Gaining more than you lose

Met up with a big ol group of people for an Anns trail loop run. Scott, VH, Josh, Jun, Steam and Lily all made it out and we had a great time. Weather was fantastic, if not a little warm - What? Certainly doesn't feel like January. 

Fun time with a good group! Perfect way to start the year!

Ran BST in Draper with Scott and Jun. Talk about poop on a stick. I have been feeling so sluggish lately. I just couldn't run fast. I didn't feel tired or sore or anything, I just couldn't maintain a good pace. Craig and Scott just left me in the dust. I figure its got to be the extra lbs from big the holiday diet and meager running regimen. This next month will be focused on getting back to a good running weight so I can try and keep up. :) Knee was complaining quite a bit, so I'm going to try and limit my punishing runs a little bit and get that thing to heal up. 

Ran Dimple Dell with Jun. 

He was wanting to get 10 miles and I wasn't quite. I knew I'd be running slower so I told him to just run to the top and not wait for me. We ran together for the first mile or so and then he took off (immediately after he said he wasn't really felling it...riiight).  I ran to mile 4 and then turned around - I was feeling pretty good, but felt like 8 would be a good run. Just cruised back, only had to wait for Craig for about 10 minutes. Shorts and a T-shirt. Beautiful day!

Hit View Benchmark with Scott and Jun. We all cruised up Ann's trail together, then once we started hitting the steeper stuff I got dropped. I was really low on energy, hadn't really eaten yet, other than the protein shake I had on the drive over, so I think by stomach was busy working on that, using up all the blood my legs needed! Pushed the last climb hard, got to the top in about 48 min. Not my fastest by any means. Was expecting a bit of a slog down, but it ended up being pretty fast and easy. Super fun. Another short and T-Shirt day. Nice October 95th day.

Evening 5 miles on the BST in Kaysville. So fun to run in the snow again. A little slower going, but the trail was well traveled so it wasn't too bad. Was hoping for a couple more miles, but didn't want to run in the dark as temps were starting dropping quickly, so I turned around at the 2.5 mark for 5 in just over 50 minutes. 

Since I didn't really feel like I could get up early enough to make it down to run Lake Mountain with the boys (plus I had some work things I had to do), I was able to make it out for a quick jaunt in the Gully. Once I got through the tunnel I decided to go down and stay in the bottom of the gully rather than go up like we usually do. What a great surprise. The trail was super fun and winds around through trees and just gives you a lot of variety that the top section has NONE of. I had actually planned on turning around sooner, but was having so much fun I just cruised along. On my way back I was feeling pretty good and pushing the pace pretty well, and I saw a couple of ladies running up the trail towards me. As I got closer I realized it was Juns mom and her friend! I stopped and chatted for a minute and then took off. I guess ever since they joined us for the HPHM, they've been hooked to the trails! It was fun to see a familiar face. Legs felt pretty good, energy was great. I guess that's what happens when you take two days off! Ha. Finished a couple minutes under an hour. (I forgot my watch so just had to go off my cars clock).  

As I told Jun, I like "the day after running a 50K Craig". That puts him just at about my level! Ha. 

Even though the boys had run around Lake Mountain yesterday, Craig still showed up to work ready to go and hit View Benchmark. We also invited a friend from work to tag along. We kept it super casual and just had a good time. It was cold enough as we started, but as we got higher and more exposed the wind really picked up and was REALLY cold. At the top we spent just a couple of minutes and then blasted down - it was FREEZING. Like painfully cold on your face. Luckily it didn't last too long and we had a fun time just crashing down the sketchy terrain. Casual run back to the car, followed by a stop at Little Caesars for a nice recovery Pizza. 

Nice chill run with Jun on the Dimple Dell trail. Took the lower trail after 13th and just cruised along. Absolutely beautiful day out. Took us an hour right on the nose. 

Jun and I decided we'd try and hit the Grandeur loop today- with Jun not getting enough miles on vert on his legs this week and all. Tyler, who I had met running in the Buffalo Run 50K, the Legacy Duathlon, and the PET 50 miler, is preparing for the Buffalo 100, and so we brought him along to help with this training. We got to the trailhead just as Tyler was arriving, and I introduced Craig as the 3rd place PET runner and told him his time. He looked impressed but more importantly what I think he got what I was really telling him was - stay close to this guy and listen to what he tells you! We ran the first little hill together, and then just as we started hiking those two were already pulling away - which I was fully expecting.

I just got into my "I may not be fast, but I keep movin'!" power hike, and watched as Jun and Tyler slowly got further and further away. The whole loop is 10.6 miles, and HALF of your time is spent on the 2.3 miles to the top. It's a slog - but I like it because it absolutely kicks my butt and I know that I need to get better at it. It's also a great way to get an amazing workout without beating up your legs too much (was great for my knee). As I crested a little ridge a little ways before the summit, I could see those two just getting to the top - freak! I knew I had at least 10 more minutes. They were really moving!! I got to the top in about 1:15, where we took a couple of minutes to look around and take in the valley. What a nearly perfect day! Weather was awesome, the scenery was great. If the company would have been better it would have been just about right! :)

Once we started heading down it was immediately clear this was going to be sketchy and, within about 2 seconds I slipped on some ice and was on my butt. I hashed up my hand a little, and cursed myself for not putting on gloves before heading down. The next half mile or so (felt like more) was ridiculous, the trail was just a sheet of ice with a nice steep hill to your right. We picked our way forward, Jun just took off ahead (I swear he just floats sometimes). Tyler was wearing his road shoes, so he really had it rough - not that anything besides spikes can do much for you on stuff like that. FINALLY we got past the really sketchy stuff and were able to open it up and tear down the hill. Tyler was speedy going down, and we really enjoyed the cruising down.

Met back up with Jun at Church Fork, where he filled his bottle, and then we headed west on the Pipeline trail. I saw the two of them for all of about 2 minutes and then they were gone. I was settled into a steady 9 min pace, but I just wasn't feeling anything much faster. I finally came to them as they waited for me at Rattlesnake Gulch, and then we cruised on down to the road (again, they just flew down). Once we hit the road Tyler took off a bit, and I did a decent job of not letting Jun pull further away (even though he was down the road a little). Once we got to Wasatch Blvd, my legs were really feeling it, but I just kept trucking along - it felt super slow, but it wasn't terrible. I really pushed hard the last quarter mile or so to really make sure I sapped as much out of my legs as possible!

Once we got back to the office I summed it up to Craig this way - "Isn't it funny that I just had my butt handed to me and I loved every minute?" I think that's the part that's hard to explain to people that can't figure out why in the world we do what we do - you actually love that feeling that keeps most people from doing it!

Great day, dang near perfect weather, awesome course, and OK, great company.  

Jun ditched me at work today (for good reason), so rather than run around work I decided that I would stop by Mueller park on my way home and hit that up. I've only run it a few times, but I quickly checked to see what my fastest previous time was before I left. 1:11 last year around this same time. I knew that I wanted to beat that, and I knew that my real goal for this course would be under an hour - which is totally do-able on the dirt, but a little more of a challenge in the snow. 

Felt pretty good going up, but tight. I had done box jumps, lunges and other random crap to my legs yesterday, so they were sore in places they aren't used to! As I got nearer to the top, I thought I was closer than I was, and figured if I could hit the top in 35 minutes, I could easily get under an hour. So I pushed it hard thinking that the end was right around the corner, but in fact I still had at least a quarter mile more - I burned out a little too soon and ended up going pretty slow up the last little climb before the end. Got there in 38 something. Took a few minutes to hang out up there, it was pretty much the only spot on the entire trail that got any sun, so it felt nice.

Heading back down I kept trying to do calculations in my head, and figured at the very least, I'd like to split the difference between and hour and 1:11 - so like 1:05, 06. I really tried to push it going down, and in the snow it just seems like you can only go so fast! As I got closer I thought that 1:03 would be a solid time, so I really pushed hard the last mile and came up at 1:02:29 - almost exactly 9 minutes off my previous time! I'll take it.

My face was completely numb by the end! I guess that's where the Yule beard comes in handy!

Trail conditions were good, well tracked all the way up, a little sloppier though as you get higher.  

View Benchmark with Jun. Sloppy mess the first couple of miles, then thick, heavy snow on the upper part. The snow really drained me and I had a hard time running in the snow on some of the hills - Jun was floating along as usual. The way back down was fast and sketchy. We both finished with mud all up our legs and covering our shoes. Not my best outing on that course, for sure, but I had a great time anyway. 

Met up with Matt VH to try for a morning run, but after driving around for a bit in the pouring rain, we decided to just bag it. 

Later that day I decided to try out an Jillian Michaels iFit program on the treadmill - the same thing I used when I first started running, but at a much higher level. This one was called "Boot Camp" and was a pretty dang good workout. It pretty much consisted of switching between 7.5 and 8 mph on 9% incline for 40 minutes.Watched "Unbreakable" (for the second time) while I ran - hard to not push it when you're watching that! 

When I got done I heard water trickling and looked over to see water dripping into the basement. Great - so I immediately had to throw on a coat and hat and ended up spending about a half hour on a ladder in the snowstorm trying to fix where the water was getting in. I guess it was a good cool-down!

Did some weights & plyo later that night while my wife ran.   

Birthday morning run. Visiting my parents in Colorado, so took a quick run on a dirt path by their house. Great views of the flatirons. Mostly just little rolling hills, but I tried to keep a pretty steady pace. 240 vert. 8:18 AP. 

Went for a run with my Dad - he just started running last year when he purchased a pair of Altras and was amazed to find that many of his foot ailments from years past nearly disappeared. It was a nice, slow very casual run (for me) but it was awesome to run with him and see him push hard up the hills. I never thought I'd ever see him running 3 miles! We're trying to fill an entire team with just my immediate family (and spouses) for Ragnar so its been fun trying to get a lot of the non-runners to jump right in! 

At home with my son today and, as luck would have it, my wife actually got home while there was still some light outside! I threw on some shorts and a couple of shirts and headed out to the BST. Beautiful evening run. I started with a long sleeve and a light jacket, but it wasn't long before the jacket was unzipped and then a little later it was off completely. I didn't wear spikes, and luckily it was just warm enough that the really icy spots were a little soft so there was some traction. It was pretty slippery and slushy, but the Lone Peaks did just fine. Conditions didn't allow for much speed, and I was content to just keep it casual and enjoy. Running back the sun was setting and the pink and orange was cast all over the clouds and onto the snow. I love running in the snow at sunset! If you think you have to hit a TM or not run at all during the winter, you're missing a whole new world (queue Aladdin music...)!! 925 vert, 10 min AP 

View Benchmark with Jun and Scott. Started out nice and easy, those two had to stop to relieve themselves, but I kept going and tried to keep them back as long as I could. I was feeling pretty good and was surprised that I made it to the switchbacks before Jun caught me. Scott caught up a while later, I was having a really hard time keeping up a good cadence on the crusty hard (but sometimes soft) stuff. It really slows you down! Got to the top and enjoyed a few minutes taking in the view, not a lot of wind today, which was super nice. Really warm out.

