Gaining more than you lose

5.5 miles on the good old treadmill. Bleh. Trying to keep it flat for a while, plus I just didn't have time to get out. Took it nice and easy about 8-9 min pace at 2%. Watching 300 helped the time go by.

Three and a quarter on the TM - just wanted to get something in today. About an 8 min pace. Knee felt fantastic all day today after the run yesterday...maybe its NOT running thats hurting it! :) Hoping only a week or two of this crap and then I can hit the trails running. Need to get my miles bumped back up quick if I want to run the Pony Express 50. 

Rode the mid mountain trail in Park City with some of my wifes family - it was a ton of fun, I haven't been on my mountain bike for over a year (had to dust off the cobwebs and pump up the tires). We dropped a car at the bottom of the hill at Park City Resort and then headed up to the top of the hill and just rode our way down. Couple little rollers, but mostly all downhill. Started early and missed the masses that were getting started when we finished. Now I want to go run that one sometime. Wouldn't be too bad to run up.   

Five plus on the TM. Loads of fun... :

 Knee is feeling better and better though.  

5 miles on the JRP with Jun. Ran a pretty consistent 8:30 pace, which felt a little faster than it should have. Knee felt good, legs were a little tired, but they're getting used to it.  

Got home late and was relegated to the TM again. Ran nice'n'easy for about an hour watching a movie with my wife, then cooled down walking a while more at 10% incline. 

Followed up last nights TM run with a mid morning run on the Gully trail with Jun. I hadn't had breakfast yet, so I grabbed the closest thing in my office - a cup o' noodles - and powered that down before heading out. Yum. Weather was perfect and it felt great to be out. Effort was harder than it should be, but I suppose that's to be expected for a little bit. I felt good, just a little slow. Knee felt fantastic - well, my knee felt NOTHING, even on the downhills, which was fantastic! Usually I can at least feel it, even if its not really painful - so that's great news. Craig dropped me just after the last hill and pulled away for the finish...just has to rub it in after running over 60 miles in the last few days. :)

 6.04 miles - 54:18 - 8:59 AP - 434 vert 

Ever since our last attempt at Timp in July - where we were unable to summit do to an incredible amount of snow still on the mountain - I had been wanting to get back up there to get the summit (and just to see the mountain again!). So when Jun said he wanted to get an early morning summit in, I just couldn't pass it up - despite the early rising it would require. 

We started the run at a very casual pace as we chose not to wear headlamps (Scott still has mine from Wasatch anyway...:)) as it would be getting light soon. I appreciated the slower pace as I hadn't been running hills for a few weeks. It was fun to run in the dark and see all around you, not having the 'tunnel vision' that a headlamp gives you. As we got higher up it was amazing to see the difference in the mountain and the trail without all the snow.

I kept Craig mostly in sight for the first couple of miles, and then he really pulled ahead and I completely lost sight of him. As we later compared mileage I would learn that he had cut nearly a half mile off by taking little shortcuts here and there - that's a good 10 minutes on a trail like that! Once we got up to the saddle I had no idea what to expect, and was surprised at how rugged and steep the trail was. It was super cool. I could only imagine trying to make your way back down that with a line of hikers coming up! I also kept trying to fathom how Davy did this 5 times! Amazing!

We spent a little bit on the top just taking in the views, and then finally decided we'd better head down. The run down was a lot of fun, once you get past the super rocky stuff up top, its a pretty good run down. The grass was green and the mountain flowers were out - it was fantastic! Craig ditched me fairly quickly and I just tried to keep a consistent pace going down - I hadn't run like this in a couple of weeks so I wanted to make sure that I still had enough in the tank. As I got closer to the bottom and knew where I was, I started pushing the pace harder to see how my legs felt. They were tired but felt like there was still plenty in there.

Can't wait to get back there again! Total moving time was about 3:30. I certainly wasn't fast but that wasn't why I was did this one. Knee felt great the whole run which was good news.

New socks AND new shoes? SOOO Nice!

While my Altras remained super comfy on my Timp run the other day, their nearly decimated tread on the bottom made for a few sketchy descents - so I decided that it was time to pick up a new pair, if only for the trails. 

Jun and I decided to do a Mt Baldy loop above Alta. As we drove up there I commented that I don't think I've ever been up that canyon in the summer - and man was it spectacular! Even having lived here all my life I am constantly amazed at how quickly you can leave the valley and get views that you feel like you should have had to hike days to see. 

We started in a lower parking lot and began running where the dirt road starts. This is a nice relatively easy gradual climb up, but man after Wednesdays Timp run my calves were screaming at me quite a bit! I just kept plugging along as Craig pulled further and further ahead of me. I can't believe how fast that dude has been running, even with all these miles.

