it all the way to the finish. It took us 8:41 and it was an incredible experience. It is the most miles I have ever run on pavement and I am not sure that I want to repeat that. It would have been nice if there had been some trails mixed in, but I can't complain. It was an amazing run.
Here are some pics:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2111932365438.120768.1459523495
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| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 4000.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 2.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 2.50 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym for an hour. It was a total downpour when got there and I waited in my car for a few minutes but it didn't let up, so I made a run for it and was soaked from head to toe. There was a couple of inched of water in the parking lot and my shoes were completely soaked as well. The gym was really humid, so the conditions were not great in there since I was already wet, but I kind of dried out after about 30 minutes, but with the sweat I never got all the way dry. I had a really good session working my upper body and core.
My legs are barely sore after my run which is very encouraging. In fact I was more sore on Sat after my run up Mt. Wire the day before. My calves are the only thing that really has any soreness. I'll still probably take it easy for a few days though. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I ran the Wasatch Crest trail today with Jun and Dorsimus. Awesome!!! It is probably my favorite trail to run in the Wasatch and it was fun to finally get on it this year. We had to start a mile before the trailhead because the gate going up the Guardsman Pass road was not open yet. The trail was actually in great shape and we only had to do about 10 snow crossings. On one of them I did a nice face plant, but it wasn't too bad. As always the views were stunning. I loved checking out the snow capped Cottonwood ridges, as well as all of the green trees and wild flowers. At Desolation Lake I started getting a shin splint on my left leg and it slowed me down a little. I have never had one before and hopefully it doesn't become an issue. The last 4 miles were a touch slower than I would have liked and I finished about 4 minutes behind the other two. My legs felt solid other than the shin and I was happy about that. On the way home I got rear ended by a dude that took off. Dors and I chased him and got his lic plate and then waited an hour for the fuzz to show up. My car just came out of the shop one week ago from the last rear end incident a month ago. Ya kidding me??? |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 10.40 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1300.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 155.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for 50 minutes. Worked upper bod/core. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 | Weight: 150.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I did 4 very easy on the TM to stretch out my legs. To quote the illustrious MattVB- No big woop. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | No big woop. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I met MattVB in Millcreek Canyon this morning and we ran the Pipeline trail. The weather was almost perfect. On the way out to the lookout I was feeling sluggish and it was tough to get into a groove. We just chatted the whole time and it went by fast.
At the lookout I took a gel and then Matt lead and pushed the pace all the way back and we were much faster. I got my biscuits sniffed by a dog that wasn't on a leash and it actually followed us for a few minutes. I don't care how good you look in a running skirt, you need to leash your dog!
Total time 1:23 |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Timp run with Jun, Dorsimus and Jsh. The goal for the day was to run as far as we could and possibly get to the summit if we had time and didn't run into very much snow. Jun told me earlier in the day that as soon as it became mountaineering we would turn around... HAHAHAHA! I should have known better. Actually, I knew there would still be a lot of snow and I figured that Jun would want to go as high as we could. I was right.
We ran the first few miles and then we were in snow the rest of the way. We slogged, climbed, slipped, ran a little, fell, climbed some more. I fell off a snow bridge and sliced my hand with my ice axe that I had been carrying. Normally my axe would be secured on my pack, but I have a long run I am doing in the Wind Rivers next month and I wanted to see if I could run while carrying it since I don't really want to carry a full pack. Luckily the cut wasn't too deep, so it wasn't a big deal, but I had another close call, so I don't think I'll be doing any more running with the axe.
We ended up climbing a few semi steep snow slopes up to the basin and it still looks like winter up there. There was close to 5 feet of snow up there and the views were stunning. Unreal. I really wanted to go to the summit, but we just didn't have time. We ended up climbing up a cliff band up to a rock shelf just below the saddle where we decided to turn back. We did get a few sweet gilssades and had a lot of fun on the way down, but I really have a bad case of summit fever. I wanted to go up in a bad way, but it wasn't going to happen. It was still fun to get in some work with the crampons and axe though. This has been the worst spring/summer mountaineering for me for several years because of my achilles issues and now I want to get out for more. Hopefully I'll get out on something this weekend. Check out Jun's blog for some pics. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 9.40 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 3500.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for 50 min with my wife. I opened up my ice axe cut, but other than that it was a great workout. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I was supposed to do this run yesterday, but it just didn't workout. I found out that my first best friend passed away yesterday. It was a shock. I spent as much time at his home from age 3-15 as my own. We had many fun adventures together and my thoughts were of him most of the run. I ran from my house up AF canyon to the Timp cave parking lot and back. I stopped at the cave parking area to use the bathroom and take a gel and some salt. The best part of the run was running down the canyon at about a 7:00 pace. The last 5 were hell. I'm not sure if it was the heat or what but I bonked and it was tough. Some of the memories of Ryan that I thought about: Designing and building a massive half pipe skate ramp in his backyard. Spending summers swimming and playing tennis at the Sports Mall. BB gun wars in his backyard and the BB I still have lodged in my jaw. Taking his moms car for joy rides before we had our licenses :) staying up all night playing night games in the neighborhood. Making our first movie together using a Super 8 video camera. Playing Masters of the Universe (He-Man!) Watching movies on HBO all night on sleepovers. Sprinkler under the tramp. Spending a week skating in Cali when we were 15. Skating down Capitol hill together (might be the craziest thing I ever did). All night football games at the church. The games in the snow were the best. Learning how to ski at Alta together. Playing Stompers in the dirt. Catching snakes at the canal behind our elementary school then freaking out our moms. RIP Ryan. I'll miss you bud! |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 700.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Mondays = Weights at the gym. I worked chest, shoulders and triceps for 45 minutes. It was very hot in there. I just picked up some Hoka Bondi-B's and I took them for a test drive on the track after I lifted. They are amazing. The cushion is fantastic and it feels like you're running on air. I can't wait to get them on the trails to test them out. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Trail run up Big Cottonwood with Jun, MattVD and Lily
We met at the BCC park n ride at 5:45 am. We started at the Mill D trailhead and the clouds were a bit dark and it looked like we might get a sprinkle, but I wasn't too worried. The temps were perfect. The run up to Dog Lake was fun. Everything is so green right now and it was incredible. We all just chatted and the time flew by.
From the Lake we went around and picked up the trail that goes right under Gobblers Knob and that would drop us down into Butler fork. The trail was overgrown and not in the best shape, so it slowed us down some. I inhaled a bug. It sucked. Luckily I was able to cough it up, but I think I swallowed it. Haha. About 5 minutes later one nailed me right in the eye. The views were stunning. I enjoyed checking out the Cottonwood Ridge and can't believe how much snow is still up there.
Once we reached the turn off for Butler the trail really improved and we could go a lot faster. After about a mile Jun took my key and went ahead because he needed to get back. We ran into some old Wasatch vets Super Dave and Michael Hannan. These guys are pushing 70 and can kick just about everyone's butt in the hills. We chatted with them for a minute and then had a sweet run back to the canyon road where we ran about .4 before we ran into Jun coming down to pick us up.
**PM update**
I had some time tonight to get out for another run, so I went up Lake Mountain by myself. There wasn't a cloud anywhere near the mountain when I started and the temperature was really nice. I parked in the neighborhood below the trailhead and ran the .4 to the TH where I started my watch. I ran until I got to the steeper section and then I would hike anything steep and run where I could. It felt nice out and I was really enjoying the run. I was wearing my Hokas and they felt really good on my feet.
A few guys passed me on motorcycles, but other than that I didn't see another person up there. At about mile 3 I noticed some clouds rolling in and I got a little worried. I decided that if I heard or saw any lightning I would just head back. I saw the motorcycle guys coming down when I got to the steepest rocky section and one of them dumped his bike and fell off. He was going really slow so it wasn't serious. When I got up to them we chatted for a few minutes and one guy asked me if I was training for the Salt Lake 100. I asked them how the clouds looked on top and they said they were ok, so I kept going up.
When I got to the saddle I kept going where we normally turn left to the summit because Jun discovered that we haven't been climbing the true high point, but a separate summit where all of the towers are. I found a road after .3 that went right and I knew it was the right way and after a few minutes I was standing on the highest point. It was now dark and the clouds were looking unsettled, so I wanted to get down ASAP. I pulled out my headlamp and discovered that the batteries were almost dead and it was barely working. I had to hold it while I ran and I could only see a few feet in front of me and it really slowed me down.
Just below the saddle it started to rain really hard and I ducked under a tree for a few minutes to wait it out. After a few minutes it was just a sprinkle, so I took off, although I was still running slow because of my light. It seemed to take forever to get off of the mountain and I was really worried my lamp would die. Luckily it didn't. I also saw a few flashes of lighting, but not close enough to scare me too much. It was definitely my slowest time ever up and down the mountain, but I still had a great time
That gives me over 18 miles and almost 5K in elevation for the day. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 8.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 4875.00 | Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 9.90 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Today I did my trail work for the Wasatch 100. We did maintenance on the Lake Mary trail above Brighton. It was tough work, but I had a great time on a beautiful day with some really cool people. About 10 other runners were also there and we got a lot of work done. After we finished I was pretty beat, but I still wanted to get in a run, so when I got home I ran on the Alpine Hwy in the heat. The first few miles were tough because I was tired, but the last two I was cruising and feeling great. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | JRP solo in Lehi. I would have liked to run with the FRB group, but I didn't want to get up at 5:00 so I showed up at 7:30. After 1.3 I ran into Smooth, Rad and Toby and said hi. I would have run back with them if it had been over 4 miles in. The run was a lot of fun. I just tried to keep the pace between 8:30 and 8:45. After Willow park the trail is still closed, so I ran through the neighborhood and got back on. At 5.6 I took a gel and turned around. I stopped again at the park to fill up my water and then had a nice cruise back to the car where Rad and Smooth were hanging out, so we chatted for a few minutes (they are both so nice!) And Rad gave me some orange slices- Thanks! PM update- weights at the gym for 40 minutes with my wife. We had a great workout. We worked our upper body/core. |
| Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 10.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Grove Creek trail up to the falls. The first mile was hot, but a lot of the upper slopes were in the shade, so it wasn't as bad. Got water from a spring coming out of the rock which was cold and very good. Great day. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.30 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2000.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 153.50 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I ran in my hood this morning because I have a work appointment in Utah County, so I got up and ran 6.5 on the Alpine Hwy. Hot and muggy with a lot of sweat. I forgot to put in my heel inserts and I felt my achilles twinge a few times. Nothing serious.
Total time: 55:37
I'll be running the first 10 miles of the Wasatch 100 course tomorrow with Dorsimus and MattVD. We are starting at 4:00 am and will hit Chinscraper and Thurston Peaks. It should be a good time with over 5K in vert. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Wasatch 100 course (first 14 miles)
With Dorsimus and MatthewVD. What an adventure. My alarm went off at two-fitty am this morning. It was tough downing 500 cals that early. I met Dors and Matt at Dors's house and after dropping off my car at the Baer Canyon trailhead Matt drove us over to the start of the Wasatch 100. I want to run as much of the course as I can before the race and this would be my first time on that trail.
The first 5 miles aren't too bad. A few hills, but you can run the whole way. It was light by time we hit mile 5 and from there is gets really steep. A few miles later the trail became really overgrown and it slowed us down a lot. Busting up over 4K in elevation to the Chinscraper was a lot of fun. The views were much better than I thought they would be. What an incredible place. About mile 10 we stopped at a spring to talk with an older guy and fill up our bottles. The water was cold and good.
Just below the Chinscraper summit I got into some loose rock and I started to slide, so I reached up to grab a hand hold on a rock and it popped off and hit me right in the knee causing a nasty puncture that was bleeding profusely. It wasn't big, but it was really deep. I put 3 band-aids on it and it didn't help at all. The blood just kept coming. Another band-aid, some moleskin and a bunch of tissue paper and about 20 minutes and it finally stopped. What a pain. The guys had to wait for me and it was cold up there with a lot of wind. The worst part is that I was so slow after that because I was afraid of ripping off the bandage with all of the overgrowth on the trail and after the Chinscraper it only got worse.
After about two miles the bandage got ripped off my a branch and I had to stop and put another band-aid and another piece of moleskin on to cover it up. The next few miles were pretty incredible. The views are amazing. Peaks, meadows and valleys below. Wow! We made it to the summit of another peak (Peak 9,401?) and bypassed a few others. On one we crossed a snowfield that was a pain and I used a rock as an ice axe.
At mile 13.7 we took the Baer Canyon trail back down to the valley. This was by far the worst part of the day. That trail was so overgrown I couldn't believe it. Someone yelled "We've got Bush" and we certainly did. Bushwhack! It was a steep motha too. Busting out of that canyon was slow. Eventually my bandage was ripped off again and I had to take it so slow because I didn't have anything to cover the wound, so I was way over-cautious. We had to make a few stream crossings, but nothing eventful the rest of the way. it was a killer workout. Just about 18 miles with 6K elevation gain. It was really tough, but we all had a lot of fun. I am totally psyched for the race. I'll post up some pics of my bloody knee.
Dorsimus wrote up an excellent report with some pics. Check it out.
Me on the summit of Chinscraper right after I slashed my knee. Notice the blood.
Bloody mess!
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| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 17.50 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 5917.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 3.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 3.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym for an hour. I worked my upper body and core.
