Summit junkie!

Grandeur Peak loop with Jun:

I met Jun at 5:00 am and in typical Grandeur fashion the canyon winds were blowing. We made a friend at the trailhead that was surprised to see someone else climbing the peak that early. Jun said "We're not very smart". Haha. The trail was snow covered nearly the entire way. I didn't have my spikes, but the Altra Lone Peaks have solid traction, so it wasn't too much of an issue. The wind died after about 10 minutes (always does). I tried to stay with Jun, but he dropped me before the summit ridge. It was so cool watching his headlamp moving up the  snowy summit ridge and I would take a few moments when I could to check out the view of the Salt Lake valley all lit up below. Awesome. 

I hit the summit in 1:11, gagged down a gel and then we were off down the back side into Church Fork. The trail conditions were actually much better than the last time were were up there. There wasn't much ice to deal with. We got into a good groove and just enjoyed the run down.  Near the bottom the wheels came off a bit for me. I slipped on some solid ice and took a couple of falls and the muscles in my lower back started to spasm. Suck! I kind of lost my groove for a few miles there while I worried about another fall.

We went down Rattlesnake Gulch where we kept a watchful eye for the Millcreek Flasher, but we weren't lucky enough to see him today. The run down the canyon was fun and I started feeling better, so I was able to pick up the pace again. Jun put a little distance on me the last mile and I finished around 2:30. I love this run. It never gets old.

I wanted to bag another peak today to hit 4 in a row, but it just didn't workout for me. By time I could get out the wind picked up and I didn't want to deal with that, so I ended up doing 4 easy on the TM. My back was pretty stiff and tight, but seemed to loosen up a bit after the run. 

Mt. Wire solo:

When I got off the freeway onto Foothill Dr. the first thing that I noticed was the wind was blowing a lot harder than in Sandy.  I parked at the zoo and the wind was even stronger. Dammit, should have done View Benchmark. Oh well, I was prepared. I put on my windstopper fleece gloves, hat and vest and told myself not to be a wuss.

Mud! Slush! Ice! The lower trail is in bad shape right now. Once I got to the ridge it improved and I saw someone ahead of me above the first saddle, so naturally I picked up my pace. It was a woman and I caught her and passed her before the second saddle. Nice lady. Above the second saddle the wind was horrendous and when I hit the towers it slugged me in the chops and took my breath away. I ran hard to the top and turned right around and went down.

I took it slower than normal because I didn't want to slip and tweak my back again. Below the second saddle the wind seemed to die which was nice and then it was a messy slog back to the car.

We went to the Lehi Legacy Center with some friends and our kids and while the kids were swimming I hit the weight room to lift for about an hour. I had to be careful because of my back, but after I finished my workout my back was actually a lot less tight. Worked upper body/core. 

5 on the TM while watching The Daily Show. No big woop!

The big news for the weekend is that I got into Wasatch 100 for 2012. Also congrats to Jsh, Jun and MatthewVS for getting in as well. It will be fun to hang out with those guys and run the race again. Last years race was a huge unknown for me, but this year my approach will be completely different. I really want to go under 30 hours, so I'll do whatever I have to to reach that goal. I am psyched for all of the training and especially for the race. 

6 on the track at the gym. My friend Nate was there and we ended up running the whole time together which made the time fly by. I am not a fan of the track, but running it with a friend makes a big difference and I actually enjoyed the run. 

View Benchmark peak with Jun and Dorsimus:

We decided to mix things up a bit and do VB starting at the Red Rock trailhead. The trail was pretty sloppy as we made our way up Potato Hill. Mud, slush and ice. It made the climb a lot harder than normal. Jun kind of pulled away and Dors and I stayed together. I was trying to stay on the crusty snow as much as possible because where there wasn't snow there was mud. Once we reached the VB trail the wind really picked up and we mostly stayed together, although Jun pulled away again. There was some post-holing to deal with, but I tried to push it where I could. It was windy on top and we didn't stay long. 