The way down was super sketchy at first, you just never know what the snow might do with each step. We took it fairly slow, then picked it up a little as we got to the dirt road section. Scott was at the front as we hit the switchbacks, and kept a pretty nice pace going. When we hit the steep downhill, he just flew down! I'd never seen him go down that as fast as he did. He never let up on the pace as we all cruised down Anns. My goal was to pass Scott, but I didn't want to make a move too soon and then blow up, so I waited until the BST splits off from Anns above the tower, and then Scott let us pass amid a muddy mess of a trail. I was pushing hard in the low to mid 6's and it wasn't 10 seconds later that I came a around a slight bend and my plant foot hit a nasty patch of mud and just went flying out from under me! I went down with a squish and just lay there for a minute laughing while Craig snapped a picture of me. I was covered in mud. The best part was it was probably less than a quarter mile from the end! Ha. Gotta have a good fall every now and then.

Finished strong and laughing and then we hit up the Chevron for a drink and snagged a Hot'n'Ready for the drive back to the office. See Juns blog for pics. 

Draper BST wih Jun. The trail was an array of mud and ice, which made for an interesting time. A good portion of it was just fine, and we were able to make pretty decent time. I tried to keep the pace up and Jun stuck right with me, despite having done Granduer this morning. Took a quick conference call at the halfway mark, and then made our way back. I almost slipped in the mud and then Jun slipped in it right behind me. He was up quickly and we kept on our way. We took a slightly longer route back which would give us over 6.5 and put Jun at 17 miles for the day. The last decent was super fast, sketchy and fun! One of my faster times on this course despite the conditions. 

6.56 miles - 1:01:39 - 9:24 AP - 790 vert 

Evening run on the Kaysville BST with Matt VH. I decided to wear spikes this time and they helped considerably. I was feeling pretty good and kept up a decent pace. The moon was bright and it was pretty warm out, even long after the sun had set. I waited for Matt at one point and then forgot to turn my watch back on until about a mile later...son of a. I hate it when I do that. I lost a little bit of motivation to push hard on the way back since I wouldn't have accurate splits, but still enjoyed a fun pace in the snowy downhills.

7.04 miles - 1:07:50 (ish) - 9:41 AP - 915 vert 

5 sporadic miles in SG. 

Jun and I were able to meet up with Seth for a sweet 10+ mile run in St. George in the early am. It was a super fun run with pretty much perfect weather.

Followed it up with 3 or so miles with Jun. 

Evening run on the Kaysville BST. The trail was a bit of a mess - mud, snow, ice, water...pretty much a little of everything. Lots of super slippery ice, so it was good I had spikes, and plenty of half melted crusty snow to keep you on your toes to keep from falling through. One of my faster times on the course. 

7.05 miles - 1:07:25 - 9:34 AP - 1000 vert

View Benchmark with Scott and Jun from the Red Rock trailhead, up Potato Hill to Anns, then up to the top. The trail was a mess of mud and snow, and I really wasn't feelin' it on the way up. Got to the top in 1:01 and then we headed back down. Felt my legs starting to come back as we hit the switchbacks and then turned onto Anns. This time we decided to take Anns south and then just run the road back to the car. Felt super good and just cruised on down - putting a decent gap on the other two. Jun had killed me going up by several minutes, so my real goal was to try and make up that time! :) I forgot my watch so I'm mad I can't see what my splits were coming down. 

9.5 miles - 1:40:19 - 10:33 AP - 1850 vert 

 let Jun borrow my spikes the other day, and since he has yet to return them, I decided not to run the BST in Kaysville today. I decided to try out the BST a couple miles south, starting at the mouth of Baer Canyon and heading South to Farmington Canyon. You immediately start with a climb, then once you hit about 5200 feet the trails settles down and rolls you along. About halfway through you get to Shepherd creek, where you have to drop down just to the neighborhood, and then climb your way back up to the same elevation you were before. The lower part was snowy, and had some stairs that were completely covered, which was a little sketchy, there was a rope there, which helped a lot especially on the way down. Got to Farmington Canyon at about 3.3 miles. Didn't go all the way down into it, but got to a nice overlook and then headed back. Was able to run (slowly) most of the climbs, which was good. Trail conditions overall were OK - a few nasty spots and the start/finish but overall well worth running. Will certainly be adding that into my schedule, especially for some climbing days.  

6.6 miles - 1:20:42 - 12:12 AP - 1950 vert  

This is looking back where I came from at the turnaround point. Back up we go! (You can see trail markers scattered throughout, including on the skyline) 

 Me & Farmington Canyon

Late afternoon run on the Pipeline Slushee trail. It was a bit of a mess - if it was colder it would have been really bad ice. As it was there was enough slush to provide a little traction, but it did slow you down quite a bit. A few dry spots to even things out, and it was funny to watch how quickly the pace picked up on dry ground with the same effort. Ran 3.3 out and then back. Ran a negative split on the second half. Same distance as yesterday, just 23 minutes faster...interesting what the hills do to the pace! Amazing weather - shorts and 1 shirt.

6.6  miles - 57:07 - 8:39 AP - 290 Vert

it up the island with Matt VH in preparation for his Buffalo 100 run. We did the west side loop with the Elephant head out and back. Weather was cloudy but nice - shorts and a single long sleeve! Saw a bunch a deer and buffalo, including passing by some that were hanging out rather close to the trail. I wasn't feeling particularly good at first, but as the tightness from the weeks running seemed to get shaken out I started feeling better. Passed a guy riding a bike pulling a pug behind him on a trailer (the pug had run 6 miles, which is pretty solid for a pug!) and it looked super funny, just standing in the back like he was commanding a chariot - wish I would have snapped a pic. They passed me in White Rock valley and then I passed them going up the hill - then my goal was to not let them pass me in the remaining 3 or 4 miles. Finished a couple of minutes ahead of 'em. I don't know what it is with me forgetting my watch lately, but I did it again! Right around 3 hours of running time. 

19 miles - 3:00:00 - 9:28 AP - 2250 vert 

MattVH coming up out of the valley - Elephant Head in the background 

VH Hittin' the switchbacks!

VH Posin' - Elephant Head

Great Salt Lake to the SouthWest 

 Action shot! Gee I love running! (And apparently I look like a dork when I do it!) :)

BST Baer Canyon South to Farmington. Nice and casual evening run with a couple of good climbs. Didn't push it super hard, just enjoyed the run. Would have been nice to get out earlier, but I still had a great time. Saw a herd of deer with a good sized buck just above me where I turned around.

6 miles - 1:09:40 - 11:37 AP - 1720 vert 

One step forward - half a step back 

View Benchmark with Jun by way of Potato Hill to Anns from the Red Rock trailhead. Right from the start the trail was crap - a few inches of fresh snow covering a muddy mess beneath. It was pretty slow going up. Jun put a little gap on me, but I tried to not let it get bigger, and I did pretty good. The steep connector trail off Anns was deeper snow and still slippery mud underneath. At the switchbacks we (Jun) was blazing a new trail in the fresh snow. Slow going. Once we got to the wider road towards the peak we were hoping for more tracked out trails...nope. You'd fall a couple of inches with every step, then as we got further up, that few inches became several inches to a foot. It was nearly impossible to run in some spots. Once we hit the ridge up to the peak, the wind was blasting bitter cold, where below it had been sauna hot. Hit the peak and spent just a minute up there and then blasted our way back down. It was super fun, but super sketchy at the same time. You never knew what each footfall will give you - you might find immediate purchase, or find your foot sinking knee deep in snow. We were moving fast and at least gravity helped pull us down. When we got down towards Anns and to warmer weather, the trail just got worse and worse - we were just slip, sliding everywhere. The weirdest part was that your eyes see snow, but your feet feel mud. When we connected up with the BST we decided we'd had enough of ripping the trail apart, so we jumped off the trail and onto the road and ran the last little bit back to the car. 9.6 miles but my legs were saying more like 16...Thats what we call brutally fun...:)

 9.6 miles - 1:52:00 - 11:32 AP - 1730 vert

Dimple Dell with Jun. Kept it fairly casual, but still a decent pace and, as it turns out a full min/mile faster for me than the last time I ran this. Feeling much better these days. Jun and I had a nice little sprint at the end, where I beat him by a coupla seconds. Could have something to do with me taking yesterday off and him climbing two peaks....Nah, couldn't be it.

8 miles - 1:06:33 - 8:19 AP - 650 vert 

 "The Wedge" with Jun, Scott and MattVH. Jun threw the idea out just a few days before and we were all able to get our schedules worked out to make it happen. I remembered reading Crockett's report about this run, so I was really excited to get out there and give it a go.

I picked up Jun in early morning, and we drove down to AF and met Matt & Scott, where we all piled into my car and headed on out. As we got close to the starting point, we took a very slight detour to put in a drop bag for an aid stop, and then drove the couple miles to the start point. The road drives you straight up to the edge of the Little Grand Canyon, so it makes for a spectacularly welcoming view. Almost as nice was the presence of a bathroom at this point, which a few of us took advantage of.

Once we were all changed and had snapped a few pre-run pics, we set out - stopping again within about a half mile at the Wedge overlook, where we took a few more pictures and took in the views. Shortly after the overlook, we were off the dirt road and onto the winding singletrack that would be our constant companion for the next 30 or so miles. The trail winds back and forth and all around the various fingers of the Good Water Canyon. Aside from the rough terrain and constantly winding trail, one of the truly challenging aspects of this course is how brutally close your path winds back and forth near where you just were - sometimes with a massive gorge between the two points, other times not as much. It's really cool to look just across the way and think that even though it's only a couple hundred yards away, it will be a mile or two before you reach that point. Cool at first, but certainly a little more challenging the longer you have been running on it...and to just tease you a little more, there is a road that connects the start to finish that's all of about 5 miles long (thats taking us 15) that you can almost at any point, easily bail out onto and run back.

We stuck mostly together to the drop spot at mile 8.5 (2 or less if by road:)) where we wouldn't stop now, but would on the way back. From there we began to spread out a bit more. I hung with Jun for a while, and he was cooking along pretty well, so I pulled back a little while him and VH put a gap on me. Shortly before the turnaround, Jun passed me on his way back, and when I got there I couldn't see VH, so I wasn't sure if he was just takin' care of bidness or what (turns out he was taking in the scenery at the edge of the point). I quickly turned back, but spent a couple of minutes walking and eating a sandwich I had stashed in my bag (gotta love the Uncrustables, they're perfect for stuff like this). Then picked up the pace and ran into Scott a bit later. He was moving along, but mentioned he had been dealing with stomach issues. I directed him to VH - who, as the most experienced in that area of the bunch - would hopefully be able to help him out with that. 