Tomorrow Twinkies, MattVD and I will be running some of the W100 course (Bountiful B aid to Francis Peak and back). If anyone is interested let me know. It should be a lot of fun. |
| Night Sleep Time: 9.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.50 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | The plan: Run part of the Wasatch 100 course (Bountiful B aid to Francis Peak and back) with Twinkies and MattVD. We thought it would be about 14 miles. What happened: We got to the BB aid station about 5:30 and started our run up toward Centerville Peak. We didn't see the trail we were supposed to be on, but we figured we could eventually get on Skyline Drive and make our way to Francis Peak and then get on the right trail on the way back. Twinkies and I summitted Centerville Peak just as the sun was rising. It was pretty awesome. We then hit a few bumps on the ridge and then bushwhacked over to Skyline where we ran to the summit of Bountiful Peak and we couls see our route. We ran down the road at a quick 6:45 to 7:00 pace for just about 3 miles. The last half mile to the Francis Peak aid station was pretty steep so it slowed us down, but we still ran most of the way up. We stopped at the aid station for a few minutes and then headed back on the W100 trail. After about 3 miles the trail crosses a stream and then starts the climb back to the BB aid station. Because the trail was so overgrown and since we didn't know where it was we missed it. We thought we made a wrong turn and then we spent the next two hours running every trail and fork in the area. Nothing made sense and we would always start to go in the wrong direction, so we would end up turning back to try something else. It was horrible, but the silver lining is that it might be the most beautiful area in the Wasatch. There were lush green meadows with wild flowers and the view of the mountains to the west. So cool! Eventually, VD called his wife and she read the directions to him from the W100 website and he quickly figured out our mistake. We had been right the first time. We just had to go back and cross the river about 30 yards from where we were and there was the trail. It was totally overgrown and was a bushwhack for about a half mile. Eventually it got better, but it is a steep climb back up to the BB aid station. We were pretty tired when we finished. We had planned on about 14, but ended up with almost 20 and quite an adventure. I'm very happy that I was able to run most of the first 23 miles of the course this week. It is pretty tough for sure. Those are not easy trails. I am totally psyched though. The views are unreal. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2000.00 | Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 19.65 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I took 2 days off in a row for the first time in a looong time to rest my legs and they felt great today. Ran the gully trail with Dorsimus, Jun and Steve. It was definitely hot and muggy out there, but I enjoyed it a lot. I didn't eat much breakfast today, so I took a gel at just over 2 miles and another one at the turnaround. I have not sweat this much on a run in a long time. I kept up with Jun most of the way, but the last 1.5 he dropped me. He looked incredible out there today, especially after running 50 tough miles yesterday.
Total time 1:30. Vert: 781 |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 781.00 | Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 10.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I'll be doing a short run and lifting session later in the day. I have been taking it easy this week in order to rest my legs for a long run in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming this Friday. MattVD and I are planning on running to the summit of Gannett Peak (highest peak in Wyoming). Gannett is usually a 4-5 day backpack covering about 45 miles with over 10K in elevation gain. The summit is guarded by 7 glaciers and the scenery is unmatched in the lower 48 IMO. Matt has been dealing with some foot issues, so hopefully that won't be a problem. The challenge for this peak will be running with climbing gear. We will have to carry backpacks, so that will be a slight pain, but we are going as light as possible. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I should be sleeping in the back of my car right now about to run/climb Gannett Peak, but that isn't going to happen. MattVH hurt his foot last week on our W100 course run and he is out. There is no way I am doing it solo, so no Gannett for me. This just hasn't been my year for mountaineering adventures.
I ran 6 miles AP 8:31. My legs felt really solid. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Wasatch 100 course from Big Mountain to Lambs with Jun and jsh. BUSHWHACK! I wanted to do this section of the course during the heat of the day because most people that have run Wasatch say it is the hottest section and many runners DNF after doing it. It was definitely hot out there. The trail was very overgrown in several places which slowed us down some. Jun and jsh were strong all day and I spent most of the run trying to catch them. I really enjoyed the run until we hit the Alexander flat aid station area. From there it was brutally hot and the last half mile we got into one of the most heinous bushwhacks I have ever done. This section is pretty tough, but I really enjoyed everything but the overgrowth. My legs are scratched and raw. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 13.87 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2421.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My legs were a touch sore from the run yesterday, so I went out for an easy cruise to stretch them out. I also wanted to do some more heat training, so I went out around noon. It was hot, bit it didn't bother me at all. My legs were stiff and it took about two miles before I started feeling good. Alpine hwy 2.5 and back. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Another day in the heat. 4th running day in a row running in the heat of the day. I ran from my house down the Alpine hwy to Kohlers in Alpine and back. The heat didn't bother me at all. everything felt really good, but I was dripping in sweat when I finished.
Total time: 56:00
I forgot to mention. I got two cat-calls. One from the ladies and one from the guys. I'll take it. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. I worked my upper body/core. I was pretty worked. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Wasatch Crest with MattVD and Jun:
Days like today are why I love running. This is one of the best runs in the Wasatch and also part of the Wasatch 100 course. We met at 4:50 am at the BCC park n ride. It was cold at the start and I had my very dim headlamp that I got out of a Happy Meal while Jun was sporting his lamp that would light up half a football field. Luckily for Van Bail as he forgot his.
Jun was very strong and ran all of the hills. I ran most of the first steep climb, but hiked the steeper sections and VanB was somewhere in the middle. We decided to summit Scott Hill and Desolation peaks to add some flavor and the sunrise on top of Scott Hill did not disappoint. We added in a few dirty jokes for the heck-of-it as we made our way back to the Crest trail. At that point I lead out and Jun was right behind me. We both ran all of the rolling hills and the steeper climb up to the lookout just before Desolation peak where we stopped to take a gel and wait for VB.
I love Desolation peak. The views are incredible up there. We lingered a while just chatting and enjoying the morning. From there we scrambled back down the slope to the Crest trail again and then had a sweet run by the lake and then out the Mill D trail. Jun got ahead and I stopped for a quick break and then had a nice fast run back to the car. The pace was in the 6's and 7's for the next three miles and then in the lower 8's to the finish. I absolutely loved it. I was feeling strong and with the scenery and good music in my ipod I was in heaven. Today was a fantastic run. Great company, amazing views, incredible trail, a lot of laughs and a few peaks. It doesn't get much better than this. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.31 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1550.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 3.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 3.50 | Weight: 152.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4 easy (AP 8:11) just to keep my legs fresh for our big run in the Uintas Friday night/Sat. Weather looks perfect. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 152.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Kings Peak summit #9 with MattVB and jsh. Quest for Kings marathon.
We intended to attempt a double of Kings Peak, but there were a lot of issues that slowed our progress and in the end did us in. Our first mistake was starting without any sleep around 10:45 Friday night. We all felt really good and it seemed like a good plan, but this would come back to bite us a few hours later. The other problem we had was running at night slowed us down a lot. The first 5 miles on the trail were almost 30 minutes slower than I had done them last year. This trail is very technical with a lot of rocks that have to be avoided and it is just plain hard to run in the dark on it.
Crockett was also going for a double and had started a little over 5 hours before us, so we wondered what time we would run into him and we finally did in the meadow by the big mud bog. He gave us a warning about some solid ice just below Gunsight Pass and told us it was warmer up higher, which we were happy to hear because the meadow was freezing. We didn't feel it until we would stop and then you would instantly be cold. The temps were in the 30's and none of us are used to that right now.
We ran most of the way to Gunsight Pass and from there it was hiking up the switchbacks. We were all feeling the altitude at this point. I had run most of this section last year, but just wasn't feeling it. The cool thing was with the full moon we all turned off our headlamps and hiked by the light of the moon. It was pretty awesome. After Gunsight we took the shortcut up to the plateau, making sure to avoid the icy snow Crockett had warned us about. Somehow I stayed on a rough trail all the way up, which has never happened before. Usually I get into the boulders and have to scramble through this section. Once on top I could see the other guys ahead and they were going higher up on the plateau, but it is only a little more elevation to gain.
I wore my Hoka Bondis and this proved to be a mistake, as the stability of these shoes on rocky terrain is horrible. Well, the Kings trail is littered with rocks and there are several loose boulders that have to be navigated through. This slowed me down so much and was very frustrating. Everytime we would get into the boulders my pace would slow like a snail as the other guys would get ahead and would have to wait for me to catch up. I think I tweaked my ankle at least 10 times and had a few really close calls where I almost completely turned it. Every time this would happen I would yell HOKAS! and jsh would giggle.
We got to Anderson Pass a full hour behind my time from last year. I was frustrated about that and this is about where the altitude started to hit all of us. Matt had a headache, jsh was feeling a bit dizzy and I started to get nauseated. This might have been my slowest trip from Anderson to the summit. Navigating the boulders in the dark in my Hokas while not feeling well just didn't make it speedy. If you haven't been there before, Anderson Pass to the summit is just a large pile of loose boulders. Jsh stayed with me and we slowly made our way up. Matt pushed on ahead. This was an experience that I will always remember. We were the only people on the mountain in the dark and it was very impressive. You could see the lights from distant cities at least 50 miles away and all of the surrounding peaks were lit up by the moon. The moon was so bright that I could even see a lot of our route through Henry's Fork and I was able to point out to Josh where we had started.
The higher we went the worse I felt. I have had this feeling many times. In my 9 trips to Kings I have had altitude sickness almost every time. In recent years I have been able to mitigate this by taking Diamox, which is a medication that helps your body make red blood cells at a faster rate and helps eliminate the symptoms of AMS (Accute mountain sickness). I have taken this drug many times and it has always helped. This trip I made a few mistakes. First, I only took one dose before we started and usually I would take 2-3. Second, I noticed that the medication had expired and I could tell that it wasn't as potent as it has been in years past.
I had no energy and was feeling nauseated, but I just kept plugging away. I'm sure I was dreadfully slow, but I just wanted to get to the top and get back down. Matt passed us a few minutes from the top coming down. He was cold and still had a headache. Jsh went on ahead and reached the summit a few minutes before me. As always it is a great feeling getting to the highest peak in Utah. This was a different experience because it was in the middle of the night. I'm sure not many people have done it this way. We snapped a few shots and I wanted to get down. I wanted to throw up, but I kept trying to hold it in. About 20 yards below the summit I couldn't hold it in any longer. I just started throwing up. I got down on a rock and spent about a minute heaving everything out of my stomach. Now I started to really get worried because I just lost all of the energy and water that I would need. If I couldn't replace it I would be screwed because I still had to get off the mountain.
The trip down was slow. We finally got back to Anderson Pass and I was feeling a little better, but I was shaky. I knew I needed calories, but the thought of eating made me sick. Finally we stopped and I took a gel and an S-Cap. They stayed down. We made our way across the Anderson basin to the plateau where we finaly met back up with Matt. On our way up the plateau I started feeling really sick again. When we got to the top I felt like I was going to puke again, so I layed down right on the side of the mountain. I closed my eyes and started to drift in and out of sleep. I thought I was having a conversation with Matt, but I was really in a dream like state. finally the guys got cold and as the sun started to rise they told me to get moving. I got up and felt a little better, but still didn't have much energy. I just kept moving.
Just before Gunsight Pass it started to get light and I could see Davy coming over the pass to us. I just about had a serious fall just below the icy snow field after I slipped on some solid black ice that I couldn't see. I almost took a serious tumble down the steep slope. I was able to grab a small bush and stop my fall. I greeted Davy and he looked tired, but I am sure I looked worse. I told him he was going to be the first to do a double and it seemed to perk him up. We wished each other well and I actually ran a few steps back to Gunsight Pass. I was feeling a touch better.
Below Gunsight we stopped at the spring to fill our water. I was out. I had started with 70 ounces (probably about 40 went out with my puke below the summit). I also took some shot blocks, but almost puked after two, so I didn't push my luck. I did however feel a lot better and I actually started running again. I was surprised how good I felt. After about a mile we ran into the first group of hikers heading to the summit and they were surprised to see us. They were also surprised we had already been to the top.
The run out went surprisingly well. My legs felt fresh and as I re-gained my energy I could run faster. I was still slow, but I kept a good pace most of the way back to Elk Horn crossing. I was able to get a few gels in me and it seemed to help. From Elk Horn to the finish I still felt pretty good, but I did get a stomach cramp that nagged me most of the way. We kept looking for the Quest for Kings runners because we knew that they would be passing us. We had already passed 3 early starters. With about two miles left Aaron K. and Faceless Ghost came cruising up the trail with another runner I didn't recognize. They were moving fast.
The last few miles were hard, but I actually felt pretty good. My legs were not sore. More than anything I was tired. We stopped and talked to Kim who was also doing Q4K for a few minutes and Matt ran ahead finishing about 5 minutes before us. We finished in 10:27 which was a full two hours slower than my time from last year. All of us felt like we could do another lap, but we knew it would be brutal and slow. We would have had to do it very fast because of time commitments, so we decided it wasn't going to happen. I took a brief nap in the front seat of my car and then we decided to go home.
Even though we didn't get the double I had a great time. We had a lot of laughs and got to do something very few people will ever do. If we ever try a double again we will get some sleep and start early in the a.m. which will allow us to do both summits during the daylight hours. Doing the technical portion in the dark was just really tedious and slow. I learned a lot on this run. I was happy that I was able to rebound and run out the last 10 miles. Jsh and Matt were both very strong and it was good to be out there with them. Now I want to go back and try it again.