The run down was a lot better and we decided to take Ann's trail all the way down to avoid the slop. With about 2 miles to go I started feeling pretty tired. I struggled with energy most of the run. Maybe it was not bringing any water. I'm not sure, but I wasn't feeling great. Dors on the other hand pushed a very strong pace and went out of site meeting us back at the cars. Back at the Ann's trailhead we took the road back to our cars and Jun really put some distance on me as well. They both finished well before I did. It was a much tougher day for me than the mileage would indicate.

Weights at the gym for an hour working upper body/core. 

I was go to take the day off, but ended up doing 4 to stretch my legs.

Lake Mountain solo:

It has been a while since I went up Lake Mountain, so I really wanted to get up there this weekend. I started at 7:30 and it was really warm. I parked down in the neighborhood, turned on my ipod and settled into a slow pace to warm up as I made my way up the trail. After about a mile the ice started and the road was pretty icy for until about mile 2. I could avoid the ice on the side of the road, so it wasn't bad, but slowed me some. After about two miles there was a track in the snow all the way to the saddle. I alternated between a run and a fast hike and only stopped a few times to pee. :)

I made decent time to the saddle, but from there it was horrendous. I had to break trail to the top and the snow conditions were horrible, with a hard icy crust with sugary powder below, so I would sink with every step and my ankles and shins took a pounding from the hard crust. Slow! 1:13 to the top where I took in the views, but didn't stay long. Getting back to the saddle was almost as slow as going up. I re-traced my tracks and slowly made my way down. Back at the saddle I was able to get into a good run and I got progressively faster as I made my way down. When I got past the steepest section I could finally get into a fast pace, which got faster (sub 7) when I finally got off of the ice.

As I came out of the canyon I could hear gunshots and there was a group shooting guns just below me and they kept shooting even though I was only about a hundred yards away and only about 25 yards out of their direct line of fire. They were just blasting away. Gotta love Lake Mountain on the weekend. I got into a great groove and pushed a fast pace all the way back to the car. I love this run.

I was thinking about doing Lake Mt. again, but when I woke up to rain I went back to bed. I spent most of the weekend helping my son build a lego set he got for his birthday. Hours and hours! Did 5 on the TM to loosen up my back after that. 

Weights at the gym for an hour. I worked upper body/core. I spent a good amount of time on the pull up bar and I was feeling really good. I was able to do several sets of 20+ without much of a problem. Usually I start getting pretty worked after about 3 sets. 

Mt. Wire solo:

I had a business appointment on the east side of SLC, so I took my lunch break on the summit of Mt. Wire. I parked at the zoo and it felt really warm, so I didn't take a hat or gloves. The lower trail was muddy, but most of it was avoidable. There wasn't as much snow as I thought there would be and I didn't get into sustained snow until I was half way to the second saddle. I stopped to put on my spikes and the wind really picked up as a cloud moved in over the mountain. I was wishing I had my hat. It got cold. I picked up my pace and at the second saddle I really tried to pick up the pace. 

I stopped just before the towers to send an email and then I pushed it on up to the top in the snow. The sun came back out and the wind died a bit which was nice. The snow was much softer than what I had gone through on Lake Mt. a few days ago and I easily cruised in the tracks that someone else had left from earlier in the day. On top I took in the views and then ran at a pretty easy pace back to the saddle and from there I picked it up, except on the steep sections where I took it easy. I pulled off my spikes where I had put them on and then once I hit the first saddle I was able to run at a much quicker pace until I hit the mud.

I took this photo when I stopped to send an email. This is just before the first tower with the summit tower in the distance:

Grandeur Peak and Mt. Wire with Jun:

I met Jun at the west ridge trailhead at 4:30 am. We planned on doing a double up (uhh uhh) and that's why we started so early. We put on the micro-spikes at the start of the ridge and we were climbing on snow the rest of the way. Jun pulled away from me a few times, but always stopped to wait. We had a casual pace and just chatted the whole way up. We both noticed that we were going pretty slow and the higher we got the more snow there was. By time we reached the final push on the summit ridge the tracks we were following died and the snow became a lot more difficult to manage. It was deep sugary powder and even with the spikes on we were sliding. This slowed us down a lot. Jun reached the summit a few minutes before me and I came in at 1:34, which was 23 minutes slower than last time. We didn't stay long.