From there I hit a bit of a low, I didn't really feel like I was bonking or anything, but just didn't feel like I could push the pace very well and found myself running very slowly. I kept hearing footsteps behind me and would turn, expecting to see the boys coming up on the trail, but every time I turned there was no one there (weird how that happens). I took care of my own business at mile 21, which greatly helped the way I felt. At mile 22.5, where the drop bag was, I took a minute and downed a Pepsi, rearranged my bag (threw a gel or two up front) and then headed out. By this point my hip (sciatic?) was feeing really tight, especially when I walked, which I guess was good because it gave me motivation to keep running. I had also tied one of my shoes way too tight (it had come undone on the trail) and I was starting to feel that nasty pain on the top of my foot and, rather than do the smart thing and take 10 seconds to loosen the laces a little, I just kept on a goin'. The last few miles were especially tough, the trail just playing mind games with you as you keep winding, and even coming within feet of a road. At one point our tracks hit the road from where we came from, but I followed Juns tracks continuing on the trail, which was really cool. Once that trail merges with another road, I lost Juns tracks and I just stayed on the trail, which took me to a 'dead end' -which was an overlook, which was an awesome view, but at mile 30.5 I was ready to be done, so I could see where I needed to go and took off. Once I hit the road that I knew would take me to the car I really pushed the pace. It was an uphill run, which didn't seem to end. I didn't remember the road being this long, or being a downhill this morning!! As I neared the car I could see Craig huddled behind a rock, waiting patiently for me, the key holder, to show. Why we don't just designate him as the car key carrier still baffles me. You'd think he'd just start asking to carry it. Felt good to change clothes and get into something warm (temps were fine as long as you were moving - once you stopped though, it got cold!), and I downed a couple of Pepsis as we waited for the other fellas to finish up.   

What an amazing run and well worth the drive to run, or even just look at, any part of that course! It has so many access points you could really run almost any distance you wanted and still be able to really enjoy it. Can't wait to get back out there again. 

I wore my Contour camera, so I'll try and throw together a little compilation video of the run here soon.

Probably going to take one more day off to give the foot a rest from Monday - no need re-aggravating  it for no reason.

In the mean time, here's a little viddy I threw together from our Wedge run on Monday: 

I decided to do a nice casual run with some vert to give the legs a workout but not worry about a bunch of miles. Started at Baer canyon and went south on the BST, this time though, I decided to explore around a little and have some fun. At Shepherd Creek instead of going down to the neighborhood, I searched around and found a VERY faint and untraveled trail that went up the canyon a little and then crossed the stream and took you up a more well defined trail that I had been able to see from the other side. Not as easy as going the other way (in the sense of the trails condition) but it reduces the vert a bit. You still have a bit of a climb from there, but then where the BST levels out again, I decided to take another side trail that takes you up a ridge. As I was climbing this trail I saw a herd of about 20 deer just below me scatter and take off to the south. I really had fun just cruising up the steep hill and not really caring about being in a rush or anything. At the high point where I turned around the trail did keep going, but it was pretty icy, so I'll have to save that for spring or when I want to pack some spikes. It's always fun to see where stuff goes.  

Overall the trail was in great shape other than a couple of really icy spots, especially up on the ridge. On the way back I took my time and went a little nuts with the camera - the sunset was just amazing! A hair over 4.5 miles with about 1300 feet of climbing.  

Some of the fleeing deer

Looking back at the ridge I climbed (on left). You can see the trail starting on the right side, then it crosses over the top of the rocks and goes up the spine on the left side. I went up a little ways past the upper rocks.  

Pretty awesome views 

What a sunset! 

8 miles in the Gully with Jun. Pretty casual, seems to take me about 3 miles to feel decent on this trail for some reason. 

8 miles - 1:12:19 - 9:02 AP - 616 vert 

Arms'n'back

 Squats, lunges, pushups, box jumps, weights and whatever other random convulsions I could put myself through.  

Baer BST - shorts and a tank top! Can't believe it was snowing two days ago. Had a nice run, didn't feel like I had a ton of energy but when I finished I realized that was my fastest time on the course, and the fastest 1st mile, which is probably the hardest, especially since you start out with a solid climb right off the bat. Bombed the hill down Shepherds creek and so was pretty beat going up the other side. Took a few minutes at the turnaround to just sit and enjoy being up on the mountain, felt good to clear my head after a bit of a roller coaster week last week.   

As a side note (and because I was thinking about it as I was running) - My favorite piece of gear right now is the soon to be released Ultraspire Synapse single water bottle waist pack - It's by far the best single bottle carrier I've ever used - I think I even prefer it over a handheld (although once I get my hands on one of theirs, that may change). It's seriously hard to tell you're even wearing it, putting the bottle back is super easy, and it carries a decent amount of stuff, including the stretch cord for a jacket. Highly recommend. 

Hit the Draper BST with Jun, Jeremy and Brent, Juns brother. The trail was about as wet as it can be, causing a muddy, slushy, snowy mess. We took it pretty easy and just had a fun time - I'm pretty much covered in mud from head to toe - had a blast! 

6.33 miles - 1:04:15 - 9:54 AP - 780 vert 

My brother and his family came over so that his wife could go for a run with my wife. After they got done running my brother pulled out his running clothes and asked if I wanted to show him a trail. Sure thing - went and did a very casual 3 on the BST from Baer canyon. 

Run with Craig, Scott and Josh out on the island. 

 Josh, Craig & Scott 

As I will be changing jobs shortly and will no longer be working with Jun, our boss suggested that we take a final Friday off and go for a long run. Yeah, she's cool like that. From a running aspect, it was an incredibly difficult decision to make this change, but from a career and financial standpoint I would have been stupid not to. The reality is that while our afternoon runs won't be as convenient or frequent, we'll still get out to cause mayhem on the trail near you...

 Scott, Craig, Josh & my big head

 So, to the run...Met up with Scott and Craig in Kaysville and then drove out to the island where we met Josh, who planned on running for a part of the course with us, so as not to mess too much with his ankle that has sidelined him the past couple of months. The weather was everything we had hoped for. A little brisk to start, but we all pretty much had shorts, shirts and sleeves on. Within the first mile we crossed a rather large herd of buffalo, just off the trail - one of many that we would see throughout the day. We stayed pretty much together to elephant head, me just hanging onto Joshs' heels as he charged up Lone Tree hill behind Craig. From there we headed down into split rock bay, flying down the hill. I stopped and snapped some pics and cruised with Josh through the valley.

Scott prancing through the rocks just before the switchbacks 

As we made the short climb out of the valley before the switchbacks, Josh and I stopped for a minute to take some pictures and he commented that he still didn't feel recovered from the Lone Tree climb, so I settled in behind him as we started our way up the switchbacks, and man, I was trying really hard just to keep up! I'm fairly certain that's the fastest I've ever run up them! We were gaining quickly on Scott just as it flattened out, and then Josh got hit with cramps in his calves. Hate those! So we took it easy for a bit and then worked our way back to Elephant head where Craig was waiting. At this point (about mile 10.5), we said goodbye to Josh as he wasn't going to be joining us out to the Elephant Head point. Cruised out and hit that point and then quickly made our way back towards the beginning. Jun gained a little ground running down Lone Tree hill, but I was feeling pretty good and was able to catch back up to him a little bit before the climb out. As we topped that hill I realized that was the first time I had run that hill in its entirety and had run every hill on this loop. Felt good. Ran through a huge herd of buffalo that was blocking the trail, they were kind enough to move about 20 yards off the trail before turning and watching us go by.  I love watching a big herd of buffalo galloping along. 

Jun and I put it in cruise control for the final three miles back to the car, where we ended up at about 3:04. We refilled water, ate and refilled water. Scott came a bit later, and we kind of rushed him through his breakfast of waffles and battered sausage before we moved on out. 

Craig waiting at the parking lot (mile 19)before heading out for more. 

Today we decided to run the Buffalo Knoll loop clockwise (backwards, for those that run the race). I started to feel a little tired here, I think it was just the food digesting. It was kind of cool, the three of us just plodding along in a tight line - I think we even went a mile or two without even saying a word, just the sound of our rhythmic footfalls to keep us company. Then, as we passed a couple of big buffalo bulls, I made a comment about one of them and as I was taking in his great majesty, my toe caught a rock and I turfed it right in front of him. I think I heard him laugh a little and shake his head at me. Ha.

In the really technical parts of the trail my hammies threatened to cramp every now and then, but I think it actually did them some good to get a little bigger range of motion in for a bit. The trail ends at a campground on the north end of the island, so we just stuck to the road for a few miles. As the road climbs out to the main road, my hammies once again felt like they were about to cramp at any moment, but the hill relented just in time and we had a mile or so of nice flat to downhill, and I was able to keep just behind Craig. We ran almost to the causeway where the eastside trail starts, and then we headed south on that for about a mile until it intersected with the trail that heads back towards the car.

This turn was mile 25 and we knew it was only a couple back to the car, so as we ran up the dirt road we discussed what we should do. Ok, it wasn't much of a discussion, Jun pointed to Buffalo knoll (which, at the time looked like it was about 10,000 feet high and 20 miles away) and figured that if we ran to the top of that and then back down to the car that should be about right. I offered my opinion, including my completely unscientific (and unrealistic) calculations of how far that really was, yet 'we' decided that's what we were going to do. Cruised a little more on the pavement and even set a good pace on the hill up to the parking lot. The grade of the hill really picks up a bit before, and when I had looked at it from afar I had thought "there is no way I'll be able to run that thing!" yet when we got to it, we just kept a nice pace right to the top. I had secretly hoped that Jun had meant we would go to the parking lot, but he didn't even pause at the trailhead. Once I hit dirt and the hill picked up, my calves really started to cramp, so I took this chance to hike and stretch them out. Craig had a decent gap on us and Scott was really pushing some of the hills, putting a good one on me. Always fun to see that 28 miles in. At the top we took a few minutes for some pics and what a view! We could practically see our whole course, which was fun.

 Craig and Scott on Buffalo Knoll

 Me standing on Buffalo Knoll - you can see both White Rock and Split Rock bays in the background

Back on the downhill my legs felt good and fast again and we all just let gravity take us back towards the car. Once we got to the turn towards the parking lot, we knew we'd need a little more distance, so we ran passed that to the more western road then took that south. Now south of the parking lot we took another detour skirting the west side of the it (passed a few more giant buffalo), then through the parking lot, passed the car, finishing just 20 yards further. Not too bad. As Craig and I walked back to the car, we saw the Scott decided to take the "Zig Zag through the parking lot" approach to get to his 31. We must have looked fairly ridiculous to anyone watching.