Also congrats to Aaron Kennard for winning the Q4K marathon with an incredible 4:47 time and congrats to Crockett who finished the first ever double of Kings. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 4400.00 | Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 26.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo lunch run on my favorite TM (Mt. Wire).
I wanted to get out and get some elevation today and couldn't pass up this weather, so I took my lunch break and ran/hiked Mt Wire. I felt great the whole way and didn't have any soreness from my run up Kings Peak on Saturday. It was pretty hot, but it didn't bother me at all.
The last time I did Wire I saw a rattle snake, so today I had snakes on my mind. I was watching the trail closer than normal and kept waiting to see one sunning on the trail. At one point the trail was overgrown and I was intently looking for snakes and a grouse jumped out inches from my foot scaring the crap out of me and causing a few choice words out of my mouth. That really put me on edge.
I pushed pretty hard at times and ran where I could reaching the summit in 45 minutes. I didn't stay long. I ran pretty fast all the way down only stopping to water the bushes and check some work email. Total time including all breaks: 1:11.
PM update- I went to the gym and lifted (upper body/core) for an hour. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Solo run on the Dimple Dell gully trail.
I took my lunch break and ran the whole gully trail from the park near the Trax station in Sandy all the way to the top and back. It was very hot, so I took my shirt off and enjoyed the sun. The first mile was a little sluggish, but after that I felt great. I filled my handheld at the bathroom/drinking fountain just past 13th east on the way up and down. I took a gel at the top and then had a quick pace until about a mile left where I bonked a bit and slowed down. I didn't eat much for breakfast and it was catching up to me. It seems like most of my runs lately have been in the afternoon during the heat of the day and I can tell I am getting used to it. The heat didn't bother me at all.
Total time: 1:33 |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 10.00 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 780.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.50 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I did my old two mile neighborbood loop that I used to run when I first started running a few years ago. The first mile is downhill and the other half back up.
Horrible run. Sluggish, lethargic, no energy, no legs. Pathetic. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 200.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I did another solo lunch run up Mt. Wire today. It was really hot, but the heat isn't bothering me at all. I pushed on everything that wasn't too steep. 44 min up and 1:09 total time. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Up early to lift at the gym. It was dead in there. 50 minutes of core/upper body work. I will fight the urge to climb Wire today. |
| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Hobble Creek Half (13.1 Miles) 01:35:45 | |
I met Adam and Julie at 5:00 am and they drove me to the bus pick up where we ran into Lily and their friend Monica. We were dropped off a full hour before the race started. It was cold, but not too bad. After the POP lines got too big I used the woods and was shocked with what I saw. Haha!
I don't have much experience with racing this distance and I have done zero speed work this year, so I wasn't really sure how I would do or what my strategy would be. I decided to just run as fast as I could without getting my heart rate up too high. Just find a comfy quick pace and see what happens. That pace happened to be between 7:20 and 7:40 most of the race. I did go into the 6's on the down hills, but never pushed. Another goal I had was to never let my pace go into the 8's and I was very successful with that one even on the hills. I really had a great time running this race. I never felt fatigued and I just enjoyed watching and chatting with other runners along the way.
At about mile 11 there are a few hills and I loved powering up them and passing quite a few runners. The last two miles I passed 25-30 people and I think the only person that passed me was Julie's husband Adam. He was moving well. The last mile I picked it up running in the 6's and even sub 6 at the end. I definitely had much more in the tank when I finished and I think I could have gone faster, but I did not want to bonk and flame out with a few miles left, so I think I did the right think by not pushing too hard. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 13.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym for an hour. I had a great workout (core/upper body) lifting at the gym. I mixed it up a bit tonight and my arms are so sore and tired. There has been a core group of guys the last few years that lift on Monday nights and I think I am the last one left. One guy that has been lifting with me for the last 3+ years has dropped off in the last month. He usually has 2-3 guys with him, but they have all dropped off as well. I'm sure it will pick back up in a few months.
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Wasatch 100 course (Lambs aid to Brighton) with Jun and Adam H.
We met at 4:15 am at the BCC PNR and after dropping off cars at Brighton we had an incident with some longboarders that had crashed coming down the canyon. Two young guys that were both bloody and dazed. One of them looked much worse than the other and kept complaining that he was going to die. We drove them to the 7-11 at the mouth of the canyon where they called some friends to come take them to the hospital. They were not wearing any protective gear and didn't have headlamps. Dumb! They are lucky to be alive.
We started at the Lambs Canyon aid area for the Wasatch 100. None of us had run this section of the course and it was really fun. After 1.6 miles up Lambs we took the trail on the right that would take us up and over the pass to Millcreek canyon. The sun came up about half way up the climb and it was beautiful in there. It was a touch overgrown, but not too bad. At the pass we had a good solid run down to the canyon road at Elbow Fork and then we all grabbed a quick snack while we headed up the canyon to Upper Big Water. We ran most of the canyon road and only hiked the steepest sections.
The trail from Upper Big Water to Dog Lake is very pretty and in great shape. We hiked most of the steeper sections and ran where we could. After Dog Lake we knew we had to get some water, so we hit the spring just below the trail junction to Desolation Lake. We all filled up our water and I got into some stinging nettle, which bothered me for about the next hour. The trail up to Desolation is steep and tough. We were all feeling it at this point. We were not moving fast.
We reached the crest and decided to bag Desolation Peak. Why not? On the summit we took a few peak jumping photos and then headed back to the trail. From there we ran most of the way back to the base of Scott Hill. Jun got ahead and was waiting for us. We stopped there and took a break and Adam and I decided we were going to climb Scott Hill and Jun had to get back, so he took off while we took a few minutes to eat some real food (granola bar, Powerbar, Fritos).
From this point on it seemed like Adam and I were climbing up. We went up Scott Hill and then after dropping down and losing some elevation we had to climb back up to the ridge to Guardsman Pass. From here we were off the W100 course and decided to climb as many peaks as we could on the Brighton ridge run. Adam was out of water, so we would have to bum some off of hikers if we wanted to do anything serious because it was very hot. We did find a few nice hikers that let us have some water, but the steep climb up to peak 10,420 and Clayton Peak was taking a lot out of us. The sun was beating down most of the time and it was a tough climb with 20+ miles and several thousand feet of elevation already on our legs. We really slowed down a lot. When we reached the summit of Clayton I ran out of water and Adam had about 16 ounces left, so we knew that we were done. That would barely get both of us back to the car and if we didn't see anyone with water we would be screwed if we tried to go further, so we decided to call it a day. We made our way back to the saddle and then ran the road back to the car that was parked in the Brighton parking lot.
We finished with 4 peaks, 8311 feet of elevation gain and just under 24 miles. I also got to run about 20 more miles of the W100 course. I really can't imagine a race course being any tougher than this one. It's coming quick. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 23.60 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 8311.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 3.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 3.50 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I ran the Temple Quarry (Little Cottonwood) trail today. It was pretty hot and muggy and the skies looked a little dark. By time I got up to the top I heard some thunder and lightning in the distance and when I got back to my car it was getting close. My legs felt better than I thought they would afer all of the elevation yesterday. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 700.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Dimple Dell Gully trail- Solo lunch break run.
I was meeting my dad for lunch a few minutes from the gully trail, so I figured I would go get in some miles since I would be right there. I left the ipod in the car and just had an enjoyable run. There was a cloud blocking the sun for the first mile and the weather was great, but as soon as the cloud moved on it became very hot, but it didn't bother me much. I ran 3.5 miles up and then turned around. I stopped at the bathroom to fill up my bottle and pee and then cruised in the last few miles. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 7.00 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 500.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 152.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I wanted to do a little more heat training, so I went out just before 4:00 pm and the temp was 98 degrees. The first mile was a little sluggish, but I got into a good groove and ran the Alpine hwy 3 miles out and then back. The last two I felt really good and pushed the pace.
Every mile this week had hills, heat or both. Now I'll kind of taper things off until Wasatch. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. I worked my upper body/core. I spent a good amount of time on the pull up bar and I was pretty worked when I finished. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 153.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Pfeifferhorn summit run with Jun.
This is one of my favorite peaks in the Wasatch and I have never run to the summit before and I was excited to see how fast I could get up there. Jun and I hung together for about the first mile. He told me that he was going to stay with me to the top and then blast the downhill. That didn't last long. At the Red Pine fork he pulled away. I could see him up ahead for the next mile, but after that I was by myself. I ran as much of the trail as I could, but there are some steeper sections that I hiked.
The trail was still wet on occasion and there were a few places that had running water on them. It is normally completely dry by now, but it wasn't serious. I reached Red Pine Lake in 52 minutes, but I didn't see Jun and thought maybe he was flying because I didn't see him going up the headwall either. I made good time moving up the headwall, but I was amazed at how fast MattVS had done it last week as I was using his split as a reference to where I wanted to be. When I was almost to the ridge I saw Jun coming up from below me. He had gone off route and it cost him about 10 minutes of time.
The ridge to the summit has a few spicy sections. It is class 3 with some good exposure. Jun went ahead while I took some pics and then when I crossed I got into some tricky scrambling and actually had to make a lower 4th class move with some exposure. This ridge should never be climbing and if it ever feels like it you're off route. It slowed me a bit and soon I was grinding my way up the face to the summit. Jun shouted some encouragement "Hey, get your old nuggets up here, there is a dark cloud moving in", so I pushed it up pretty good and made it to the summit in 1:58. Not as fast as I wanted to go, but I think a pretty good time. We didn't stay long.
Jun was moving very fast down the face and then over to the ridge and I lost sight of him pretty quickly. I made it back over the ridge and it was much easier this time as I avoided the section I had been in on the way up. Back at the saddle I took a faint trail back down, then crossed over a snow slope and then slowly made my way down to the lake. I kept thinking about turning an ankle or twisting my knee, so I just took it much slower to be safe. I actually fell twice going down the slope, once right into some stinging nettle and another time into a thorn bush. Back at the lake I took a break to dump the rocks out of my shoes and take a gel.
The run down was tough. My knees were sore and I didn't want to go too fast. The trail is pretty technical and I just don't want to risk getting injured. Even though I wasn't running fast I still slipped on a rock and took a hard fall. Luckily I fell into some soft bushes and it wasn't that bad.
With a mile to go I could finally pick up the pace and I ran pretty solid back to the car. Jun met me a few minutes from the trailhead and we ran in together. He had beaten me down by almost an hour. Wow! He was really cruising. I had an incredible time on one of my favorite mountains. I'm really impressed with the times that Matt and Jun had. This trail is very difficult and steep with a lot of technical sections. Props to both of them. Here are a few pics. Jun also added some good ones:
There is still snow up there. Upper Red Pine Lake.
Jun running on the ridge.
Approaching the 3rd class scramble with the Pfeifferhorn looming.
Jun scrambling across the ridge.
Jun on the summit.
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| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.50 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 3900.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo run on the Temple Quarry trail (Little Cottonwood).
I wanted to get in an easy run with a little elevation and this was the perfect trail. It is a gradual uphill climb all the way to the top. I just had a nice easy pace on the way up and then the way down it was tough to keep it easy. I kept creeping into the low 7's even though I was trying to keep it at an 8:30 pace to save my legs. This is a fun trail to run down. I won't be doing any more elevation until Wasatch next week. I'll resist all urges to run up Mt. Wire. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 5.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 700.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. Worked upper body/core. I had a solid workout. Still in taper mode. I'll probably run a few miles tomorrow just to shake off the rust. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Easy run at the gym on the track to stay loose. I started at a nice easy pace, but got into a good groove and then my friend John joined me for the last few miles and we kept it around 8:15. Everything feels really good and it made me want Friday to get here so I can get on the trail. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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No running today. I figured I better be well rested and I want my legs to be fresh. I did wake up this morning with a slight cold (first one of the year). I am taking Emergen-C and it doesn't seem serious.
Drop bags and crew bags are ready. I know this race is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. I'm excited. Thanks for your support everyone. I hope to see several of you out there. If you have any interest on tracking the runners the Wasatch100 site will be tracking and updating our progress. I think the link will be on the main page or on the bulletins page.
http://www.wasatch100.com/
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Wasatch 100 (100 Miles) 32:45:44, Place overall: 116 | |
The Wasatch 100 has been a goal of mine for a long time. Even before I started running I had a few friends that had run it and I always thought one day I would like to be in good enough shape to do it. After having a very good running year in 2010 and making a lot of progress I felt like I was getting closer to my goal, although I knew I wasn't ready yet. I decided to put in for Wasatch and if I got in I would train as hard as I could to get ready by race day in September. When they announced the results of the lottery in February I was both excited and extremely worried. Having previously done several long adventure days in the mountains I knew that Wasatch would be a killer and I wasn't ready, but I would do everything possible to get there by race day.
I put a training plan in place and over the next 7 months I did just about everything I wanted to do. I increased my weekly mileage by 15-20 miles and more importantly increased the difficulty of the miles I was running. I tried to do a minimum of 5k feet of weekly elevation gain and do as much mountain running as I could fit into my schedule. Tough mountain miles, more miles and a monthly 30+ mile run. I did have an achilles injury that slowed me down a lot in June, but I was able to keep running and for the most part get over it. I also wanted to run as much of the course as possible before race day and I was able to run over 60 miles of the course. This was great training for me, but it also scared the hell out of me because I started to see just how tough this course is.