The run down was a lot more fun and we were able to pick up the pace. We chatted most of the way down and then Jun went ahead the last half mile. At the bottom we decided we didn't have time to do Grandeur again, so we cruised over to Mt. Wire to get in our second peak of the morning.

It seemed to me that the temperature was cooler on Wire, but maybe it was because I was wet and just got out of a warm car. I followed Jun until we reached the 'shortcut' where I went straight up and Jun took the longer route.We met back up at the start of the ridge as Jun caught me and then it started snowing and didn't quit the rest of the way. Jun got ahead and I put on my ipod and just put it in grind mode and pushed it up to the top. My legs were actually feeling pretty good. Jun beat me and didn't want to wait in the cold snow, so he passed me just below the first tower and I made it up in 54 minutes. It was snowing and cold, so I didn't stay long at all.

The run down was slow. There was a thin layer of snow on the trail, so I took it easy over the rocky steep section and then once I got down to the first saddle I picked up the pace back to the car. I was wet and cold, but it felt good to get in two peaks in the bag before work.

Life has been crazy the last few days and I took two days off from working out for the first time in months. I was planning on doing a 30+ mile run on Antelope Island today, but Jun came up with a better plan that we moved to Monday, so Antelope was out. I still wanted to get in a solid run, so my friend Nate and I ran Lake Mountain together.

We met at 6:00 am and it was much colder that I thought it would be and it was slightly breezy at the start which made it even colder. After a half mile though we were both fine. We ran the first 1.5 and then Nate wanted to hike the steeper sections, so we settled into a quick power hile and enjoyed a good chat th rest of the way up. We would run at times to get our heart rate up and then back to the hike.

The final push was tough as we post holed in shin/knee deep powder. Nate broke most of it since he had on his gaiters. On top we took in the views, snapped a few pics and headed down. When we got back to the road we ran a pretty quick pace (7:30ish) down past the steepest section and then I picked it up the last 3.5 running sub 7 the whole way. I felt fantastic. I think that was my fastest time on that descent. I finished about 5 minutes ahead of Nate and he looked strong at the finish. What a fun morning!

Weights at home for 40 minutes.

The Wedge at the Little Grand Canyon in the San Rafael Swell with Jun, Dorsimus and MattVS:

This was my first time down to the Swell and it did not disappoint. We met at the American Fork park n ride at 5:00 am and it took about 3 hours to get down to the Wedge where there is a sweet lookout into the Little Grand Canyon. We would be running on a rim trail that goes around the rim of the canyon for just over 15 miles and then back. It was 20 degrees when we got out of the car, but the sun was shining, with no wind and it looked almost perfect for running. After a few pics and a little goofing off we hit the trail. The first 5 miles were a lot of fun running in the mid 8's, talking and laughing a lot. We also stopped at most of the lookouts to take pictures. 

My hamstring was really tight and sore after my run up Lake Mountain on Saturday and I was worried about it, but hoped it would loosen up. It didn't bother me at all early on, but was tight. At about mile 5 I noticed that my stomach was unsettled and by mile 7 it hit hard and the guys had to wait for me for a few minutes. From about mile 10 to the half way point I was running by myself and had to stop a few more times to deal with my stomach. Damn tamales. They were good though.

I passed Jun on his way back and he told me I was about .5 from the turnaround. I also passed Dorsimus and then MattVH and I convinced MattV to hang back with me because I was worried about my hamstring which was now really tight and hurting. We took about a 10 minute break at the turnaround taking in the views and I put some glide on a hot spot on my toe and had some GU chomps.

The next 5 miles were by far the most difficult of the day for me. My hammy was really hurting and I had to stop again because of my stomach. Matt was a good sport to hang with me. I popped 800 mg of Ibuprofen about mile 19. I hate taking it when I run, but it was almost a necessity. We had a pathetic pace back to where we had cached some food just after mile 22. I had run out of water and the Coke I had stashed was fantastic. I also refilled my water and ate about 500 calories. The Ibuprofen also started to kick in and I couldn't believe the difference.I felt like running again.