Finished in 5:28 and though I was certainly tired, I was feeling really good. Felt like I had fueled really well and it showed. Chalk it up to another fantastic day on the island!

Random pics:  

3 miles to shake things out on the BST from Baer canyon. Took the first climb pretty easy, but still ran every step. Couple little tight spots here and there but overall legs felt good, strong on the uphills. Loving the weather AND despite all the hatin', I'm really loving the extra hour of daylight in the evenings!

3 miles - 31:15 - 10:24 AP - 650 vert 

Dimple Del with Jun...trying to catch up here.

BST to Ghost Falls with Jun. Starting on a new pair of Lone Peaks. 

Couple miles up Baer Canyon with my brother. Lots of vert in a short time, ran pretty much every step. Looking forward to more of that trail as the snow melts.

Dimple Dell to Bells with Jun. Legs felt pretty spent but managed a decent pace. I figured the secret is to just keep running...

5 plus on the mountain bike with some friends to the B and above it. Lots of nasty climbing, a little running involved (sometimes it just easier) :). Fun, super sketchy decent. Got to the end and realized my seat had slowly lowered the whole time. No wonder my quads were feeling it. 

22 or so miles in the middle of the night with Matt VH from mile 50 of his successful sub 24 hour 100 mile Buffalo Run. Had a really fun time just cruising along, joking around, singing songs, and ringing in VHs birthday as we ran into Split Rock Bay. Nothing quite like the punishment that 100 mile race dishes out and Matt just kept truckin', I've had people ask why in the world I would want to pace in a race, but the truth is I actually really enjoy it, I love being a part of the event, especially when its something as epic as being a part of someone finishing 100 miles!

An easy hour on the TM in Oklahoma. Traveling for work. Took an easy pace on 8% incline. Just trying to keep the legs loose for a long run this weekend. 

3 miles with my brothers on the Baer canyon BST. 

Intervals on the TM followed by some kettle bell squats. 

Nice little route out my backdoor to a little quarter mile trail behind my house, couple of blocks on the road, then onto a dirt road climb up to Shepherd canyon. Climbed a little more to the BST and headed north to Baer canyon then ran the dirt road back south to where I started. Can't believe I haven't done that route before. 

Flag Rock look with Matt VH and Mr K.

Dinnertime run with a couple of my brothers. 

My house up to the BST to Farmington Pond and back. Couple of big climbs, trail was in great shape considering all the rain. 

Nightime run from my house up to the BST at Shepherd creek, north to Baer Canyon, back south on the lower dirt road, then back home. Lots of yellow eyes from deer peering back at me from the darkness. Nice and easy, decent climb. 990 vert. 

3 miles with my wife in her introduction to a little bit of trail running. 

Quick trail run with the wife, then ran home from there to get a couple more speedy miles. 

Ran from my house north to Baer Canyon, hit the BST heading south from there through Shepherd creek (down and then back up to the BST) to Farmington Canyon (down and then back up) then up to flag rock  in Farmington. I stopped and the top where there was a couple that was hiking, and we chatted for quite a few minutes before I moved on out and headed down the south trail. Jun called me while I was running down the tricky section to tell me he had taken second at the Red Mountain 50K with a 4:02 time. So cool - I knew he'd kill it on that course. I then ran back on the firebreak road north until I met back up with where I had turned up to flag rock and just  ran the same way back. I took a detour to Farmington pond where there was a bathroom with running water, which was great because I was just about out and it was getting HOT. From there it was really a grind as my uphill legs were pretty much gone, and I still had a couple of decent climbs left. I was tempted to just run home from Shepherd creek (missing the last big climb) but I knew that wasn't what I had set out to do, and no matter how slowly, I would just keep on truckin. Tough little course with about 4500 feet of climbing. Hot. Wore my Ultraspire Kinetic for the first time and was pretty impressed. 

Monday run with the brothers. We've had a nice thing going the past few weeks where we all get together and the wives all go for a run and then when they get back all the guys go for a run and then we all have dinner. 

Today we were in Farmington, so we started at the Freedom Hills park, up the switchbacks to the firebreak road, then north a little ways and then back. It was a little warm out. I could feel a little fatigue on the climbs from Saturdays run, but really not too bad.   

It's been quite a while since I've been on the ol' Kaysville BST, so I figured I'd give 'er a go. It was pretty hot, lots of bikers out. I wasn't feeling super strong and my legs were feeling a little heavy still, but I ended up with a decent time, so hopefully that's good news. Should be able to easily get that run done in under an hour (my fastest time is an hour even). 1:03:58, 900 vert. 

Met up with Jun to run the BST downtown up to the avenue twins before work. Kept a casual pace the whole way up, but I was able to run everything but about 20 yards, which I was very happy with. Felt good on the way down and just put it in cruise control. Pushed a little at the end when I realized I could squeeze in under 1:30. (1:29:26) - 10:46 AP -  2000 vert  

3 miles with my wife, my brother and his wife. Nice and easy around the East Wilderness Park trails. 3 miles 350 vert.

Evening run with a couple of my brothers. Ran a trail just below the shooting range in Bountiful over to about Parrish lane and then back a slightly different way. Fun little trail. 8:25AP 600 vert. 

Avenue Twins with Jun. 

Details to come...this for now:

 Jun hitting the top of the 2nd Avenue Twin. 

For a quick short run, this is a good one. Davis Creek in Farmington with my brother- steep climb, but beautiful trail through the forest  -you could tag this on the flag rock loop if you wanted more vert - it starts just above where you come out on the road from that loop. Runs you up to Little Valley (as I always called it, but the signs say Pretty Valley) trail keeps going up, I'll have to check that out sometime. Today though we took a ATV trail back down to the start to make a loop out of it. Just shy of 3 miles, 1000+ feet of vert within about the first mile. 

BST Kaysville - Quick 5 on the BST in the near dark. Legs felt pretty good, was able to hold a decent pace. 

Marking the HOMM trail half marathon course with Jun and Josh. I figured we'd be handed a roll of orange tape to mark with - nope we got big ol' 8x8" signs that were attached to 2 foot metal stakes - like tomato plant cages. Those were a blast to carry as we made the 1800 foot climb in the first mile and a half, then bombed down another 3500 feet over the course of the next 8 miles. It was a lot of fun, starting to feel better. Josh ate it hard with about a mile to go. Ouch. 

Lunchtime run - City Creek BST. It was pretty hot out. I still have a bit of a cough left, which gave me a few fits, but otherwise I felt decent. Ran hard up the hill back to the car (parked at the east entrance to the loop road). Forgot my watch, but was around 5 miles, 600 ft vert. 46 min.

BST Kaysville to Fernwood and back. Nice run at dusk. Took it pretty easy with a nice push at the end. Feeling better, but the cough is still hanging around, which is annoying. 900 vert, 1:04. 9:08 AP. 

The Altramaniacs headed to Naked Foot 5K to have a nice little run through the park. We started at the back of the pack and when the race started we had to walk for a bit before the runners spread out, then spent a few minutes weaving in and out. I mentioned at this point that I didn't warm up at all (Drop had some some crossfit to get the heart rate up and the hammies tight) and we really spent about the first mile at a pretty casual pace, but realized that this wasn't a super competitive field, as we noticed that we were still keeping up with the front runners. At that point we picked up the pace a little and found ourselves in the top three. Drop pulled on ahead with the 1st place guy, passed him, and the two of them were pretty close to each other and put a little distance on me. There was a decent gap between me and 4, so I just kept a consistent pace and took it to the finish. 

The course was fun and challenging, with LOTS of turns and ups and downs. Not a fact course at all, but a lot of fun. For a 'barefoot friendly' course it had a little section of gravel that gave the non-die hard barefooters a real challenge (I went with my instincts and wore my Instincts), with the rest on pavement, concrete, grass and dirt. 

Spent the next couple of hours talking running and shoes (or lack thereof) and having a good ol' time.  

The boys and I had been throwing out ideas last week for runs we could to today. Time and snow conditions limited our options, so we decided to just run the beginning of the Wasatch 100 course until we ran out of time or ran out of trail, and then would turn around and run back. 

Ended up that only Jun and I could make it, and we set out early in the morning. Jun was still really really sore from the 5K we had run on Saturday, so we picked up a nice casual pace to warm up (OK, he had done a crossfit challenge before running the 5K, so his normally unused muscles were still screaming at him). After a well needed pit stop and Fernwood (3.5) we started the climbing in earnest. We ran for about 2 more miles and then settled in to a pretty decent power hike. Craig started to fall back a little (something I'm really not used to!), so I just pushed on. It was a beautiful morning and the trail conditions were great. At about 8000 feet the trail started to have a little snow covering on it from the weekend storms, but it really wasn't bad at all. As I got to the traverse that then drops you down to the spring before chinscraper, Craig got my attention and told me to hold up. Once he got to me we decided that we were about out of time, and that this was as good a place as any to turn back. Chinscraper looked like it had a fair amount of snow on it, but looked like it was passable. 

The way down was a lot of fun, several miles of downhill in the morning sun. A couple of short steep climbs reminded me that my climbing legs were pretty tired, and a mile or two more of downhill let me know that all of my legs were tired!! From Fernwood Craig started to pull ahead a little, we were both pretty wrecked, it was kind of funny. I caught back up to him on the last steep downhill and then we just casually ran in the last dirt road part, with a nice 100M sprint at the end. With the amount of running I've been able (or NOT been able) to do in May, this was a good run and I felt happy with how it went. Weather was great and we caught sight of a couple of jets from Hill Airforce base fly by.

16.3 miles 4600 feet of vert.  

Run with the brothers. Lagoon trail to Farmington Pond and back. Super casual, awesome weather. Grew up in the area and had never been on that (paved) trail - its really quite nice. Followed it up with a family dinner - yum. 

AM - Early morning saunter up the Avenue Twins with Jun. Perfect morning for a run. Started out pretty conservatively, I had a few tight places complaining here and there, including the usual foot numbness that only seems to happen on this run. Got to the top in a fairly good time, I did have to hike a short section today, but I still tried to keep it quick. Spent a good ten minutes on top it was just so nice out. 

Once we headed back down we moved at a quick but comfortable pace, then Jun took the lead and turned up the speed a little. It was a lot of fun just flying down the trail, running up all the banked turns and just having an overall good time - man, this running stuff really sucks. 8.3 miles 2000 vert

PM - Wife really wanted to run and no one wanted to go with her, so I did (because I did). My brother in law also came along, and since we were at their house in Bountiful, we hit up Mueller Park. First time I've ever ran the trail NOT in the winter - where'd all this green stuff come from? and the people? :) Awesome weather, VERY casual pace. 3.1 miles, 800 vert.   