The night before the race I was a nervous wreck. Even though I had trained hard I knew this race would be a killer and I just didn't know how my body would perform. I had never run over 50 miles before and the elevation gain/loss in this race is more than double anything I had ever done in a day. I was worried and my friends could tell. Dorsimus invited several guys that were either running or pacing over for a pre-race BBQ and then Crockett and I would be staying there because he lives only a few miles from the start. It was really fun hanging out and chatting with everyone and hearing war stories and talking about the course, but I was really nervous. I only got about 2 hours of sleep and at 3:30 am I woke up and started getting ready.
Dorsimus drove us to the start where we met Aaron Kennard, MatthewVS, Steve Young and his pacer. The weather was perfect. We chatted and took a few pictures and after nervously waiting for about 25 minutes the countdown started and we were off. I was wearing my hydration vest and carried 5 gels and 55 ounces of water. The first mile was really crowded although you could pass it was tough. I did move ahead of quite a few slower runners and I was feeling pretty good except for a small stitch in my side. The trail becomes a single track and this made it more difficult to pass. I was getting stuck behind big groups that were content to run at a slow pace. Eventually I was able to get ahead of a lot of the slower runners and settled in with a good group about my speed around mile 3. We seemed to stay together for the next several miles as we climbed up the steep trail to the Chinscraper summit. I spent the next hour or so mentally preparing myself for what was to come as I steadily grinded my way up the mountain. The group I was with didn't talk much and at about mile 7 I finally turned on my ipod. The higher we got the more the wind was blowing and I was worried that it would be bad up on the ridge tops.
When we passed Cool Springs a few from our group stopped to fill their bottles, but I still had plenty of water so I kept going. I was feeling really good and the climb up to the top of the Chinscraper was a lot of fun. I reached the top with about 4-5 other runners. The views are impressive, but I didn't take much time to enjoy them and got into a nice steady running pace across the mountain slope. I was now running with a guy from Pasadena California and we chatted for the next few miles until the trail crested the ridge again where we got blasted with the wind. For the next few miles you run along and around the ridge top and the wind pounded us pretty good. I was really hoping that it wouldn't be like this all day or it would have been miserable. I also noticed some dark clouds moving in from the west and thought it could be a sign of thunderstorms later in the afternoon and it made me nervous.
At around mile 12 I was surprised to pass Crockett. He was just off the trail and making some kind of gear adjustment. I said Hi and kept going. He passed me around Grobbens Corner and I stopped to fill up my water and then we ran near each other for the next mile as we passed Francis Peak and then ran the road down to the Francis Peak aid station at mile 18.7. I really opened it up running down the road and my pace was in the 7's for about 3 miles and it felt good to push things a little. I arrived at the aid station feeling good, but I wanted to make sure I was hydrated and had plenty of energy. I also had several things I needed to take care of. I drank a Cytomax that I had in my drop bag, put on sunscreen and my sunglasses, wiped off my face and ate some salted potatoes, a few fig newtons, some fritos and then took a bunch of grapes that I could eat as I walked. It wasn't a quick stop, but I wanted to stay energized. One of the volunteers filled up my hydration pack for me and I was a little worried about it getting sealed up, but I forgot to check it and it ended up leaking at took me a few minutes to stop and fix it about a mile down the trail.
I walked for a few minutes while I finished the grapes and then I slowly got back into a running pace. My stomach was now a bit upset because I had eaten a lot and I wasn't in a good groove at all. I grinded away for the next few miles running alone. I never did feel great, so I didn't try to push things. I came to the place where Twinkies, MattVS and I had been lost about a month ago and I knew right where to go this time, although there were nice flags to follow unlike the day we were there. I crossed the river and from here the trail climbs about a thousand feet up to the Bountiful B aid station. I started getting hot and the trail was atrocious. It was very overgrown and it seemed muggy and I started to feel sick. I was hot and sweating a lot and lost my mojo. I just tried to keep going and was hopeful that I would get my energy back. I immediately took an S-Cap and a gel and tried to drink as much water as I could. I think about 7-8 runners passed me here and it was really demoralizing. It was the first time the thought that I might not finish entered my head. I quickly sent it away and just tried to grind.
I have never been so happy to see an aid station as I was to see the Bountiful B. I got a slight boost of energy and as I got closer I could see my good friend MattVS waiting for me and giving me some encouragement. It was great to see him and it instantly lifted my spirits. He grabbed me some salty potatoes and a Gu brew and after a few minutes of chatting he wished me luck and I was back on the trail. That really helped me a lot and my mood was looking up. About 10 seconds out of the aid station I just about threw up and it took me a minute or two to keep it down while I walked up the trail. I met a guy from Alaska who was also doing his first 100 and we chatted and ran together for about the next 30 minutes. There was a construction project on the dirt road that we were running and there were 4-5 construction trucks that passed us kicking up a lot of dust. There were a few other runners that we passed and talked with and I started feeling much better and got into a pretty good running pace again.
I ran into the Sessions Lift off aid station (mile 28.2) and a volunteer asked if she could fill my water up and I was apprehensive about this the rest of the race, but I just made sure to check it every time. I gave her my pack and then grabbed a PB&J and some more potatoes. A friend of mine Jeremy came into the aid station and we chatted for a few minutes and then decided to get going together. Going out of the aid is a pretty tough climb and we tried to keep a decent pace up the hill while we talked. After about 15 minutes he found another gear and pushed it ahead and I was again by myself for a while. It is about 6 miles to the next aid station. The trails were steep and tough, but some of the most incredible I have ever been on. Running on the back side of Grandview Peak was incredible. I ran with another group of 3-4 guys for a few miles and it was definitely better than running alone. It started to get really hot and I just tried to focus on drinking and taking salt and making sure I was on top of taking gels. The next 3-4 miles were really hot and draining.
The Swallow Rocks aid station was definitely a sight for sore eyes. I was a bit dehydrated and I ended up taking quite a lot of time there eating and drinking and making sure I was energized. I ate a lot and drank 3-4 cups of Gu brew. I was feeling much better and I took a root beer popsicle as I walked out of the aid station. It tasted amazing. I quickly found my running mojo again and the next several miles I kicked it into gear. I found a really good pace and I was even running the hills. I passed several people and my mood really imporoved and I noticed a smile back on my face. I was also getting excited because the next aid stop I would get to see my crew and get to have a pacer the rest of the way.
As I descended into the Big Mountain aid (mile 39) I noticed that my toe nails were starting to get slightly sore. I was a little worried about it and decided to change my shoes at Big Mountin. About a half mile away I could hear the cowbell and I really got excited. When I finally came around the bend and could see the aid station below I was extremely happy. I ran into the aid and the crowd was cheering and I saw Twinkies and gave him a five. I was rushed to a scale and my pack was taken off and my crew (my wife, my friend Greg and his wife Amy) started to hover around me and ask me questions. I hadn't lost a pound which was great news. My crew got me over to a chair and started to go to work. It was a bit confusing, but eventually they got me some food and more Cytomax and then my crew chief Greg gave me an incredible leg massage. It was great to see my wife there and she gave me some encouragement. After fixing me up I gave my wife a kiss and thanked te crew and then it was back to the trail. My pacer, Kerri was shivering and cold and I thought it was a great sign. When I was up here to run this section a month ago it was hot and I knew that we were getting lucky with the weather. Kerri is a good friend of my wife. She is a very fast marathon runner and I was excited to have someone with me. We started off hiking up the semi-steep grade and I was feeling really good. My spirits were high and I wasn't hurting anywhere.
Kerri and I had a great time. We laughed and joked and chatted and the miles just started clicking by. When we reached the summit of Bald Mountain we stopped to snap a few pics. From here the trail gets really rocky as you run down the ridge. We passed a few runners and had a very good pace going, although we took it easy on the steep descents. We met a guy from Boston that we chatted with for a few minutes and in what seemed like no time we were coming into the Alexander Ridge aid station. They were having a beach party there and it was a fun atmosphere. I ate a PBJ sandwich, more potatoes, some chips and a brownie. I was feeling really good. We laughed and joked with the volunteers and then headed out on the grassy Rogers trail. The trail slowly climbs for a few miles and we would run wherever it wasn't too steep and then hike the steeper sections. Again the miles flew by while Kerri and I chatted and joked and laughed.
We had passed a few runners on our way up to the junction and so far nobody had passed us at all while we had moved by quite a few runners. We were now alone and we would be all the way into Lambs Canyon. For a few minutes we thought we were off the trail, but eventually we saw some flagging and knew we were where we needed to be. After a small bushwhack we were out on the trail up to the Lambs aid (mile 53) and we ran strong up the hill and got some good cheers from the crowd. Jun was there to meet me and he took off my back and hustled me over to the weigh in where I came in exactly the same as Big Mt.
My crew went to work grabbing me food and drinks and helping me change my shoes into the Hokas. It would be dark soon, so I got a headlamp and a long sleeve shirt and after a few minutes Jun and I were checking me out of the station and heading up Lambs Canyon. I was feeling really good and we had a good fast hiking pace up the hill with an occasional run when it wasn't too steep. We passed a few runners and set our sights on another group just ahead. I was feeling very good to have Jun pacing me all the way to the finish. Not only had he run every step of the last 47, but I trust his judgment more than anyone, so I new I was in good hands. We passed the next group at the Lambs trail and then climbing up the 1500 feet to Bear Bottom Pass we passed several more runners. I was feeling strong and we were having a great time. At the pass we settled into a run all the way down to Millcreek Canyon where we passed a few more groups of runners.
The climb up the Millcreek Canyon road was actually a lot of fun. Many runners talk about how they hate this section, but Jun and I were laughing and joking most of the way up. It was definitely getting colder and Jun would remind me to take a gel and an S-Cap and he seemed to always be on top of when I had my last one and when I needed to take them. Our crew passed us about 10 minutes before Upper Big Water (they had been eating Italian food down in the valley) and I was excited to see them again.
At Upper Big Water my crew sat me in a chair, put a blanket on me and started feeding me sandwiches and chicken soup. I was still feeling really good and strong and nothing was hurting at all, so I only had to focus on eating and staying hydrated. I got to talk to Dusty Haycock who is a friend and as finished Wasatch a few times. He gave me some advice and after a few minutes Jun was ready to get moving. I put on an extra long sleeve shirt and some gloves and we headed up the Upper Big Water trail to Dog Lake. Jun and I were still having a great time telling stories and laughing. It was definitely getting colder, but once we got moving it didn't feel bad at all.
We made it to Dog Lake and it was just amazing to see in the middle of the night. The descent to the trail junction was painful on my toes and I knew that at some point I was going to have to take care of them, but the next few miles would be up hill or flat so it wouldn't be a worry. The climb up to Desolation Lake was memorable. It was tough and I was getting tired, but I had Jun tell me as many inappropriate stories as he could and he obliged me with some pretty good ones. It really helped to make the time go by and soon we were making our way into the Desolation aid station (66.9) where there were several runners that were looking terrible, including the runner from Boston that Kerri and I had met earlier below Bald Mt. Jun and I were joking and laughing with the aid station volunteers and I ate some soup and Jun fed me a PBJ because my hands were full. Everyone laughed about that. The guy from Boston left and the aid station workers asked us to keep our eye on him because he wasn't doing well. We didn't want to stay there long, so we were right behind him. Jun had given me strict instructions that I couldn't sit by the fire and that I shouldn't get near it. The rest of the way he would give me instructions before every aid station, telling me what I could or couldn't do and how long we could stay etc. I really appreciated this.
On the climb up to the Crest we passed a few more runners including the guy from Boston and when we topped out on the Crest trail there were a few runners there with us that we quickly passed as well. I'm not sure what happened but all of the sudden I was feeling really good and strong and I just started running at a pretty decent pace. For the next few miles we passed more runners and most of them were hiking the rolling hills, while Jun and I were running them. I was feeling so good and had one of those runners high moments. With the moon and stars out and just being there in that moment was awesome. We ran into the Scott Hill aid station (70.7) and I was feeling pretty good. I sat down on a chair and they brought me some chicken soup while Jun took care of getting me some gels and filling up my water. I think I sat there too long because I got very cold and I kind of lost my mojo.
The descent down to Brighton was just tough. It is downhill the whole way and with each step my toe nails would hurt more and more. I tried to run but the pain was pretty sharp, so I stuck with a fast hike, well, I'm not sure how fast we were really going, but for being 70+ miles in it seemed fast. The 5 mile descent was tough and I was really happy to limp into the Brighton lodge so my crew could give me some TLC. I have to admit I was pretty out of it. I was just getting exhausted. I weighed in 4 lbs heavier than Lambs which seemed odd. My crew got me a hot sandwich, a hashbrown, half a grilled cheese and some Gu brew. I decided to change my socks and also get into my tights because it was really getting cold out there. I also had them get my trekking poles to help me on the descents because of my toes. Amy was so sweet and took care of my feet, putting some mole-skin on my toes. I also got to chat with Twinkies and Bryce for a few minutes. It was good seeing them. We took a long stop and it definitely helped a lot, but it was very hard to get out that door into the cold knowing I had to go 25 more miles.