After a couple miles on the road, we turned off onto a trail and made our way up to Secret Lake. The last push to the lake had my calves exploding, but it felt good to keep 'em working. As we made our way up past the lake and into the steeper stuff, the hiking provided a little respite to the calves which was nice. The climb remained pretty consistent up to the ridgeline, where we moved towards the summit with some nice rock scrambling, followed by a nice trail to the top.

Wow. What a view. As we got to the top a cloud surrounded us, and nearby peaks would show through breaks in the clouds - it felt like you were looking at a painting, that you could just reach out and touch the canvas. We, however, were not merely partakers of the beauty, but for that moment, felt a part of the mountain itself. 

From there we backtracked the way we came, but then from the ridge followed the fire break road as it wound us down the mountain, giving us more amazing views. There was one point we hit a little bit of singletrack for about a half mile through a rolling meadow, with flowers waist high and a huge mountain in front of you - I commented to Craig it that had to be one of the best little sections of trail ever! What another fantastic summit to hit. 

Still not feeling very fast, but I do feel like my endurance is still there, so I'll just keep plugging away! 

Can't seem to find a minute to get away...another late night TM run. 5.5 miles @ 2% - tried to pick up the pace a little on a couple of 'em. 

5.5 mile Dimple Dell run with Jun. I was at least able to keep him fairly close by on the way up, he got to the top about 30 seconds before me. On the way back I was feeling fairly tired and my stomach started bugging me. On one of the only significant uphills going down Jun dropped me and pulled quite a ways ahead. I felt like I made up a little time in the last mile, but he still finished a good couple minutes ahead of me. Overall felt pretty good despite being dropped like a rock. 

Early morning run with Jun on the BoSho downtown, starting by the Capitol. I could tell Jun wasn't quite feeling it when I was able to stay right with him on the uphills. Ha. A little later as we were hiking up a hill, he told me he felt like "poo on a stick". Well, I guess we all have those days, and we were both content to just enjoy the scenery, however slow we were going. Hit the top of our run (4 miles) on a little hill just shy of the avenue twins, and then headed back down. As we ran down I started to feel better and better, and just let the hill pull me on down. I don't think I've run that fast in quite a while, and it felt nice! I think the new shoes helped give me some traction too, which kept me from sliding on my butt, or eating it trying to run around a tight switchback.

After the run I felt like a cold was coming on (have had a scratchy throat the past couple days), so I'll cross my fingers that it doesn't last too long.  

After our run yesterday I started feeling worse and worse. Mostly just cold symptoms, but it made for a not so fun day. Luckily I was working from home which made it a little more bearable. Last night I just knocked myself out with some Nyquil and slept for half the day today. That usually seems to do the trick. Still not 100%, but feeling much better. 

By the afternoon, though, I was actually kind of restless. Add to that the amazing weather we've been having, and I just had to get out. Finally made it out for an evening run on the Kaysville BoSho.

Ran a hair over 7 miles from the East Wilderness Park to the Fernwood picnic area and back. Didn't run fast at all, just tried to keep a nice consistent pace. Kept it under a 10 min average overall, which is about all I can ask for right now. 1027 vert - 9:53 AP

6.8 this afternoon with Jun in Corner Canyon. Started on the BST at Red Rock, Craig dropped me once we hit some uphills. I caught back up to him about a half mile later after some flats and downhill. Once we turned up Clarks and hit the constant, yet gradual uphill, it was adios. I did catch a glimpse of him here and there up ahead, but just didn't have the legs to catch him. Near the top of Clarks we headed south on a new trail, which was a lot of fun - went pretty much straight around the face of the mountain above the Draper Temple, with some sweet views of the valley. Once we hit Suncrest road we hit a trail that took us back down to the BST and back to the car. Hung with Craig until about the last half mile when there are a couple of little climbs that he just left me behind on. I know I'm a little slower than I used to be, but I think a lot of it is that he's just that much faster. Looking forward to seeing how he does at Pony Express. Almost exactly the same stats as yesterday - vert, distnce, pace, but today felt harder. I think its because with this you get all the climbing pretty much at once. 6.8 miles - 1100 vert - 9:51 pace

Well that was a lot more vert than I was planning on...though for the distance it wasn't terrible.

Was hoping for a semi-long, relatively flat trail/dirt road run. I thought I'd give the BST/Firebreak road from near my house in Fruit Heights over to Bountiful and back a try. Ended up being lots of rolling hills up and down and in and out the entire way. Dumped me out at Cheese park in Bountiful at about 9.5, where I was happy to see a bathroom with running water, where I refilled my pack, ate a little, and headed back.  