The Altramaniacs took the day to splash around at the Dirty Dash. Got plenty dirty and, as usual, added a couple of miles to the regularly scheduled course. 

Got a friend at work that's looking for a couple of people that want to join his Ragnar team - anyone interested, let me know. 

Since I know Jun doesn't want to I don't think I'll get any responses. :) 

My wife really wanted to get a long run in (wanted a Ragnar confidence booster), and she really wanted to run to Elephant rock in Mueller park, since we had only gone halfway up last time. She did awesome, had never run more than about 4.5 miles, so she really bumped it up with a 7 miler and some good vert! Shes running the 'Ragnar Leg' so I think this was a good preview for it. She was super excited and loving it when we got done. Super casual for me, so I tried to focus on form and just having a fun time on a good run with my wife. Very proud of her!  7 miles, 1400 vert.  

Davis creek with the fam (Brother, Sis in-law & Bro in-law). Went up to Little Valley (about a mile with 1K vert) and then came back down a bit then up another trail to Hells Hole, with some more steep climbing. On the way back I took off and told them I would meet them at my brothers house (we had driven there). Added a couple extra miles on the firebreak road to Freedom Hills park and then on the road for a couple of blocks to the house.  

5 miles on the BST Kaysville.

Family dinner run, 4 miles on the BST with about a half a mile in Adams Canyon. 

Got a call from a buddy at the end of the work day saying "Dude, lets go for a run". I tell him I don't have any of my stuff with me, but if he can get his hands on some shoes, socks, shorts and a shirt, I can go. I kind of thought that would end it, but he was able to pull through and come up with all of it (helps when you run a shoe company I guess). With it being 5-6 o'clock and him not being a regular trail runner, I just assumed we'd be looking at a 7-10 miler on the Wasatch Crest...It wasn't until after we had dropped my car that I started asking questions, and realized that he had a 20 or so miler planned...From Guardsman to Dog Lake, Mill A ending in Neffs. Yeah, I kind of had my doubts that we'd have enough time, but we were already on our way so I figured we'd give it a go. Suffice it to say, his plans were a little more ambitious than he had anticipated, and we ended up on Mill A above Butler fork at about 9:30 realizing that we just wouldn't have time to go the whole way. He called Jun for some 'advice' but the first thing Jun said was "Do you guys need me to come and pick you up?" - what a guy - so we took him up on the offer and made our way to Butler fork. By the time we got to the downhill, it was completely dark. I had no headlamp (since I figured we were only going a few miles) so it was super sketchy, but the trail isn't too bad so I made it through without eating it. Met up with Craig a while later at Butler and he drove us back to Guardsman to get one car, then we drove to get mine and then it was finally off to home. Got home about midnight. 

While it was longer and later than I was planning, I sure do love that trail. You can't beat the views and we had a great time.   

Ragnar leg 11 - awesome run from the highway by Pineview up Old Snow Basin road to Snow Basin. Beautiful stretch of road. Ran with my brother and we just cruised to the top. 1:10. 1800 vert.  

Ragnar leg 24 - Switched my wife for this leg (don't tell), it added about a mile and a half and some extra vert. Rockport to Oakley. First time I've seen this in the light, it was really quite nice. 6.8, 650 vert. 55:00

Ragnar leg 35 - Up and over and then a bombing downhill to Deer Valley, with a tiny climb at mile 4. Just cruised it with my two brothers and made a fun time of it.  350 vert 58:00

Was planning on the usual 7 on the BST, but VH called me about running 10 on the same trail. Works for me. A couple of tired spots from the long weekend (mostly just still tired), but felt pretty good. 1800 vert

Hit Wire Peak after work. Haven't been on that in a long time so I figured I'd give it a go. Didn't push super hard, but felt plenty worked by the time I got back to the bottom. Hot. 

Hard to call this much of a run, but my brother and I ran above Centerville, hitting all the trails were we grew up hiking and playing. It was actually pretty fun to remember hiking these trails as kids - can't believe my parents let us. Didn't have a lot of time, so didn't get a lot of distance, but had fun anyway. 700 vert.  

Late evening BST run. Didn't feel great the entire time, but wasn't really terribly slow either, so who knows. Been really tired lately! 700 vert

Quick jaunt with my brother and cousin up the BST to the Great Western from Fernwood. 2 miles up and then back. 1300 vert 

BST Kaysville to Fernwood and back. Man it was hot, just drains you. Took it fairly easy, pushed a couple of the hills hard just to keep it interesting. Went through 50 oz of water in 7 miles. Sheesh. 

Nightime run on Timp with Scott and Jun. Beautiful night, saw a couple of moose right on (then off) the trail. 2:08 to the top, ate some food, got really cold, then just bombed our way down. Felt very comfortable cruising down - until the very end where we were pushing it super fast and I turfed it - literally right at the "finish line" ha. Awesome time.  

Provo Freedom fun run. Part of the 10K part of the 5K, just messin' around and having a good ole' time. 

Flag Rock course.One of the worst runs on record (not the course, just the run!). Once I got into it it was easy to see why - I'm just dumb for not being prepared - 300 calories 6 hours earlier was all I had eaten all day, forgot to bring a gel or two along (or just eat something beforehand). It was at least 100 degrees which just sucked the energy out, and subsequently I was practically out of water after only a couple of miles. Ran the first hill too hard and with the heat could never really get my legs back. Stopped at any running water to cool down, was able to refill at Farmington Pond and then just plod my way back to the beginning. Luckily race day will be in the morning and temps should be much cooler. Bleh

Ran from Fernwood home on the BST, hot and humid, like usual, but felt decent. 

Flag Rock Race in Farmington - Got my brother to sign up and join in the fun. Saw Twinkies and MattVH beforehand. Tried to take the first climb nice and easy. Passed a couple people once the trail started climbing, and had one guy pass me as you start to climb in earnest. I wasn't climbing super fast, but was moving OK and MUCH better than I had the other day when I ran in the heat. Hit the flag in about 42 minutes, then just kept moving to finish out the climb and start the downhill. The ground was nice and soft and a little sticky from the rain last night, so trail conditions were good. Unfortunately, theres about 25 hairpin switchbacks that make it really hard to get in a good downhill rhythm. Hit the firebreak and had to stop twice to tie each shoe...caught the 1st place female just at the bottom of the BST and cruised down the Lagoon Trail. I thought she was hot on my tail and then realized it was just my water bottle sloshing around. Ha. 

Felt really good on the road running down Farmington Main street and figured I could just cruise on in. When I got to the intersection, there was a sign for Half marathon and 10K runners to take a turn east. I had thought that we just went straight through, but couldn't see anything about the Flag runners. For some reason I thought I had remembered reading to run in with the Half Marathoners, so I took the turn and followed that course. As I got close to the finish I see Twinkies in front on me...What? How did that happen? Then from my right I hear my brother say "Hey, you take a wrong turn?" Just as he was turning onto the road. What the...I had added almost a quarter mile adding the extra block. I sprinted hard trying to catch Twinkies, but ran out of time - results have him 3 seconds before me. So it cost me a couple minutes and a couple of spots, but thats the way it goes! Gotta pay attention. Had a good breakfast with my bro, VH and Twinkies and hung around a bit to see VH get his 3rd place award. 

Mad about the turn, but this was a fun local trail race that I plan on adding as a regular event.  

Dinner run with the family. I'd been sick all week but was feeling pretty good today and wanted to see how my legs felt. Me and my brother and brother in law ran up part of Baer Canyon. Its a pretty decent climb, but the first two miles are really the easy part. While I did feel a little energy depleted overall, my legs felt very well rested and quite good. 

With the Barigutsman this week I figured I better start getting after it. Ran Baer Canyon from the trail head to just below the last climb. I gave myself 1:30 to get as high as I can and then I'd have to turn around. I didn't push it super hard, and felt pretty good most of the way. Legs started to get fatigued just before I turned around, but thats pretty normal. Cruised on down, but didn't really push it too hard - Not that you really can on this trail, it's so steep and overgrown you can really only move so fast. Took about 50 minutes to get down. 2:21 total. The actual race is about a half mile longer on the top of the trail (steep) and about 2 more road miles, so that puts me pretty close to last years 3 hour effort. Plan on working some hills this week and hopefully that will give me enough to at least best last years time.  

Quick little afternoon run with Jun on the BST above the Avenues. Felt like we ran a nice little clip, but nothing crazy. Wind was pretty strong with a little rain, both of which felt quite nice for the most part. Cruising back I caught a toe and turfed it, bit of a sore shoulder now (had to keep my face from hitting a rock :)). Not looking forward to trying to navigate my way into work around the parade closures. 

Downtown BST, was hoping for more but ran out of time. It was HOT. 

Mueller Park with the brothers. 35 minutes up, 24 minutes down - 59:30 total. 1500 vert.  

Couple miles up Baer canyon and back. Of course it was hot, but wasn't as bad with a decent amount of shade. Felt pretty good. 

At a family reunion at the Spruces for the day, so I hit up Wasatch Crest with my brothers and Dad. Spent a lot of time waiting around for pops, and finally me and one of my brothers had to just take off and run back to the reunion because we were in charge of the program. Ran the second half fairly quickly once we got movin' .Dad and the two that stayed back with him were almost 2 hours later...he was pretty spent. I really probably should have just told him this might be a little past his ability level, at least for the schedule we were on. I do love that trail. 

In the morning we also ran over to Speedgoat and caught the front runners finishing - Kilian, Ricky, Max, Tony K, etc. Lots of Solomon guys in that front pack. So cool to see these guys coming in strong - and about 50 people (if that) there for the finish. Almost funny - people just don't know what they're missing! Had my dad with me and so I introduced him to Jay Aldous, who is clos(er) to my Dads age and I think really gave my dad some inspiration - and probably what made him really want to go run with us. Ha. So cool to see those guys, such a chill environment. 

Couple miles up Baer Canyon. It's a big climb anyway, but tried to push the steeper sections since I wasn't going very far anyway. I've got the last section pretty well memorized, which should help coming down on race day.  