We were moving slow up to the pass and several runners passed me. It was a little demoralizing, but Jun stayed very positive the whole time and that helped a lot. I was starting to drag and I really slowed down. The downhills were even worse because of my toes and the descent into the Ant Knolls aid station (80.2) was hell on my feet. I was slow. We got to the aid and Jun told me not to sit by the fire. I had a breakfast of sausage, hashbrowns and Coke. Yeah! I was pretty tired, but Jun got me moving again and the steep hill climb out of the aid station might be the steepest climb on the course. It is tough and it was definitely a grind. We could hear the bugle from the aid every few minutes and it made is laugh. At the top of the climb the sun started to come up. Wow! The views in every direction were pretty darn good. Even though I was feeling pretty hammered I still tried to enjoy the occasional view.
The 3 miles to Pole Line Pass were a grind and I was happy to get there. Jun got me more breakfast (pancake, eggs and Coke) and I actually fell asleep while eating, so get got me up and moving again. I fell asleep with the plate of breakfast in one hand and the Coke in the other without spilling anything. The next aid was Rock Springs (mile 87) which was 4 miles away. The scenery on this section is unreal and Jun would point out a peak or a lake and I would take a few seconds to look and think wow this is incredible up here. I would love to be up there when I was feeling fresh without hurting toes. I wasn't enjoying it as much as I normally would be. I was still able to run some, but not anything downhill. The flats and uphill were ok, but anything that went down would really hurt my toes and I tried not to complain too much about it, but it was definitely bothering me.
There were a few really tough hills to cover and eventually Rock Springs came into view and I was relieved. We stopped to eat and get more water as it was really heating up now that the sun was up. I had been dreading the next section for the last few hours because I knew that it was going to be a killer. A lot of runners complain about the "Dive" and the "Plunge" which are really steep loose sections and I knew that it would be pretty bad with my toes and I was right. The descents were painful, but the worst part is I was really slow and that was irritating as we started getting passed by more runners. I started to think that I was going to come into last place at the rate I was going and I tried to pick it up where I could, but it was tough.
The next few miles were tough. I was feeling wrecked and I just wanted the race to be over. I didn't say much and just grinded away step after step and tried to stay positive. I just wanted to get to the Pot Bottom aid station because I figured I had it in the bag if I could get there and it was such a relief to see it. I just wanted to be done, so I grabbed a drink and a banana and finished them off as quickly as possible and was on my way. Jun was still eating and told me he would catch up and it didn't take him long to do that. The next two miles are a steady climb on a dirt road and my feet actually welcomed the uphill. Jun prepared me well for what was coming up on every section and he told me exactly what was coming our way and I was dreading it. 3 miles of descent on a loose rocky road. It wasn't great, but at that point all I could think about was that I was actually going to make it. I was going to finish the Wasatch 100 and even the painful toes couldn't keep my mood from looking up. A few more runners passed me because I couldn't go fast and that was frustrating because I still had some juice left in my legs and I could have really gone a lot faster if my toes weren't on fire.
After the loose road we were on a nice single track trail that drops you out right by the golf course. I was really getting excited to see my family and friends and as soon as we hit the paved road I could see my girls ahead waiting to run in the last .7 with me. Jun ran ahead to get some pictures and video of the finish and running in with my kids was awesome. They all kept telling me good job and way to go and you're awesome. It was fun. As I turned into the Homestead I could hear the crowd and the cowbells and I started to feel the emotion of everything. All of the training and all of the work and I was actually going to do it. It was an incredible feeling. I crossed the finish line with my girls and there were several friends and family there as well and I was overwhelmed with emotion. I finished, but I couldn't have done it without my incredible crew and awesome pacers. They were amazing and could not have been better. It was fun to hang out with family and good friends after the race. Bryce, Dorsimus and MattVS were there to offer me congratulations and hang out with us. It was pretty cool. My feet are wrecked. I have a few nasty blisters, but other than that I feel very good and am already thinking about putting in for the race next year. This is a phenomenal race and I don't have anything negative to say about it... well, maybe about some of the crap trail on the last 25... Ha.
Here is a link to some pictures:
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 14.00 | Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 39.00 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 26600.00 | Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 47.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 2.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 2.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I went to the gym and lifted (upper body/core) for 50 minutes. Surprisingly my legs feel pretty good, just some slight soreness in my calves and lower legs. My feet on the other hand are still very sore and a touch swollen. It will probably be at least a week before I run again. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Since I'm not running this week I wanted to get in a workout, so I lifted at the gym for 50 minutes (chest, triceps, pull ups).
My recovery is going well. I have very little soreness in my legs and I've been taking the stairs at work since Wed (I'm on the 4th floor). My toes are still very sore though and I won't be running at all this week.
Check out this video that Jun put together from the race.
Wasatch 100 vid |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights for 40 minutes (upper body/core). |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Solo climb of Mt. Wire.
It was cold and windy at the trailhead this morning, but I quickly warmed up as I made my way up the trail. My goal was not speed today, just give my legs some elevation. My legs are 100% and felt great the whole morning, but my toes are still a touch sore. I now have 3 black toe nails (both big toes and a pinky) and one of my big toes is still slightly sore. As I started to gain the ridge I could see a headlamp above me which is rare at this time of morning and I didn't see any cars at the trailhead, so I was a little surprised. Could it be MattVS?
I made decent time up the mountain, but I wasn't fast reaching the summit in 49 minutes and change. The person that was ahead of me was just off the summit and checking something out and I could hear the bugle of an elk, so I took off my ipod and watched the sun come up while listening to a bull elk bugle, stomp around and grunt. I could hear the cow calling him in and he would get really excited and let out a loud bugle and then I would hear the trees and brush crunching. It was very cool and they were only a few hundred feet away. After about 5 minutes the guy (with very pretty hair) left and I stuck around for about 5 more minutes listening to the elk. Wow! It was pretty awesome.
The descent was very slow to go easy on my toe. It might have been the slowest descent of the year, but that's ok. I had a great morning. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I went out for a run on the street after the kids went to bed. I put on The Smiths on my ipod and just started running. I ended up doing my 2 mile neighborhood loop twice. The back half has a nice long hill and I actually look forward to it. The bad news- Although my legs feel good and are not sore at all, they felt very heavy while running and I can tell they are not fully recovered from Wasatch. I'm not really sure what that means for my marathon (St. George) next week. Hopefully they will come around. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo Mt. Wire.
I started at 6:00 am. There was a cold wind and I started running from the start. After a few minutes I passed two girls that had started before me. I wanted to push the pace where I could and I ran just about everything that is not really steep. I only stopped a few times to pee and shoot snot rockets and I made it to the top in 43 minutes. Not my fastest time, but 6 minutes better than my effort on Tues. I was also much faster running down because my feet are finally feeling much better. I still have one toe that is slightly numb, but I hear that is normal after running a 100, so no worries.
Double up Umph Umph!
Lunch run up Wire. My legs were feeling so good that I wanted to get back out, so I did another run up Wire. 44 min up. It was very hot and I thought my lunch was going to make a guest starring appearance about half way up, so I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be. I spent about 2 seconds on top. No shirt and perfect weather. 1:15 RT. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 8.40 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 4360.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | weights at the gym for 75 minutes working my upper body and core. I had a really good session. I wanted to run this morning, but when I woke up I had some soreness in my foot above my ankle, so I decided to get in a good lifting session instead. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 | Weight: 151.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Easy run on the Alpine Hwy. My legs are still very heavy and I can tell they are not 100%. Most of the run was slow, but a few times I did pick up the pace into the 7's, but I wasn't feeling like holding any sort of quick pace, so I never pushed too hard. The last few miles were a grind. Hopefully I'll get my mojo back before St. George on Sat. I'll be taking it really easy this week. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for 50 minutes working upper body/core. I'll get out later today (Wed) for a few easy miles just to stretch my legs. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4 easy miles after the kids went to bed. Everything feels pretty good. I did have some slight soreness in my right ITB and my foot above the ankle was a touch sore after. I don't think either will be a problem. When I got home I rolled and stretched. Oh and the first of my 3 black toe nails popped off after I finished. The other 2 will probably go after St. George. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 152.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I went to the gym and lifted for an hour. I worked my upper body and core and I probably overdid it with the core work, as I was really sore on Fri and felt it during the marathon. Oh well. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
St. George Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:41:38 | |
Signing up for this marathon 3 weeks after the Wasatch 100 was probably not the smartest thing I have ever done, but I was really excited to go down to St. George to run this race. I love the atmosphere and it is always fun to see and chat with other runners. I stayed with my friends Robb Bladen and Cody Haycock the night before at Cody's condo and I didn't get much sleep. We were up at 4:20 and out the door at 5:00. Robb had a hook up with a friend that is a volunteer and he gave us a ride up to the start. It was nice not to have to go wait for the bus. We got there 45 min before the start and we looked for the shortest POP line we could find which was pretty far from the start. By time we got out the gun went off. We hoped to be as close to the start as we could, but we ended up being 6 minutes behind the gun in a huge crowd that was not moving fast.
The first few miles were frustrating because we were stuck in the massive crowd that was not moving fast. This cost us at least a few minutes of time trying to move around and we actually ran a lot of the first two miles off the road in the dirt trying to get through. We passed Smooth and Toby and said hello at some point in there. :) After a few miles it thinned out just enough that we were finally able to pass much easier and we spent the next few miles at about a 7:15 pace passing several runners. We were laughing and joking the whole time and having a lot of fun. I decided to carry my handheld water bottle, so that I could stay hydrated and I am glad I had it. I also noticed an annoying stitch in my side that would dog me for at least 10 more miles.
At mile 5 I took a gel and the temps still seemed really good to me and we kept up the 7:00-7:20 pace to Veyo. So far I was feeling really good, but going up the hill Cody asked me for an S-Cap, so I got one for all three of us and then while I was putting them back into the pocket on my bottle the guys put a small distance on me. I tried to catch them going up the hill, but they picked up their pace and I wasn't able to keep up. At the top of the hill I picked up my pace to try and keep up but I never saw them again. I turned on my ipod and ran alone the rest of the way.
At about mile 10 I noticed that my legs were very fatigued. Not only were they tired, but they hurt a lot. This is not normal for me 10 miles into a run and I knew it was going to be a total grind the rest of the way. I had been hoping to run a 3:30, but I started to think that maybe it wouldn't happen for me. I made up my mind that I was going to run as hard as I could no matter what and see what happened.
I loved having my handheld bottle. It allowed me to run through every aid station and I never stopped to walk once the whole race. I would just take off the lid and then grab 2-3 cups of water to dump in at each aid station. Sometimes it was frustrating because the small cups would only be about 1/3 full, but usually I could get what I needed without slowing down too much. Last year I wasted so much time walking through the aid stations to drink. I also think it helped me to be better hydrated, although my stomach was sloshing quite a bit and it was annoying.
From about mile 15 on my legs hurt really bad. They have never ached like that during a run before. I kept noticing my pace getting worse and each time I really had to push to keep it down. It was tough. The worst part is by mile 18 after most of the hills my legs were so wrecked that I couldn't push the downhills at all. I don't think this marathon is easy at all.
When we finally started to make our way out of the canyon I was relieved that this was almost over, but at the same time I was dreading the last 3-4 miles. Luckily the heat never bothered me the whole race. I have been running in much hotter temps all summer so I never felt like it was bad. I knew my 3:30 wasn't possible, but I still wanted to give it everything I had and I am happy with the way I finished. I kept a solid pace in the 8's the last 3 miles. I didn't enjoy anything about the last 3 and I think they are as tough as any miles I have ever run. I wanted the race to be over. I just wanted to be done and I kept thinking I am never doing this race again. Ever.
When I finally made the last turn and saw the finish I was a little demoralized because it looked so much farther than I had remembered it from last year. I did pick up my pace and just grinded to the finish. When I stopped the pain in my legs was severe. I somehow made it over to the grass where I crashed behind two girls and rolled around in pain for about 10 minutes. Then I heard someone say "Hey Kelli, how did you do?" and I looked up to see I had been lying right behind Kelli and another blogger (can't remember her name). Kelli was so nice and went and got me two Diet Coke's and offered to go get me whatever I wanted. What a life saver!!! Thanks Kelli! Not only were my legs really hurting, but now my stomach was feeling sick and the Coke really helped to settle it. I could not have walked over there myself. After about 30 minutes I could finally stand, but it really hurt. My legs didn't even hurt this much after Wasatch.
I did PR by 10 minutes, but I can't say that I am happy with that at all. I know I can run faster and that is frustrating, but I can't blame anyone but myself for the lack of marathon training that I have done this year. I did have a great time though and got to see a lot of bloggers. Congrats to everyone for finishing. Congrats to Rad who was sicker than a dog and still gutted out a finish. I really am not sure if I like the SGM. I'll have to think about it for a while. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 26.20 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 3.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 3.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 50 minutes in the gym lifting weights. I worked my upper body/core. One of my friends brought a medicine ball and we did some new core/arms stuff that really worked me. My legs are still a little sore from the marathon, but they are feeling a lot better today, so I'll probably hit the elliptical later. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo Mt. Wire. I was hoping to beat the storm that is moving into the Wasatch front and at the trailhead it was warm with not much wind. I wanted to just do a nice and easy recovery climb, but I was feeling really good and I ended up running a lot more than I had planned. My quads have a touch of soreness, but other than that my legs feel pretty good. I think climbing Wire is perfect for recovery.
There was a girl ahead of me and I caught up and passed her just before the first saddle. Some dark clouds were moving in and the wind started to pick up, so I picked up my pace and pushed it where I could.By time I reached the last saddle it was raining and blowing and the darker clouds were getting closer. Just before I got to the first towers the wind became fierce and the temperature had dropped 20+ degrees from the start, so I put on an extra long sleeve shirt as I ran up the summit ridge. The only positive is the wind was at my back and it made the final push a lot easier.