I by no means was fast at all on this run, nor was I trying to be. :) At about mile 15 I was surprised to find that I was out of water already - I had refilled 50 ounces 5 miles ago! Still had 4 miles, and just trudged along the best I could. The entire run is extremely exposed with virtually no cover, so it got a little hot. A slight breeze helped cool things down a little. Had a couple of REALLY slow uphill miles in those last 5, but made it back to the car just shy of 19 miles. Really just wanted to hit 50 for the week.

Drank a 44 oz Coke in the 5 minutes it took to get from Maverick back home. :)

18.88 miles - 3:34:30 - 11:22 pace - 2550 vert   

AM: I've been hastlin' my neighbor about getting out for a run ever since he told me he hadn't run since the Bairgutsman (8/6), so I finally got him out this morning for a casual run on the BoSho Kaysville. 
He's not a big runner so we took it nice and easy and just had some good conversation. I think he enjoyed it and felt motivated to get out more and run. Just shy of 5 miles, 530 vert, 10:12 AP.

PM: Corner Canyon run with Jun. Started at Red Rock, ran north and up Canyon Hollow trail, followed by a little dirt road run up to the top of Clarks, then down Clarks and back. Jun pulled way ahead on the climb and I just got into a steady comfortable rhythm and worked my way to the top. That trail keeps going up, but it really is a nice trail to run up. The leaves are just starting to change, which made for a beautiful run up. Coming down Clarks was fast and fun - I was able to stick with Jun the whole way down. Once we got to the bottom and started to climb a little, I was dropped again. Just kept working my way along until I stopped paying attention for a minute and turfed it. Ha. I wasn't going very fast, so it probably looked really funny. Luckily my water bottle took the brunt of the fall, I just got a little dirty. Felt really slow on the last little bit. There are a couple of little hills that always seem to take it out of me on this section. 7.7 miles, 1330 vert, 9:57 AP
 

Spent the night at Juns house so we could leave bright and early for a pre-work Lake Mountain run. Got up, dressed and left by about 3:15. Drove to the south end of Lake mountain and spent a little bit of time looking for the right place to put a drop bag - we didn't want to drop it too early and miss it, or too far and have to run further than we needed to get to our stuff. Found what we thought was the right spot, and luckily it ended up being right!

Headed back north to Eagle Mountain where we parked the car and set off running. We ran clockwise heading south on the east side of the mountain. The first few (ok 12, really) are a pretty much a bunch of rocky, rolling ups and downs as you make your way along the side of the mountain. At Enoch pass you hit the high point of the run and we stopped there for Craig to take a 'break' (I had already had a couple). As I stopped to wait I started to feel a little bonky - or at least like one was coming on, so I tried to eat a few things while I was waiting. From there you have about 3 miles of a long gradual downhill, and once we got started on that Craig left me in the dust. It was cool though because you could see the road just stretching for miles out in front of you. At this point I just tried to keep a nice, steady pace - I knew I still had 20 or so miles to go and didn't want to push anything too hard.

I had to make a quick, urgent stop about a half mile before I hit the road at about mile 16 and caught up to Craig (who was walking so I could catch up). A hair over a mile on the road brought us to our turn off and 'aid station'. We refilled our water and grabbed the Coke and food we had waiting. We spent the next few minutes walking along - I with my Coke and PB&J, and Craig nursing a Pepsi and eating a burrito, laughing about what we were eating while running and the responses other people often give when you tell them what you eat and how nothing beats a Coke on a long run.

This next section is a couple miles of gradual uphill on dirt road. I had to walk on a couple of the 'steeper' (ha) parts - but eventually got into a rhythm and was able to move along, although (of course) Craig pulled ahead of me. The road then starts to head South again, which your body says should NOT be happening at this point (the car is NORTH!! :)) Eventually though, the road does bend north and down, dumping you off on the Eagle Mountain dirt road that would take us to the finish - in about 12 miles. Craig waited for me (again) at the road and we moved right along. I still wasn't feeling great - I hadn't really felt good at all this run - just OK, and kept feeling like I was teetering on the edge of a bonk for a long time. Anything that hit my stomach would make it turn. I stopped to walk a couple of times on this stretch, which felt ridiculous because this was finally a nice long, FLAT section. I finally did come to a point where I realized that walking didn't really help anything other than to make this take longer, so I'd pick it up and run along.

We didn't really know exactly how far we had to run, but as we got closer we began to assume that it was likely going to be more than our goal of 31 miles. Kept moving along and it was quite  nice sight to finally see the car off in the distance. Craig really turned it on and had a strong sprint to the finish. I just kept going until I got there :).

Overall I felt fairly good about the run - I had run 13 miles the day before (and 20 a couple before that), and the goal was to run this one with some miles and vert on the legs. I didn't ever feel great, but was happy that I was able to just keep chugging along. Driving home I joked with Craig that we might as well just drive over and hit Timp - and had we not had to get to work, I think he probably would have gone for it - if only to spite me. :)