Summit junkie!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!!

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

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.

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.

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+

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.