I reached the summit in 42 minutes and didn't even stop. I just turned around to head down and got blasted by the wind. It was really blowing and now there was sleet mixed in. I ran for about 10 seconds and couldn't take the pounding any more, plus I couldn't even get in a breath, so I had to turn my head to breathe and then used both hands to protect my face from the stinging sleet. I just started laughing. Once I was off the summit ridge the wind calmed down a little, but the rain picked up and just got progressively worse the rest of the way down. I had a few annoying rocks in my shoes, but I didn't want to stop and mess with them, so I just ran all the way down. I was completely soaked at the finish. Total time 1:10 |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour (Chest, shoulders, arms, lats). I worked out with some friends and had a really good session. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I didn't get a chance to run until late, so I ended up on the treadmill for the first time in about 4 months. It was awful. I had no energy and my legs were a bit heavy, but more than anything I just loathe the TM. It is very hard for me to run on it. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I had a very busy day going to football games and family parties, so once again I had to settle for the TM. My legs felt better, but I still didn't enjoy it. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo Mt. Wire
I wanted to get up early and run Lake Mountain, but I wasn't feeling it this morning, so I decided to do Wire instead. No wind at the start and temps were almost perfect. It took me a few minutes to get going fast because I was messing with my ipod, but as soon as I got the tunes going I picked up my pace. I passed a girl that was running/hiking and as soon as the ridge came into view I could see someone almost to the first saddle, so I decided to push harder to catch them.
I ran as much as I could and when my heart rate would get really high I would switch to a power hike. I was slowly making up ground on the person ahead of me, but I could tell that they were moving pretty fast as well.
At the second saddle I was just a few minutes back, so I knew I would catch them, but I could now see that the person was running every step. I ran/power hiked up to the towers and now I was only about 20 seconds behind. It looked like an older lady, but she was moving well. I ran the ridge and could have passed her, but decided to hang back and reached the summit a few steps after her. My time was just a few seconds over 40 minutes. I had hoped to go under 40, but just missed it. We chatted for a few minutes and she was the nicest lady named Fran, my new hero. She looks to be about 70, but is in tremendous shape and she says she runs Wire a few times per week. I love her already. She normally runs up there a little later than I do, but we were both surprised we hadn't seen each other before. After a few minutes I wished her well and took off down the mountain. The run down was fun and my total time was 1:09
PM- Weights at the gym for 50 minutes. I worked chest and arms with some friends and then worked my shoulders, lats and core on my own. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.20 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Sweet run on the Draper Bosho with Jun, Dorsimus and Brent. We had a really fun run just chatting away and enjoying the nice temps. At times we went very casual and then other times Jun put his foot on the gas and charged ahead. Mostly though it was a nice pace and I really enjoyed it. The fall colors were outstanding on the mountain side. My legs were a bit tired after the finish but I felt very good. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 6.30 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 733.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mt. Wire with Jun and MattVS. Peak #60 for the year.
It was cold and breezy at the trailhead when we started at 5:50 this morning. Jun and VS took off fast and I was content not to blow my wad right out of the gate. After it was pretty clear that I wouldn't be running right with them I spent a minute finding some good music on the ipod and settled into a good pace. I wasn't too far back, but Jun was pushing it a bit. By time we reached the ridge I was at least a minute back and by time I got to the first saddle Jun was easily a few minutes ahead with VS just behind him.
At the second saddle Jun was about half way up the final slope and VS was still a few minutes ahead of me. I had a decent pace, but I wasn't pushing as hard as I should have been. Lazy! At the towers the boys passed me on their way down and I finally reached the top just after 46 minutes. I was slow going down. I took my time and made sure I didn't fall. I was very surprised that I couldn't see the guys when I was heading down the steep ridge to the first saddle. I saw a light below that was stopped and I figured it was VS taking a break, but it turned out to be a random hiker that I passed just after the first saddle.
The run down was fun but not fast. I was content to take it easy and enjoy the run. Jun waited for me to make sure I wasn't attacked by a cougar, but we didn't see any older ladies up there today. Jun was flying down and just missed coming in less than one hour round trip. That is FAST. |
| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 4.40 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I woke up early to get in a workout at the gym before work. I worked my upper body/core. My triceps and delts were still slightly sore from Monday which was surprising, so I took it easy on them. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Grandeur Peak loop with Jun, Dorsimus and MattVS.
This is one of my favorite training runs. I met the guys at 7:00 am at the west ridge trailhead. Well, I met Jun and Dors, but Matt was nowhere to be found. His car was there so we speculated about where he was and after about 10 minutes we decided to start and he came running down the trail. Dealing with a case of insomnia he decided to get up early and do a lap to the summit and then meet us for round two. Awesome.
It was pretty windy to start and after about 10 minutes it was calm and warm as we made our way up the ridge. Jun went out a little faster and I spent most of the time on the way up with Dors with Matt not far behind. We reached the summit in 1:11 and took a break to snap some pics and I had a gel. Jun had to go back down because of time constraints, but we continued on down the Church Fork trail to the Pipeline. The fall colors are at a peak right now and the trail was absolutely unreal. Stunning views in every direction. We ran the Pipeline at a pretty casual pace and at Rattlesnake Gulch Matt and I decided to go down to the canyon road instead of up and over the saddle following the Grandeur Fun Run trail. MattVS looked a little disappointed that we weren't going up. Come on Matt, you already had almost 7K in elevation gain on the day. He is definitely a vert whore (one of the reasons I love the guy).
The run down Rattlesnake was fast and fun, but unfortunately we didn't see the Millcreek flasher to the dismay of everyone. We ran down the canyon road and then back to our car at a pretty decent pace. It was an incredible morning.
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| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 10.70 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 3300.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 154.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. I had a really good workout. I spent about half the time lifting with friends and we did some new stuff that worked me pretty good. My friend brought his big ball (medicine) again and we worked with that for a while. My favorite exercise is getting across from each other on the mat and then you throw the ball to the other guy and then do a push up. As you come up you catch the ball and then bounce it back. We did this for about 10 minutes total and my arms were wrecked. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4 miles on the TM after I got my kids to bed. The first 3 were at 8:fortyish and the last mile I did at 6:30 to mix it up. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I ran 5 on the track at the gym. I was going to take it easy, but after the first mile at an 8:40 pace I picked it up and ran the next 4 miles in 30:35. I was feeling really good and wanted to keep going, but I decided to save my legs for Friday. I'll be pacing MattVS at the Pony Express 50 for 25-35 miles, so I want to make sure I am fresh. Good luck to all of my friends that will be running out there. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym. Worked upper body/core. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Pacing/crewing MatthewVH at the Pony Express 50. I had an incredible time pacing Matt on his first ultra marathon. I got to the start about 40 minutes early and had a fun time chatting with Matt, Dorsimus, Jim Kern, Scott and Kelli, Jsh, Seth Wold and others. I would be crewing for at least the first 15 miles with Matt's dad and then pacing for the last half of the race. Matt and Seth went out fast and when we drove by at the 2 mile point they already had a pretty good lead on everyone else. I was worried that he was going out too fast and after a brief talk from the car he seemed to be feeling good, but I was still a little concerned. The next 20 miles were a lot of fun. I brought Matt's dad up to speed on what he would need and where everything was and how he would probably want it. We would meet Matt about every 4 miles and make sure he had everything that he needed. Not only was Matt running strong and smooth, but we got into a good routine so he didn't have to slow down much while we gave him hydration and fuel. I thought about jumping out to run at Simpson Springs, but Matt was still looking strong and I didn't want to break his rhythm and there would be plenty of miles left to help pace. Britta Hanel was starting to catch up and was probably only about 1/4 of a mile back when we approached Simpson, but Matt ran the hill strong and put a little more distance on her. We wouldn't see her again for almost 30 more miles. Things were going so well that I started to think that maybe I would just help crew, but I knew that the long straight stretch would be a grind, so I wanted to help take Matt's mind off of it because I thought he would probably start to get fatigued, so I decided to get out to run at mile 21. After a few miles I could tell he was slowing a bit, but he still looked pretty good and was in second place without anyone even close to threatening at that point. He hit the marathon in 3:42 and was still feeling and looking strong. We passed Smooth and I chatted with her for a few minutes. She looked great and was all smiles. The approach to Dugway Pass starts to get steep and it was here that we noticed a guy in an orange shirt moving well about 1/4 of a mile back. We started to limit our time at our aid stops and we pushed it pretty hard up the hills. Both of us put on our ipods to see if that would help. We held him off for about 4-5 miles, but on the steepest section climbing to the pass he was only about 100 yards back. I ran ahead to the crew car to get Matt some water and a bagel so he wouldn't have to stop. We did make pretty good time on the climb, but the orange shirt guy kept coming. At the top of the pass Matt let out a primal scream and I told him we needed to bomb it down the other side. His dad was there with some Coke and after a quick drink we started running down. I tried to push the pace, but I could tell he was getting fatigued and for good reason, he was almost 40 miles in and had been pushing it pretty hard the whole time. I tried to tell Matt not to worry about the other runners. I could tell it was bothering him when he got passed, which is good, but at the same time I didn't want it to demoralize him. He was running an incredible race. Orange shirt guy finally passed us about a half mile down on the other side of the pass. He was a really nice guy that eventually finished in 2nd place and he looked strong. We grinded out a few more miles and I was surprised to see Davy just ahead. I figured he was either having an off day or that he had to deal with some race issues. We finally passed him about mile 42 while he took a rest stop and within a half mile I could see Britta moving in on us again. She was looking strong and fresh and passed us running about an 8:00 min mile pace. We were both shocked at how good she looked. Matt's wife and kids showed up and I think it was a real boost for him. I think they came at the perfect time because I noticed an extra bounce in his step and his energy seemed to be picked up as well. The last 5 miles were very hard. My legs/hips/IT bands had become very fatigued and my energy was also down. I realized that I had not been paying enough attention to my own energy, so I tried to cram in as much food and salt as I could, but I was losing my appetite. The usual jokes weren't as funny as they normally are and it was just plain tough. Matt continued to grind away and never complained about anything. The .75 out and back at the finish it the worst part of the whole race. About half way down I stopped to pee and Matt got out in front and there was no way I was going to catch him, so I didn't go all the way to the turnaround spot and I was ok with that. Running in the last half mile was actually fun. We were joking and laughing and the last .2 Matt actually picked it up a lot and ran hard and fast into the finish. I wouldn't have expected anything less. His time was 8:30 and he took 4th place, pretty incredible for his first ultra. His wife, kids and dad were there to greet him and it was amazing to see. I am just glad that I was able to experience a part of it with him. I'll never forget the experience. |
| Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 29.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 5.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 5.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Lifted at the gym for an hour (upper body/core). I had an excellent workout. I felt great and strong and it was probably the best day I have had in months lifting. My legs aren't sore at all, so I'll get back at it tomorrow. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 3 miles on the TM to stretch my legs. I noticed some soreness in my right IT band, so I rolled and rubbed it out pretty good after I was done. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I ran 5 miles at the gym. AP: 8:15. I intended on taking it easy, but I got into a good rhythm and sped up after the first mile. I felt really good, but I can tell there is still some slight fatigue in my legs, so I stopped at 5. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights and core workout at the gym for 50 minutes. Acorn's 100 pull ups inspired me to see how many I could do. The sets went something like this:
15 25 22 14 9 6 7 6 5 5 4
I also did several while holding the handles and lifting my knees up to my chest. I would turn my legs to the left and then to the right. My friend taught me this and it really works your core.
Another good one is to pull yourself up so your head is above the bar with the inside of your arms facing you. Hold for 20 seconds and then do 3 quick pull ups and then try and hold above the bar as long as you can. If you can do 3 more pull ups. This really works your core and biceps. I did 4-5 sets.
I also worked my lats hard.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Solo Mt. Wire
I wanted to get some elevation gain today, so I ran up Wire. I could tell there was still some fatigue in my legs, so I took it easy on the way up hiking the steep sections. A few times I pushed it hard to get my heart rate up, but for the most part it was an easy ascent. After the second saddle the wind picked up and it was pretty cold on the summit ridge. I reached the summit in 48:00 and took a few minutes to take in the views that were incredible as always.
The run down was slow and easy and I passed two hikers on their way up. The cold wind kept blowing most of the way down. Total time 1:23. Slow. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.50 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2200.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 5 miles running on the TM. I ran easy for the first 3 and then picked it up for the final two. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Lake Mountain summit run with my dog:
I wanted a good mountain run that I could get up and down quickly and be home fairly early, so Lake was the perfect choice. I took my dog along for the fun. I started just after sunrise and I figured I would see a few hunters because it was the last day of the deer hunt in Utah. There were more cars than usual at the parking area. Actually there are never other cars, so I knew there were people already up there probably on 4 wheelers.
I ran the first mile and then settled into a nice run/hike the rest of the way up. I would hike the steepest sections and then run everything else. I passed several hunters on 4 wheelers and most of them looked at me like I was nuts. They were all bundled up in thick heavy coats and warm gear and I had on a long sleeve shirt and shorts. I made pretty good time and reached the summit in a sweaty 1:07. I took a gel and checked out the amazing views for a few minutes and then ran back down.