2012 BairGutsman

This race is just stupid...It really is. Yet is the sheer stupidity and recklessness of it that seems to draw people to come and do it. The race starts at a church in Fruit Heights, takes you about a mile on the road, where you then hit the trail and climb another 4+ miles and 4000+ feet to the top of the mountain, just north of the Francis Peak communication towers. In years past, you would continue on the road and down part of Farmington Canyon, where the finish line would be waiting. With the canyon being closed the past two years, the race has instead turned you right back around and down the trail, the way you came. While I have only run this race these past two years, at the pre-race meeting they were talking about the possibility of returning to the original course after the canyon road is fixed...I think that would be a shame - how can you finish off such a brutal climb on a dirt road? It's only fitting for a race that claims "No False Bravado - You're going to bleed!" to NOT take the path of least resistance. Anyway...

Since I only live a block from the church, I was able to sleep in till about 5. Said hi to a few people from the neighborhood that were running it, and then headed on over to the start. Told myself to start much slower than I did last year, since I felt like I pushed it too hard and paid for it later. Settled into a nice barely sub 10 minute pace and just tried to get warmed up. Hitting the dirt I was feeling pretty good and quickly hiked the first steep section, passing several people here, and on the other climb before the first crossing. From there it's a bit of a run/hike mix, as the trail is at a more gradual incline. After the third crossing it really starts to get steep, where the 'real climbing' begins - just prior to that I was starting to feel a little fatigued, so I tried to eat and drink some before it picked up.

I started feeling better and felt like I was moving pretty well, but would occasionally be passed by faster hikers - I just don't seem to have that gear. Cruised through the ferns, and as I started to get above the trees into the rocks, I started feeling the fatigue coming on. Shortly after this I thought to myself  "this is about where Twinkies passed me last year" - which prompted me to do a shoulder check, and sure enough, not too far down the hill was Twinkies, just cruising along. It was also somewhere around here that the first place runner (Camdog) came blasting back down. I wasn't expecting a runner this early, no one said anything, and I didn't even have a chance to move out of the way - he just came tearing down through the bushes - amazing. A few minutes later Twinkies caught up and I let him pass - I kept him my sights as you begin the killer part of the climb, a nasty quarter mile trench that just goes straight up the face of the hill. An overhead view of the map shows a series of switchbacks - these are long overgrown and now unusable - though I think it would be nice, for the way up at least. By this time I was slowing down but still moving, getting passed now and then by faster hikers, and moving out of the way of those coming down. Hitting the road I was able to switch over to a nice trot, which actually felt kind of nice. Passed Twinkies coming back at the same place as last year, giving the same high 5 as we passed. He was probably only a minute or two ahead of me at that point, which means he made up some killer time on the way down.    

Hit the top aid station at almost exactly 2 hours, and spent less than a minute drinking three cups of water and getting an aid station worker laughing. Then it was back down! That first section down is killer - steep, washed out, dusted out and full of people trying to come up! My quads were already feeling kind of tired by the time I got to the bottom of that, but you've got only one way to go! Passed a lot of people on the upper section, some moving out of the way, others waiting for multiple request...Spent a good amount of time pretty much by myself going down. Could see a guy in red every now and then ahead of me that was moving well, I finally caught him and passed him right around the third crossing - then I really started feeling it. My stomach was turning, legs were heavy - I was finally getting to the section where you can actually get some speed going and I had nothing there! I felt like I had been fueling pretty well, but obviously not enough. So I decided to dial it back a notch, ate some jerky, a gel, some salt and some water, and figured that I had a couple miles to get it back together so I could at least finish strong. Guy in red passed me back somewhere during all that, and went to finish 3 or 4 minutes ahead of me, all gained in that last couple miles.

Finally hit the road and started to feel better. I knew I wouldn't hit sub 3 hours, so my goal was to beat my 3:06 ish from last year. The steep downhill road was slower than I would have liked, but once I hit Mountain Road my legs started to come back and I was able to pick up the pace, especially when I was able to see the finish line. Crossed the line in 3:04:30 with my wife and son cheering me in. After a minute or two I felt just fine, was able to catch Twinkies as he was leaving - he had finished more than 10 minutes faster than me, also improving by a couple minutes from last year. I asked some of the front runners if they wanted to go for a double - but they didn't seem too interested. :) That would have been super slow!

Stupid as this race is, and as hard as it seems while you're out there, I couldn't help but walk around with a smile on my face. The views are incredible, and the trail - as rocky, overgrown and steep as it is, is a lot of fun! 

5 miles on the BST with a couple of brothers. Quads were still sore and a little heavy from Saturday, but it felt good to shake 'em out. My brother decided to push the last stretch down into the 5:30's, so I just tagged along for the ride right with him. 

Quick run out the front door while there was a little light left. Lots of smoke in the air it seemed. First run in the new Altra Instinct 1.5, first impressions are really good. Feel like they run slightly smaller than the last iteration, and are a bit more firm which made them more responsive. Killer good looks. :)  

The fabled Quest for Kings Marathon...

Two years ago I was probably still shaking my head thinking these guys were crazy for trying such a thing. Last year I wasn't able to make it since we were out of town. Finally, I was going to be around to hit the highest point in Utah - a place that I had never been before.

I really had two concerns going into this run - First, I had never run higher than Timp, so I just had no idea how I would deal with the elevation (what with all of Scotts horror stories...). Second, my recent training has been less than I would like (new job and all), and I hadn't had a run over 20 miles for 3 or 4 months (yikes!). Nonetheless, I was really itching to get up in mountains and run.

The crew (Jun, Josh, Scott & I) all met up Friday afternoon and made our way up. In Mountain View we stopped for a burger and when I pulled up to the Maverick to run in and grab a lighter so we could have a fire, Craig said "I need two things, a lighter - and if someone buys me one of those hats, I'll wear it to the top of Kings" - pointing to a rack of trendy cowboy hats visible from the window. I ran in and took a look at the hats, and Craig (from the car) pointed out the one he wanted. I had shown him ones with eagles, swords, bullets, and mudflap girls - the one he picks out? a simple hat with a nice green, pink and white beaded band, complete with a heart charm...Ha, once I showed it to him in the car he ran back into the store and exchanged it for a different one. We had a good laugh in the car anticipating him wearing the hat for the entire duration of the run. Turns out, he actually liked it quite a bit. :)

Spent the evening setting up camp and getting to know some of the other runners that had shown up to run and hike the trail. Had fun hanging around the fire for a bit, and then we turned in for the night. 

Scott and Josh headed out bright and early around 5am to get an early crack at the triple crown, with other runners starting at 6. About 5 of us started around the start time of 7am, with Jun and I starting a little after as we waited for one runner to get situated. 

Enjoyed the morning running, got to Elkhorn Crossing in little over an hour, where we stashed our jackets. I loved breaking out into the open (after running through the forest) and seeing Kings, our destination, looming far far ahead. With a brief pit stop (and some hikers probably seeing more than they bargained for), we made our way up to Gunsight pass, taking the switchbacks up. Once there we just kept moving over to the cutoff trail and began climbing. From below, this trail looks like you climb a cliff face, but as you go through it, its really not bad at all, just the standard scrambling that pretty much the rest of this route is full of. Getting to the flats I was certainly starting to feel the elevation, but only in the sense that I couldn't move very fast. I otherwise still felt pretty good, which I was very happy about. Just as we started climbing the ridge to the summit we started running into people coming down that had started an hour before us. We also ran into Josh and Scott as they were making their way down after summiting Kings, South Kings and Kings again - in pursuit of the Triple Crown. 

Hit the top in about 3:41, spending about 10 minutes hanging out and enjoying the scenery. A couple of hikers with our 'group' were there and hooked us up with an orange and some carrot sticks....yum. Making our way back down we caught up to Scott and Josh at the bottom of the ridge taking a quick lunch break. It was fun to run with them for a few miles and get an update on their journey and just have a good time laughing while we run. We went straight down the trail from Gunsight, and I think I definitely prefer that over the switchbacks - from the bottom it looked like you had to scramble up through huge boulders, but really there's a decent trail winding through them.

A couple miles later Scott and Josh peeled off to go and tag Gilbert peak, so Jun and I were on our own again. Felt like we kept a decent, but never pushing, pace as we made our way back to Elkhorn crossing. We were slowed for a minute at the bridge, where a woman was holding the hands of another as she walked backwards, leading the other across the bridge. Once clear, Craig and I bounded across in a couple of steps...we didn't dare turn to look back at them. At Elkhorn we grabbed our jackets, and as Craig was stashing mine in my pack for me, a Scout leader and a couple of scouts were sitting across the trail getting ready for lunch. Craig noticed he was cutting open a big ol' beef stick, and said something about "now that's how you do it!", so the guy offered us a couple of meaty pieces, which really seemed to hit the spot and get us moving along.

For the most part, I actually enjoyed this last stretch. While the rocky, technical terrain makes it difficult to move extremely fast, it does keep your mind focuses on what you're doing. I ate my last gel with about 4 miles to go, and think I probably could have used one extra for the last couple miles. I had made some mental checkpoints earlier in the morning around certain distances, so I had a pretty good idea of how much distance I had left, but it sure did seem like it was farther. :) The last mile stretched on for quite a while, but I just kept running, knowing that I'd have to keep moving to get in under 7 hours. Craig had shot ahead with the camera so he could catch me coming in, so I was flying solo. Started to get some cramping in my calf and hammie, so I'd stop quickly and stretch, and then kept moving. Pushed hard at the end and came in 6:58.31, and feeling really good. Followed it up with an awesome dip in the river, cold Pepsi in hand. 

I was really happy with having completed this run for many reasons. First and foremost - its just a freaking awesome run. Secondly, I felt like my fueling and hydration was spot on. I never once bonked or had stomach issues. I actually focused on eating more and drinking less...weird, I know, but I think I tend to drink more than I need to, which can cause all sorts of other problems. I was also really happy with how I felt I responded to the altitude. Sure it slowed me down, but I never felt dizzy, nauseous, or any of that other nastiness that can sometimes hit people (also took Davy's advise of breathing deeply and eating plenty). Maybe I've just heard Scotts horror stories too often...:). Gotta hand it to Jun for sticking with me and giving me the complete guided tour - that certainly helped me learn the area and keep on pace. 

We ended up hanging out for several more hours for Scott and Josh to come in from the Triple Crown. It was great to see them as we were just starting to get a little worried. They were happy as can be, with Scott looking completely punch-drunk from the beating that the winds on Gilbert had given them, but still joking around and having a grand ol time. 

I definitely love those high alpine trails!

Neighborhood nighttime run - hot. 

Ran a couple miles up Farmington Canyon with my brother. Cooler in the canyon - probably be hitting that up fairly often pre-Pony Express. 

Giving myself a couple miles just for fun - this was a lunchtime workout at work. Started with 8 reps of 20 seconds airsquats (10 secs rest), then 10 minutes running stairs. Our building goes 15 floors, I made it to the top on my 3rd trip when the time was up. Air squats killed my legs/hammies - need to do more of those...

Evening neighborhood route.