The next 4 miles we tried to pick up the pace and just chatted away. I was having fun again and enjoying the views that we would stop to take in at the lookouts. It was tough getting into a fast pace on this trail because it winds a lot and there are a lot of rocks to deal with, but I really enjoyed it. About mile 26 we stopped so Matt could retrieve some clothes he had stashed and I told Matt to just catch up and I would run slow, but I got two great songs in a row on the ipod and all of the sudden my legs were feeling incredible and my energy was up so I picked up the pace and ran it in pretty well the last 4.5 miles.

The last mile on the road I was feeling really good and I actually saw the 7's for the first time in a long time. I was having fun and felt great when I saw Jun and Dors driving toward me about a quarter of a mile from the finish. I ran it in hard and jumped on a rock and yelled out a primal scream. Awesome. MattVH came in a few minutes after, but he also had an extra mile since he ran back with me and I am sure I slowed him down on the way back as well. I really enjoyed this run, even though I went through a lot of issues out there. The views and the company were as good as it gets and I was happy that I finished strong. I can't wait for the next adventure.

Total time including all breaks: 6:11. I think the total moving time was closer to 5:20ish.

You can check out some pics here: The Wedge

I am surprised at how good my legs after our run on Monday. My left hammy is a bit sore and my core has some soreness as well, but overall I feel good. I went to the gym to lift for an hour and worked my upper body.

I started out with 20 min on the elliptical and everything felt great, so I did 4 slowish miles on the TM. My legs felt good during the entire run, but as soon as I got off I could tell there was still some fatigue there. Good sweat. 

Busy day! I wanted to get out during the day, but that didn't happen and it was just me and my kids tonight, so after I got them to bed I hit the TM in the basement. It took me about 20 minutes to get down there because I despise that thing, but I made it. I got through some of my DVR backlog and worked up a fair amount of sweat. 

View Benchmark peak solo:

I wasn't feeling well last night, so I wasn't sure if I would be running this morning, but I woke up and couldn't sleep and I felt good, so I jumped out of bed, grabbed my stuff and drove to Draper to run VB via Ann's trail. It was slightly breezy at the start, but pretty warm, so it wasn't bad at all. I was hoping to beat the storm that is moving in today. 

The trail was a bit sloppy today with soft snow, but at least the mud wasn't bad. The soft snow did slow me down a lot and once I got to the upper mountain it became worse and it really slowed my progress, but it was a great workout. I had the mountain to myself today and my ipod kept feeding my one good tune after another. The final push to the top was slow because of the deep snow and I made it to the top in just under an hour. I hung out for a few minutes, stretched my hammy and took in the views. I could see the storm moving in from the north and the clouds were getting dark.

The run down was a lot of fun, but slower than normal. As I went down the wind picked up and it was really blowing the last few miles. More great tunes in the ipod and more solitude. I really had a fun run even though the conditions made it tougher than normal. I finished in 1:44.

6 on the TM while trying to clear out my DVR backlog. 

View Benchmark Peak solo:

I got up early to run VB before work. It was cold and breezy at the start, but once I got moving it wasn't bad at all. The trail still has a lot of snow and ice on it, so it is tough to go fast, but I just slowly made my way up. It was a little better than Saturday because the trail was still pretty frozen so I didn't sink as much in the snow and there wasn't any mud. I didn't see another soul as I made my way to the VB trail where it is snow covered all the way to the top. The lower portion is in decent shape, but the higher you go the deeper the snow is and it becomes more of a slog. 

I was on the summit in 58:00. Slow, but it was just tough to move fast. I watched the sunrise for a few minutes, stretched out my hammy and then had a really fun run down. It was much slower than normal, but I still had a blast and I had the mountain all to myself.  Total time 1:42.

Weights for an hour. This is the first time in a few months that my back wasn't sore, so I was able to do my normal workout.

On the track at the gym. The miles were easy and I pushed the pace pretty hard for most of the run.