The run down is my favorite part and I love running fast down this mountain. It gives me an adrenaline rush every time. I took it easier on the steep rocky sections, but I was able to move fast the last 3 miles. Total time was 1:45.
I got home just in time to have a nice breakfast with my family. It was a perfect morning. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 8.70 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 3200.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. I worked my upper body and core. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Draper BST with Jun.
Jun and I ran the 10K course for the Half Pregnant Half marathon, which is a free race that Jun is putting on Sat Nov 12th. It was a touch cool, but great running weather. The trail was in near perfect condition and we had a really fun run just chatting the whole way. The views were impressive with the fall leaves covering portions of the trail. At the turnaround we stopped to take in the views and a dog that wasn't on a leash jumped up on me and humped my water bottle for a second. I didn't enjoy it. The run back was nice and easy as well. It seemed like we were only running for a few minutes, but our total time was 1:02. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 6.30 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 850.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Grandeur Peak loop with MattVS and Dragonvulture.
I was up at 4:00 am to meet the guys at the West ridge trailhead. It was cold and slightly breezy, but not too bad. The first half mile the wind was a bother, but after that we didn't notice it until the summit. We definitely didn't push it today. It was a very casual pace and we just chatted the whole way up. We saw a headlamp about .5 behind us and we thought it was Jun.
There were patches of snow and ice on the way up, but nothing serious and then the last 1/4 of a mile was completely snow covered. We hit the summit in 1:13 and decided to wait for Jun. I gagged down a gel and after 10+ minutes we were all getting really cold, so we decided to continue on. Matt went back down because of time commitments and DV and I descended into Church Fork. The trail was icy and it is steep here, so we had to really take care. DV fell once, but nothing serious. I tripped on a jagged stick and almost went down and it gave me a nasty scrape on the back of my leg.
It was slower than normal going down due to the conditions and then we missed the Pipeline turnoff in the dark and ended up going all the way to the Church Fork parking lot. It was only a few minute delay and we got back up on the Pipeline and picked up our pace. We ran the Pipeline to Rattlesnake Gulch and then went down to the canyon road.
On the canyon road we were running a 6:40ish pace down, but DV needed to get home, so he picked it up even more and left me in the dust. I dialed it down to a nice 7:40-8:20 pace back to the cars. I really enjoyed this climb/run even though most of it was in the dark and the cold wasn't too bad as long as we were moving. I had a great time and it was well worth missing a few hours of sleep. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 11.10 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 3400.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 35 minutes at the gym lifting (upper body/core) before I tweaked my back and had to stop. I had major back surgery in 2001 and used to get muscle spasms all the time. I haven't had one in a few years, but it is definitely what I have. I spent the rest of the weekend in pain. Hopefully I won't be out too long. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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My back is still very tight, but I hate not working out, so I went to the gym to see what I could do. I walked a few laps around the track and walking doesn't seem to bother it much. Then I hiked the stairs for 30 minutes and did 124 flights of stairs and I was dripping with sweat when I finished. It was a fantastic workout and didn't bother my back at all. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My back is still pretty stiff. I wanted to test it out on a nice easy run, so I did 4 on the TM. The first two were pretty slow. It seemed to loosen up a little, so I picked up the pace, but not very fast. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mt Wire with Jun. Peak #65 for the year.
Last year I set a goal to climb 52 peaks (a peak a week for the year). I came in at 57. This year I wanted to up the ante a bit so I set the goal for 65. I knew I could reach my goal, but I am a little surprised I finished so soon, especially considering I didn't climb anything in June because of my achilles issues. I have had a lot of great times with incredible friends. I've seen some amazing sunrises and a lot of wildlife along the way. Nothing starts my day better than watching the sun come up on top of a peak. Now I just need to come up with another goal for next year. I have a few ideas.
As for the climb. Well, it was probably the slowest one of the year for me. We took it really easy because my back is still pretty tight. It actually felt ok the last half up to the summit, but it started to get really tight on the way down, so we ran (more like a slow shuffle) very easy all the way down.
We did see a herd of elk just below the summit and it was cool watching them just after the sun came up. We took the shortcut on the way up and down which I haven't done in a while, so that cut off about a half mile. My back is still stiff and sore, so I won't be doing anything tough for at least a few more days. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 3.80 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I wish I could have run the HPHM but my back is still tight and it wouldn't have been good. I did take my fam to the bbq though. We had a great time with some really good friends. Thanks to Dorsimus and Jun for putting it on.
I did attempt a TM run, but only went two miles. They were slow. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I stretched my back for about 20 minutes and then walked on the TM for a half mile and it seemed to loosen it up, so I decided to see how far I could run. The first mile was slow, but I just increased the speed every mile. By mile 4 I was feeling really good and had no pain at all in my back. I could have run more, but I didn't want to tweak anything, so I stopped at 4 miles. My back was a little tight after, but seems to be getting better. I should be running without pain again soon. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My back is still tight, but it is definitely improving, so I decided to go to the gym and see what I could do. I lifted for about 40 minutes (arms, chest, shoulders). I was very careful to isolate each muscle and I used a lot less weight than I normally would. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't be using my back muscles for anything. It worked. I was able to work pretty much everything I normally do except for my core. Then I ran the stairs for 20 minutes and I was dripping when I finished. That is a really good workout. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My back is still tight, but getting better. I did 4 easy miles on the TM after everyone was in bed. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I had a nice early morning hike/run up Mt. Wire with Jun. It was cold, but once we were moving it felt pretty good. We didn't go fast and just chatted the whole way up. Up in 49:00. It was cold on top so we didn't stay long. We ran at a very casual pace all the way down talking the whole time.
A few pics:
Sunrise from the peak
Jun on the summit with SLC below
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| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 4.10 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 45 minutes of weights at the gym (upper body). My back is still tight, but I was able to get in a really good workout. I just used lighter weights and avoided my core. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | My back is finally feeling better. It isn't 100%, but feels good. I got some new Altra Lone Peaks, so I wanted to test them out. I did 5 on the TM and I really like them so far. I did the first mile at 8:45 and then pushed it up each mile to 7:00 pace for the last 1.5. |
| Altra Lone Peak Miles: 5.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 4.5 on the TM. I wasn't able to get out this weekend, so I settled for a few runs on the TM. Not optimal, but necessary. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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PM update** Weights at the gym for 45 min (chest, arms, delts, lats).
I wanted to get out for a trail run and I was near the BST by the zoo (also the Wire trailhead) so I decided to make a run up Wire in my Lone Peaks. The trail was wet, but not that muddy. About a mile up I noticed that my achilles tendons were getting tight and I could feel some tightness in my calf muscles as well, so I decided to turn around and just run on the BST. I ran to Red Butte Canyon where I stopped to take off one of my shirts. There was a misty rain, but it never got bad, but I was hotter than I expected.
On my way to Red Butte I passed a guy dressed in all black, wearing a black hat, sunglasses and a long black coat. He looked out of place and on the way back he was just sitting off the trail on some rocks staring at me. It kind of made the hair on my neck stand up. I looked back a few times, but he was just sitting there. On my way back I took a trail I had never been on before. Instead of turning down on the BST back to the car I stayed on the trail and went up the gully on the south side of Wire. The trail got pretty steep, so I turned around and ran back to the car. A few minutes after I got back it started to hail.
So far I really like the Lone Peaks. They are very comfortable and seem really incredible on the trails. I'll probably ease into them a bit until my tendons get used to the zero drop. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1300.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 6.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Bosho City Creek to Ave Twin Peaks with Jun and Dorsimus: The weather could not have been better for a run up City Creek Canyon to the BST and up to the Ave Twin Peaks that overlook Salt Lake City. Jun was a machine today running all of the hills including the steep ones. I tried to keep Dors in my sights and although I was able to keep him close I never could catch up. We couldn't hang with Jun though. The views were incredible and we enjoyed being in shorts. When Dors and I were making our way to the first summit we saw Jun hiking for the first time on the very steepest section and then he reached the second peak before we made it to the first one. On peak #2 I downed some Gu chomps and then took off back down, as I had a work commitment I needed to get to. It didn't take Jun long to catch me and then we ran together for a few minutes until he powered up a steep hill leaving me in the dust. It was a great day and I'm glad I was able to get out.
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| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.80 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2100.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Lake Mountain run with Dragonvulture, Crockett, Seth Wold and MattVS:
We had a really fun morning on Lake Mountain. It was cold at the start (6:00 am) but we warmed up fast. We had a really good time just chatting away for the first mile and then DV and VS pushed the pace a bit and opened up a lead. After a while DV ran back down to us and then stayed with us the rest of the way up.
The road is snow covered for the last two miles, but there was a nice track all the way to the saddle. From there we had to slog up a few inches up to the summit. VS tagged the summit first with the rest of us a few minutes behind. We got up there just in time to see one of the best sunrises of the year so far. DV and Crockett went down via the ridge trail and Seth and I went to find Matt and we saw him climbing the peak to the west (the high point). VS is a peak bagger at heart. I love it.
The run down was a lot of fun. I didn't want to go too fast because my hammies were a bit tight, so I took it easy until Seth and VS caught up and then we all ran together. We caught Crockett and DV just before the car and we all ran back together. It was the perfect way to start my morning. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 8.40 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 3200.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Crazy busy day. I didn't get home until late, so I only had time for the TM. I started at an 8:45 pace and finished the last mile in 6:45. Sweat-fest! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour (Upper body/core). My wife has been coming to the gym to lift with me for the last few months and she has made a lot of progress. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Sweat-fest on the TM. I did speed work and was dripping when I finished. I need to get on some trails. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Draper BST with Jun: I needed some trails today and the Draper BST was in great shape and the weather was almost perfect. I wore my Altra Lone Peaks and this would be my longest run in them. Jun let me lead and we just ran a nice casual pace and chatted the whole way. We ran to the corner canyon road (3 miles) and then a mile up the road where we stopped and I took a gel. My energy was really low today. We cruised down the hill (7:39 pace for mile 5) and then had a very comfortable pace all the way back to the car talking most of the way. The Lone Peaks were great. I really loved them on the downhills and they seem pretty solid, although I can tell I am not used to the zero drop yet. I'll continue to ease into them over the next several weeks. AP 9:33. 1050 ft. of vert. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1050.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 8.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Ann's trail to View Benchmark peak with Jun:
I think I found my new favorite trail. Jun and I met early before work to run Ann's trail in Draper to the summit of View Benchmark. It is just under 4 miles one way with a gradual climb on a nice single track trail and the whole thing is runnable. It was cold enough at the start to freeze a snot rocket in 1.5 seconds, but the higher we climbed the warmer it was. The trail switches back through a really cool canyon and then heads east switching back the steep hill that puts you on top at Deer Ridge Drive right by the standard trailhead for View Benchmark. There was some ice to deal with near the top and that slowed us down a bit.
We ran most of the way to the peak (I hiked some of the steeper sections) and reached the summit just as the sun was starting to rise behind Timp. What a view! This whole run has really solid views and the trail is in great shape. We lingered on top for at least 10 minutes taking in the views. We could see Ben Lomond Peak to the north of Ogden and Mt. Nebo near Nephi to the south and every peak in between. Awesome!
The run down was really fun except the part where I took a wrong turn and ended up a bit lost and confused. Jun got me back on track and it was a nice cruise back to the cars. This was one of the best runs of the year. I'll definitely be back to do it again. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 7.90 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1550.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mt Wire with MattVH:
Matt and I had an excellent hike/run up Mt. Wire before work this morning. The weather was nice (a little cold but not bad), we had some great conversation, laughs and once again another amazing sunrise. Matt even got busted peeing just off the trail by our good friend Judy. Yeah, I think she saw it all. The frivolity completely crumbled however upon returning to the cars to find that some douchebags had broken into our cars. They stole a bag in my backseat that contained some clothes and left the laptop that was slightly concealed a few feet away. Sometimes people suck. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2180.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 4.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. Worked biceps, triceps, delts, lats, chest. I spent a good amount of time on the pull up bar as well. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | View Benchmark Peak with Jun and Dorsimus:
We had another amazing run on Ann's trail in Draper up to View Benchmark Peak. It was a really nice day for a run. The first 1/4 of a mile I was chewing/trying not to choke on a frozen Powerbar that I pulled out of the mess in my trunk. I was in need of energy so I choked the whole thing down. I'm not quite sure how.  At about 2 miles Jun kicked it into a gear that Dors and I didn't have and he powered up all of the hills all the way to the top. I just tried to stay with Dors which wasn't easy because he was running most of the steep hills as well. There were some icy sections to deal with and Jun beat us to the top by 3 minutes.
We stayed on the summit for a few minutes and Dors gave me some nasty tasting chalk crap that stuck to my teeth for about 10 minutes. It wasn't worth the 30 calorie boost. We blasted down the hills below the summit on some technical terrain and then had a nice run back to the switchbacks that take you back to Ann's trail. There was a lot more ice to deal with and I think we all slipped a few times. At the trail junction Jun and Matt took a different route and I hd to get back to go meet with a customer. The last few miles were a lot of fun. It was almost a perfect run and another summit in the bag. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1575.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 7.70 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 5 on the TM. Half the time I spent watching my kids play Wii and the other half I watched the Broncos/Vikings game. I'm not sure why I sweat so much on the TM, but I do. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym for an hour (upper body/core).
This was the first time in at least a month that I was able to do my complete workout because of my back. I have been trying to make things work with lighter weights and altering a lot of my routine, but tonight I was able to do everything without any issues. Skull-crushers!!!