Jun brought the kids up for dinner, so we hit the BST for a quick run. Had some good conversation and just kept it pretty casual with Jun being sick and all. 

Evening run with my brother and cousin. Hit the BST at Baer canyon and ran south. On the way back it was getting dark and I nearly ran over a snake, but he actually started rattling before I got to him, so we waited for him to slither off the trail - little bitty guy. 

Quick morning neighborhood run. Tried to keep it a little speedy.

BST Kaysville evening run. 

Morning neighborhood run, felt pretty good. 

AM - Neighborhood run - did some 1 min fast/1min slow drills for most of it. 5 miles.

 PM - BST Kaysville with a neighbor friend. He hadn't run for several weeks so we took it nice and easy. Headlamp run showed us lots of peering deer eyes.  5.1 miles

Mueller Park run with a couple brothers and cousin. Tons of bikes and dogs out there tonight. Ran fairly well to the top, casual most of the way down until some crosfitters who had gone up halfway came barreling past us, so I couldn't just let them blow by like that! :) Gave me something to chase, so me and my brother turned it on for the last mile or so. Came in 1:01 which I was happy with considering we really ran the first 2 miles of the downhill really slow. 

Staircase Thursday:

- Tabata air squats (8 reps of 20 sec on, 10 sec rest) 

-10 min of stairs  

I made it to the top of our 15 stories for my 3rd time when the time ran out. Not a long workout, but on the limited time I have today this is an awesome workout that really does a number on your legs in a short amount of time. You can substitute air squats for just about anything (lunges, push-ups, kettle bell swings etc) to mix it up.   

Botched Timp attempt...Lightning and heavy rain. Had a blast though!

Pacing Craig at Wasatch - Lambs to the finish. 

Hope to add more later, but one of the most awesome runs to date... 

Shepherd Creek trail - started to explore a trail that goes from Shepherd Creek to Francis. Was getting dark so we couldn't go too far. Super steep - probably not the best first run back after Wasatch.

Neighborhood route

Neighborhood route, sub 40 min. 

Davis Creek to Farmington Canyon, up the canyon and bit, and back. Lost a sock...

Antelope Island out and back - east trail. Felt great on the way out, felt like crap on the way back. Had a buffalo follow me to the fence...

Neighborhood run, slow.

Kaysville BST with brother and sister in law. Nice and easy, beautiful day. 

Great day out on the island. Ran with Leslie most of the race until about mile 22 where I had to get my stomach in order and she took off. Love the single loop course.

Downtown BST - introduced a guy at work to trail running, and his longest running distance ever. We took it nice and easy. 

2012 Pony Express Trail 50 

What a day! I really had no idea what to expect coming into the race this year - my mileage was way down and consistent daily training was spotty to say the least, but I had also been able to maintain some pretty good distance runs throughout the year, including a relatively successful Antelope Island 50K 'training run' race two weeks ago, as well as pacing Jun for 47 miles at Wasatch last month.  

This year I was lucky enough to have my wife, brother and his wife come along to crew me. We've spent a lot of time this year running together (weekly dinner & a run nights) so it was fun to be able to have them make it. We camped out at the start - and with my 7am start, I much preferred being able to get all of the hectic pre-race packing and preparing done the night before. I was up at 5:30 and cooked myself some eggs with cheese and bits of bacon in it (yum).

It was chilly and still a little dark to start, but with the sun coming up soon, I opted to not worry about a headlamp. I really tried hard to keep it fairly casual to start, but noticed almost immediately that my body didn't feel quite right - nothing major, but my knees were achy and sciatic nerve around my hip was feeling a little tight -neither of which I've ever really felt during a run, especially right at the start. I just filed it away as not having run for a week and motored along. I was soon joined by Jen, a second year Pony runner like myself.

 Great group to start with 

We had a nice easy pace and chatted away as the first miles clicked by. Jen had blown past me around Dugway last year when the runner she was sharing a crew with decided to drop. This year she told me how she had barely trained and was just out to see what she could do. She kept commenting how she felt like we were going out pretty fast to start. I think she was just sandbagging me ;) (She went on to run an 8:07 - Female Winner, 4th overall, and Course Record!! Jen, I know you're reading this - AWESOME job!!!) We were joined in by Jennilyn as well, who had beat me by a good half hour at the 50K at Antelope (8:55 here!). We cruised along adding and dropping a few people here and there along the way. At about mile 15 as the grade kicks up a little before Simpson Springs, Jen decided to pull ahead a little and the group of us finally spread out and I wouldn't really see any of them again.

 At Simpson Springs I came through in the 6th fastest time - very similar to last year, but I felt so much better. Through mile 20 my pace was still good - keeping it sub 10. After 20 my pace started to drop a little, but I kept feeling good so I just focused on running. The miles moved on by, at almost exactly 26.2 I was passed by Tyler, an 18 year old whom I had met at last years Buffalo Run - both of our first 50K. I had beat him back then - and now he was passing me at the marathon mark - having started an hour after me!! Atta boy. I was actually happy to see him passing me that early. He would go on to win it in 7:15 and beat the CR by 2 minutes. Jay passed by a few minutes later, looking smooth and relaxed.

I was happy to make it mile 28 mostly unscathed. Last year that stretch had been where I had bonked hard and had to walk for a mile or two. I was done with gels at this point, stomach didn't want them anymore, but I had been a little more tuned to my stomach and keeping ahead of it. At mile 31 I was slightly behind where I wanted to be (was hoping for a 5hr 50K, was about 5:20 here), and I took my first official stop. Sat down and had a sandwich. I looked over and saw Kendall coming up (also started an hour after me), so I got out of my chair and walked out into the road - "Nice job Kendall!" He barely looked over and the look in his eyes said it all - he was having a rough time and was just focused on running. I totally understood! He was still moving pretty well though. I kept my stop to about 6 minutes and got back out on my way.  

 Kristyan joining in the fun - beautiful day!

Had a couple of OK miles and then at about 35 my hip (sciatic) started really hurting. I allowed myself to walk, but looking back I really don't think that helped much. My Achilles started to hurt as well, some residual from the beating I took pacing at Wasatch. Then my knee decided it wanted to join in the party - WHAT? What was happening. Last year I had virtually no 'pain' like this - just the usual soreness and cramping (and that was later on). Oh yeah - cramping, I would start to run and then I would cramp. Just felt like I was falling apart. Kristyan (my sister in law) had run with me for several miles earlier, which was great - helped me keep my pace up, and now my brother had joined in. I felt bad, we were just walking along. Finally just before the road starts to climb in earnest, I made a stop at the van and laid on the ground while Kristyan did some work on my hip. Hopped back up, drank some soda (at this point that seemed to be, and would continue to be, my primary calorie source) and then we were off. I was able to run a good part of the approach hill, and then we walked the hill to the top. Where I had been about 20 minutes ahead of last year, I was now about 20 minutes behind, and still had about 13 miles to go.

 Workin' on the hip

 Aaron bringing me to the top of Dugway Pass

Quick stop and Dugway and then started on down the hill. At first it hurt a little, and then, like magic, the turnover started to feel good and we were actually able to run at a decent pace again. I had decided that I was done walking and was going to run it in from here on out. Aside from 'walking stops' at the van, I ran the whole way from there to the finish - that was NOT the case last year (right Josh?:)). At around mile 40 I heard a "Woo-Hoo" from behind us, and I thought "who would that be?" Turns out my sister and her husband had driven out to join in the fun and watch me finish. Awesome - especially since this course is not convenient AT ALL! :) My brother in law jumped out and joined Aaron and I and we pushed this last stretch. I had remembered a bunch of nasty "rollers" on this section last year, but they never seemed to materialize for me - a couple of little tiny ones, but none that phased me. My pace wasn't super fast, but I was consistent and able to keep running. 

Where we had experienced a nasty (but cooling) headwind prior to Dugway, now on the other side the sun now seemed to really beat down. I changed shirts into something lighter and spent a lot of water on my head and back! I started to see cars of runners heading back - I stopped Tylers truck to find out that he had won it and give him my congrats. I saw that Jens truck was the first to come by, so I figured that she had likely (hopefully) taken the female top spot. The last van stop was at about mile 46. My wife jumped out and joined in, and I told them that I wasn't stopping at the finish (48.5) before doing the out and back, and that anyone that wants to run the out and back with me should just join in as we go by. It was pretty funny to run by the finish area with 5 people in tow - Davy looked up and asked how many runners were in this group...Just one! I felt like I had a security detail - 5 body guards making sure I made it safely through. In a way, I guess that's exactly what they were doing. :)

This out and back is a pain, but it really is kind of cool to know that you are pretty much done and can really just let it all go. Once I started heading back, I really pushed the pace and ended up dropping all of my pacers, crossing the finish line in 9:51:59. Done! We spent some time hanging out at the finish line, cheering others on and enjoying some amazingly good BBQ.

One of the great things about this race is that you can't do it on your own. No driving yourself to the starting line and just taking off and coming back later that day with tales of the race. You bring a crew that gets to experience the entire race with you. They are active participants in your fast times and slow times, your misery and joy. It sounds cheesy, but they become as integral to your race as the ground you run on. My crew was incredibly supportive and really kept me going, feeling good, and smiling. I was able to run with my wife, my brother ran an amazing PR of 19 miles with me, Kristyan got me going for several miles when I was starting to slow down (and beat me up a little to get my hip feeling better!), with my brother in law joining in for a handful of miles near the end as well.

It was a weird feeling, because I really felt like I had run a much better race over last year, yet I was 15 minutes slower - but I walked (or hobbled) away from this race with a smile on my face, completely satisfied with how the day turned out.

Could I have run it faster? Undoubtedly. Do I have a list as long as my arm of things to work on and improvements to make? Of course. But I what I also left with was 10 hours of running in some beautifully desolate country with some awesome runners and with some of my favorite people in the world. Isn't that really why we do this anyway? 

Tired and beat up - but still smilin'!  

Back at it. Decided that I at least need to get some kind of workout in during the day at work and then add on where and when I can. We've got a decent little gym here, and while its not ideal (especially on a day like today!) it does make it nice for getting a quick workout in. 

250 meter row

Run 1 mile, treadmill (9:00)

250 meter row

Run 1 mile (8:30)

250 meter Row

Run 1 mile (8:00) - ran it fairly easy at first and then gradually picked up the pace until the end I was at 12 mph, 5 min/mile pace.

Knees felt a little tender right at the beginning, but once they got warmed up they felt fine. Will probably lay off gnarly downhills for a bit until I feel like they are back to normal. Didn't feel a thing on the sciatic.   

Quick lunchtime workout, same as yesterday, a little faster. 3.5

 PM - another 3.5 with my brother, dinner/run.  