I brought my girls with me to the gym because they wanted to run on the track while I worked out. It was really fun having them there. They ran for about 45 minutes and after they asked me if they could come with me every time. Sweet! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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"Big to small" (Mt. Olympus, Grandeur Peak, Mt. Wire) with MattVH
About a year ago Matt and I talked about doing this climb/hike/run which would give us 3 summits and about 10,500 feet of elevation gain. We thought it was a really cool idea, but it took us a year to get to it. We decided to do Oly first because it is the most difficult and we could get it done while we were still fresh. That was a great idea.
We parked our car about .5 from the trailhead in a neighborhood and we did that at every peak. After our trailhead break-in last week we were both a bit paranoid about leaving the vehicles at the trailheads. I think we ended up starting around 6:30. It was very cold, but we knew that once we got moving it wouldn't be bad, but I was worried that it was going to be bitter on the summit. Once we reached the trailhead we both felt great and within the first mile we stopped so Matt could shed some clothes. We hiked most of the way up because Oly is steep, but we did run where we could. There was snow/ice on the trail for the last 2500 feet, so I put my micro-spikes on and they seemed to help a lot.
From the saddle you have a nice rock scramble through a steep chute that leads you up to the summit block and we were expecting a lot of snow and ice, but surprisingly there wasn't much and it was nice because we moved up it quickly. There was some snow/ice to deal with just below the summit which required us to take it a little slower, but we did manage to reach the summit in under 2:00 which surprised both of us because we didn't feel like we were pushing it at all. Matt beat me up by about 4 minutes. After a few minutes on top we both put in our headphones so we could blast down and when we entered the chute I was surprised to see a huge sheep dog running fast on the rocks. After another look I realized it was a large mountain goat and there were 5-6 others within 20 yards. Awesome! We stopped to watch them and it was pretty amazing to see them maneuver around on the rocks with precision so quickly. I lingered for about 5 minutes and then we took a few photos and then cruised down.
The descent was tricky. There is a lot of snow and ice on some steep technical trail and you have to take it slow. I slipped several times, but luckily didn't fall. With about a mile to go Matt pushed ahead and I stopped to take a gel and remove my spikes. The run down was fun and I was feeling great. Matt beat me back and met me on the road so that we could go get #2.
After a break to get some food we parked in the neighborhood next to the Grandeur trailhead and I changed some clothes and put on some different shoes. It was nice getting warm in the car and I really didn't want to get out, but we finally got moving up the trail to get our second peak of the day. The climb up Grandeur was slow. We both felt good, but we both lacked a little steam and it showed in our ascent time of 1:30. There was some annoying snow below the summit that we had to navigate, but for the most part the trail was in pretty good shape. On top I took a gel and we took in the views for a few minutes and then I convinced Matt to run the switchbacks instead of bombing it straight down on the east side. We had decided to do the longer loop into Church Fork which would add about 7 extra miles, but we wanted the miles and to make it more challenging.
The run down to Church Fork was much more difficult than I had anticipated. I left my spikes in the car and that was a mistake. It was very icy and snow covered almost all the way to the Pipeline trail. I slipped a few times and even went down twice, nothing serious, but enough to make me go much slower than I would have liked. On the plus side it was absolutely beautiful and I was thankful to be there enjoying the trails. Matt was waiting for me at the Pipeline where we picked up a decent running pace considering our legs were now pretty tired. The sun was out and it was actually quite warm and we could see the dirty dark cloud hovering in the valley below and it was nice being above it. At Rattlesnale Gulch we went down and again I was expecting more snow here, but it was pretty clear. Matt got ahead of me and on one switchback I turned the corner and was shocked to see him wearing only one glove. Haha! The Millcreek Flasher?? So funny.
We had a nice pace running out of the canyon and I was happy I could run a 7:30 pace 16 miles in with all of that vert on our legs and still feel great. The only negative was when we hit the inversion as we entered back into the valley. It was noticeably a lot colder and the air wasn't as fresh. We kept up a solid pace all the way to Foothill, but when we hit the hills my legs were definitely protesting. We slogged back to the cars and quickly made our way to Wire. We parked about .4 from the trailhead and both of us were feeling pretty tired, but excited to bag #3.
The slog up Wire was actually quite fun even though I felt kind of crappy. Matt was joking all the way up and we chatted and laughed. About half way up I really started feeling bonky and I realized I had not been keeping up with my energy or salt like I should have been so I downed a Gu and an S-Cap and after about 20 minutes I felt much better. One guy passed us going up and looked very pleased with himself. Little did he know that we were 20 miles in with about 8K+ of elevation on our legs. We were both ok watching him move up ahead. At the last saddle Matt moved ahead of me and actually started running near the top and he kept the run all the way across the ridge to the summit. Awesome! My legs were totally wrecked at that point and it was inspiring to see. I picked up my pace, but only slightly. I joined Matt at the summit where we celebrated a little and enjoyed the views of our third summit of the day.
The run down was tough. My legs and hips were sore and I was so ready to be done. I was slow, but ran just about the whole way down. Matt got ahead of me again and I finally joined him at the trailhead where we ran back to the cars together. We did it. Almost 23 miles and just under 11K vert for the day. 3 summits, a lot of laughs and an incredible time outdoors on the trails.
Now we will have to think about Matt's aspirations to bag Oly, Twins and Lone Peak in a day.
A few pics:
Matt scrambling up the chute on Olympus
Matt on the summit of Oly "Tights club"!
Mountain goats
Mountain goat
#3
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| Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 7.00 | Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 15.00 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 10575.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I took my girls with me to the gym again. They ran on the track while I lifted for 45 minutes (upper body/core). I had an excellent session. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I had a very busy day and I was lucky to sneak in 5 on the mill. Sweaty! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Nothing exciting at all. 5 on the TM. My quads were still a bit sore from my summit X3 adventure so the last two days I took it easy and it helped a lot. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour (upper body/core). I took my girls again and they ran on the track for about 45 minutes and then made friends with one of the personal trainers that showed them a few things. They loved it. I also did a mile on the track while the girls tried out the elliptical. |
| Saucony Kinvara Miles: 1.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Mount Wire solo:
I had a very fun run to the top of Wire. I parked in the zoo parking lot, which is where I will park from now on when it is open and it only adds a few minutes each way. I was the only person on the trail. It was snowing slightly with quite a lot of thick fog, but the temperature felt good. I was feeling strong today, so I pushed it pretty hard all the way up. It was cool because just after the first saddle I came out of the fog for about 10 minutes and I could actually see some blue sky. As I ascended the fog started to move up the mountain and it was really cool to watch it moving up and it eventually swallowed me at the second saddle.
The wind and snow picked up on the summit ridge and I ran it up to the top. It was cold, so I didn't stay long. The fog was pretty thick, but once in a while it would open up and I could see the peaks sticking out in the distance. Very cool! I ran hard all the way back to the car and didn't see another soul on the trail the entire way. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 2175.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 4.80 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Life has been busy lately. I was hoping to get out during the day, but that didn't happen. I had to fit in some TM miles after everyone was in bed. I got to catch up on some of my DVR shows. I knocked out a few of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart that have been stacking up. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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I was desperate to get in a trail run yesterday, but it just didn't happen for me. Between the kids school Christmas program and a customer appreciation event at work it just didn't happen. I did manage to eat Cafe Rio for lunch and about 2000 calories at the customer event for dinner. Awesome.
I woke up early to make sure that I could get in a workout. I hit the gym and lifted for close to an hour. I had a very good session, but I was annoyed that a guy stayed on the pull up bar for about 45 minutes. He pulled a bench under it and managed to hog the area not letting anyone else in. He also chewed on his fingernails the entire time. Gross. I am hoping to get out for a run at some point today. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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View Benchmark peak and Lake Mountain with MattVH. Summit #76 and 77 for the year:
I was frustrated that I couldn't make it out on the trails the last few days and with a very busy Saturday coming up I decided to do a late night mountain run and I was happy Matt wanted to come along. I suggested View Benchmark via Ann's trail and Lake Mountain as possibilities. Matt said why not do both. I like the way he thinks.
We met at Ann's at 11:00 and we were running up the snowy trail a few minutes later. It was bitter cold and it took about 5 minutes to start to warm up. After that I felt fine, but whenever we stopped it would chill me within about a minute and I had steam flying off of my head. We were having a blast though. It took us longer than I had hoped because of the snow, but we made it up to the summit in about an hour (That included breaks for Matt to move some product). On top we checked out the views, but after a few minutes we were VERY cold, luckily there wasn't much wind.
The run down was a lot of fun. We laughed pretty much the whole way down and had a decent running pace most of the way. Back at the cars we decided to add in Lake Mountain as well, so we drove to Lehi and after taking a break to eat, warm up and change some clothes we parked and were on the trail just before 2:00 am. It was COLD!
We had both changed into our Altra Lone Peaks and after running the first 1.5 miles we could feel the extra strain on the calves and tendons. After the first mile we were in snow the rest of the way. After two miles we settled into a nice fast hiking pace for the rest of the way, but we would still run the slopes that aren't quite as steep.
About a mile from the top the nice 4X4 track we had been following ended and we had to break the trail the rest of the way which did slow us some. There was a slight wind after the saddle and the snow was very light powder and you could see bright crystals sparkling in the headlamps. It was pretty cool. We reached the summit a little before 3:30 am. It was cold, so we didn't stay long. We tried to snap a few pics, but they didn't turn out so we headed down.
The run down as incredible. We picked up the pace with each mile and the Lone Peaks provided plenty of traction on the steep snowy grade. We were singing to various songs that were blaring on my ipod, laughing and just having a fun time. The last two miles were in the 7's and felt really good. We both had an excellent time and I made it to bed just before 5:00 am and it was definitely more fun than sleeping.
We had just under 5K elevation gain for the night and we were able to run all but about 2.5 miles of the 16.2.
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| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 8.00 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 4900.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 8.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | 3.5 shakeout on the TM. No big woop. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Weights at the gym:
I took my girls with me again and they ran the track while I lifted. After about 45 minutes they were done, but they wanted to play racquetball, so I kept lifting for another 45 minutes until I couldn't lift anything, I was worked, so I just waited for them to finish. They loved it. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Pipeline trail with Jun and Dorsimus:
We had a really fun run today on the Pipeline trail in Millcreek Canyon. It was cold and breezy at the start and I was wishing I had the hat I left at home, but by time we finished it wasn't bad. The trail was actually in pretty good shape and we had a really fun run. We just chatted the whole way. It did snow some, but we didn't mind that at all. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 300.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 9.30 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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Draper BST with Jun
It was cold and windy out there, but we had an excellent time. The trail was snow covered almost the whole way and I really noticed that the traction on my Cascadias is pretty much gone. We just chatted the whole way and enjoyed the day. I really love that trail. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 8.00 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1000.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym for an hour. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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BST to Ave Twin Peaks with MattVS:
I met Matt at the Capitol building and we headed up City Creek Canyon in a stiff cold wind and it took both of us several minutes to warm up. We had a really good time running up to the Avenues Twin Peaks above Salt Lake City. We just chatted the whole way and never pushed it too hard. We hit both peaks and then on the descent we picked it up a bit until we stopped at mile 6 to take a 'break'. What happened next is now known as the '6 mile incident'. Matt did an excellent job of describing the events on his blog, so I won't go into the details, but it was definitely memorable.
After the incident we pretty much laughed the rest of the way down. Another fun adventure out on the trails. |
| 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1775.00 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 10.10 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Easy 3.5 on the TM to loosen up my legs. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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City Creek BST to the radio towers with MattVS:
Matt and I did another run up City Creek Canyon this morning. The first thing we noticed was it was much warmer out there today and Matt was shedding shirts before we hit mile 1. We took a new route (for me anyway) heading up the west side of the canyon on a nice trail that you can maintain a pretty decent run as you gain elevation up to the ridge. We chatted the whole way up. The views are stunning. Once on the ridge we went right and headed up to the first peak that had a radio tower and then we continued on to the next two peaks that both had towers as well. We could see the entire Salt Lake Valley, Bountiful and out to the Great Salt Lake. It was pretty awesome. Just after the last set of towers we almost ran right into 3 deer that were only about 20 yards away. They looked surprised to see us and bounded away quickly. After going east for about a half mile we turned right on a faint trail that took us back down to City Creek Canyon and then we had a nice cruise back to the cars. |
| Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 9.35 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 1700.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | Weights at the gym (upper body/core) for an hour. No big woop. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| | I had an hour so I figured the best bang for my buck would be to run on the street near my house. I ran down the Alpine hwy south all the way to the end and then back up north. My only goal was to run a sub 9:00 on the large hill near the cemetery and I was able to do that. I finished in 58:00 in a t-shirt. | |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 | Weight: 0.00 | Calories: 0.00 |
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| Asics Gel Panthera Miles: 175.50 | Brooks Cascadia 4 Miles: 304.25 | Asics Gel-1150 Miles: 1.00 | Asics Kahana Miles: 15.30 | Brooks Cascadia 6 Miles: 483.33 | Saucony Kinvara Miles: 103.95 | 2011 Elevation Gain Miles: 151828.00 | Hoka Bondi-B Miles: 231.25 | Altra Lone Peak Miles: 63.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 1297.50 | Nap Time: 2.50 | Total Sleep Time: 1300.00 | Weight: 154.61 | Calories: 0.00 | |
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