Had to get a run in while the weather was still nice! Ran the west side BST in City Creek, took it nice and easy and just enjoyed the trail. Achilles felt fine, sciatic is good, knee still a little tender-mostly afterwards, but almost normal. This was my first time on this trail - I always knew it was there, but wasn't sure how far you could take it - thanks to MrK for running it and reminding me that it's still there. I liked it a lot, definitely one you could run fast if you wanted to push it. 

MattyV and I headed out for an early morning jaunt up at Muller Park. Arriving shortly after 7, we were the first ones to hit the trail, which meant we were breaking trail and clearing trees the whole time. Nearly 2 feet of snow made for slow going, but it was a beautiful morning and had a great time. By the time we were back to the bottom enough people had been in the lower part that it was pretty tracked out. Show up there after 9am (even during a storm) and the trail will usually be beaten down pretty well.

Met up with the fellas (Scott and MattVH) at the Grandeur trail head at a leisurely 5:30am. Shortly thereafter we started our way up the west trail, and in no time we were in the snow - and there was plenty of it. What there wasn't an abundance of though, were tracks. Oh, there were one or two sets as we started our way up, but those slowly faded and then soon we were left with none. Up we went, breaking trail in the knee to hip deep snow (it really all matters where you step!). Early on I slipped and racked my knee on a rock. It hurt for a minute, but after moving for a bit, the pain went away. Parts of the trail were covered in soft powder, while other sections had a nice, crisp, razor sharp top layer that protected the powder, but slices right into your exposed ankles (I gotta get some long socks!).

It was slow going, but we were having a great time and the weather was absolutely perfect. Scott and Matt just kept me laughing (or shaking my head) the whole time. Apparently at some point the blood from my knee made its way through my pants and was rubbing on the snow with each step (since it was at least knee deep). I couldn't figure out where I was bleeding from (had totally forgotten about the knee) but left a nice trail that looked like a wounded animal was trouncing through the snow. Good thing there were no hungry sharks around.  

We hit the top in a laughably slow time, and took a minute to eat a gel and enjoy the perfect weather. We decided that we wouldn't try for the loop, given the time constraints and that we could see that no one had come up from Church Fork yet either, so we just headed right back down the way we came. Funny, it is MUCH, much faster to run down that it is up! There were a few sketchy parts up higher where there are lots of rocks (that you can't see), but once past those I just kind of let it go a little and bounded down the hill having a grand ol' time. I'd look back and see Scott and Matt up on hill setting up a quick video shot or wrestling in the snow. My legs were feeling tired, but I was having fun!

Was delayed for a minute right near the end while I stood on the trail while a dog barked and growled at me until the owner could come and move him out of the way. Sure, I know he "just barks"...

Great morning - ankles are all sore and swollen from the 'gap' effect between my socks and pants, but I'll take it! 

Photos:

Quick lunchtime run on the TM. I'd much rather take three hours to trudge through the snow in the mountains than run 25 minutes on a TM...Bleh. 

 PM - Insanity Asylum fit test - trying to work in some strength and core training... 

Posted some pics to our Grandeur outing... 

Sloppy muddy, snowy run up the BST in City Creek. Shorts and a T-shirt!

Craig was kind enough to meet me downtown for a quick lunchtime run. 5 miles on the east side BST. Just like old times. 

Found a little time this afternoon to meet up with Jun and hit Mt Wire. Beautiful day, took it pretty easy and had a nice chat on the way up. I had to get back so I headed down while Jun continued on the other for some more running. Wish I could have kept going, this kind of weather makes you want to run all day. Conditions were perfect for wire - not muddy, but wet enough that you have a little grip coming down. Casual 51 min up and a little less casual 20 min down.   

Turkey Leg 5k

Great way to start the Thanksgiving morning. Had pretty much my entire family (that was around) running in this race. Caught MattVH just before the start to say hello, and then the countdown began and we were off. Took off plenty fast, but waited a little for my brothers to catch up and then we took off. Felt decent the entire time, just not very fast. My brother had a kick at the end that I couldn't match, and ended up beating me by a good 10 seconds. I was about a minute slower than last year, which isn't too surprising - I've got at least 10 more lbs on me than I did last year... Found my wife and ran the last half mile or so in with her, she was able to get a nice strong finish in. Great morning.  

Jun came up for a black Friday run, and my brother and MattVH were able to join in as well. We decided we wanted to stay in the sun, so we thought a Flag Rock iteration would be good. Started at Farmington pond and hit the north side trail up to the rock. From there we headed up the mountain instead of taking the south trail back down. I thought I had heard this goes a ways up, but it wasn't too long before we were out of trail and hunting around. Instead of turning around, we just kept going thinking that we'd run into a trail, but ended up running through a whole lot of scrub oak. Scrapes and scratches galore. Ended up coming across a faint trail that headed back towards Flag Rock, so we took that (instead of following it down, which probably would have been faster...) and then ran back the way we came. Craig and MattyV flew down the switchbacks and then we just took it easy back to the cars.

Absolutely ridiculous but fun way to spend black Friday. I know I'd rather be wrastling with some scrub oak than fighting over a deal on a toaster. 

Jun put together a nice little video:

Insanity Asylum - Speed & Agility

Insanity Asylum - Strength

Insanity Asylum - Back to Core

Insanity Asylum - Vertical Plyo

Group run up View Benchmark. Brought my bother along, Craig brought his, and RAD joined in the fun to round out the group. Weather was windy, but not really too cold. Took it nice and easy and kept the whole group together in the bottom section, spreading out just a little as we got to the top. Hung out up there for a few minutes in the wind and then ran a fairly decent clip back down. Felt good, it was fun to chat and run with the group and I haven't been on VB for a long time, so it was nice to be back. 

Insanity Asylum - Speed and Agility

Did a little 'race' in the gym with a couple of guys from work. I ran 5 miles while someone else rode 15 on the bike, and another rowed 9K on the row machine. It certainly helped make the TM somewhate more bearable. Had I done the row I probably would have passed out after about 5 minutes. 

PM - Insanity Asylum - Strength (50 min) 

Basketball game - played pretty respectably considering I haven't played in at least a year. I give credit to all that driveway hoops as a 12 year old. 

Went straight home and did Insanity Asylum - Back to Core. I tweaked my back a little in the game, so this was perfect - seemed to get everything back into position.  

Insanity Asylum - Vertical Plyo. I knew my upper body would get worked with Insanity, but I've been a little surprised with some of the soreness I've been getting in my legs from it...I like it!

6 miles, City Creek BST west side. Unbelievable weather - shorts and a T-shirt. Muddy in spots, but not as bad as I thought it might be. nice and easy up, pushed it on the way down. 

PM - Insanity Asylum - Relief 

Grandeur Peak with Jun, Scott, MattVH and my brother Aaron. Started nice'n'early at 6am, and it was considerably warmer than usual to start. Weren't super fast getting up, just found a steady gear and moved up the mountain. Jun and Scott pulled away about half way up, and put a nice little gap on me. Got colder the higher you got, with the wind picking up and the clouds keeping the sun from reaching us. Hit to top to find those two huddling behind a rock to block the wind. Scott kept trying to snuggle, and I might have fought it more, but it was warmer...:)

MattyV and Aaron came up shortly thereafter and we hurried down out of the wind after snapping a few pics. Top section had a couple of slippery spots, but it really wasn't too bad. Once we hit the switchbacks heading down, the trail was practically perfect. I had a blast just cruising down that trail, we didn't see a single person on it, which was a little surprising, but I think the threat of a storm was keeping people away.

Pit stop at Church fork and then we cruised on over to Rattlesnake gulch, heading up over Bambi hill. Steep climb for a little bit and then a long, fun, fairly steep downhill. I really don't know if you save any time going this way rather than going down to the road - but it is WAY more fun. This was probably one of the more brutal runs that Aaron has been on with me, and he did just great. 

Good times all around. 

After work run with Jun and MattVH up wire peak and down the other side. Beautiful night, I love that ridgeline run. 

City Creek BST. Fairly casual going up, pushed it a little bit (but not full throttle) on the way down. A little muddy and slick in places. 

Met up with Jun for a lunchtime run to the Avenue Twins. Started and the trailhead and worked our way up. A bit muddy down lower, but got better as we got higher. Feeling really slow on the uphills right now, overall time to the top was 54 min, which isn't my fastest, but certainly not my slowest either. Took a slightly different trail down from the peaks which put us on the BST for little longer. Found a nice pace and just cruised our way down. Love finding the time to get these in. 

First run with the Suunto Ambit, and I gotta say, so far I am seriously impressed.

Met up with Jun and Leslie at the zoo - 5am. Chilly start, but it actually got to be pretty warm. To City Creek and back. Was surprised by the climb up Dry Fork, but had a blast coming back down it later. Climbing legs were shot early on, this is the biggest week I've had in a while, with a decent vert day yesterday afternoon. Downhill was fine. Craig and Leslie hung around for me at the top of the hills. :) Great way to start the day and end the week!

Casual 5 miles up the BST from City Creek east before work. Took it easy, just wanted to wake the legs up and get something in today, Mondays seem to be hard for me to get time to run. 

Well that was just downright pleasant. Cold, but I loved it. Ran the avenue twins, took it nice and easy, and just enjoyed the run. It was sunny and cold, with a decent amount of snow the higher you got. Bone chilling wind on the saddle and the first twin, so I was expecting a very brief stop at the second one, but it was actually quite nice, so I ended up hanging out there for a bit just as the sun was setting. Felt really good and loved the sound of squeaky snow. I'm sure that will get old, but I'm loving it for now. Always weird how jarring the dirt seems when you get back on it, especially when its frozen. Last mile was pretty slow as it was dark and my stomach was hitting like a rock with every step.  

Met up with Scott for another run at the Avenue Twins. Weather was spectacular, if not a little hot! I was regretting not wearing shorts! We had a great time just chatting as we cruised up. Took a different trail down that Craig and I tried last week, it was some awesome powder and I had a fun time blasting down that. Met back up with the BST and cruised it on back. Hot lunch after!

Scott on the 2nd summit

After a couple of days hitting the avenue twins, I decided to amp down the vert a little bit, but didn't want to run the west side City Creek, since it's been so warm it would be a mess, plus to get 9 miles I would have had to run a few on the road...pass. :)  Decided to park and what I call the Dog Park trailhead at the top of I street. Connects you right to the BST, but you skip the first mile climb, so it saves you a few hundred feet of vert. Ran the BST to the top of Dry Fork and then turned around and came back. Still got about twice as much vert as I would have had I run the west side trail. Shorts and a long sleeve...what month is it again?

Olympus with Jun, Jeremy and my brother Aaron. This was both Aarons and my first time on this mountain, and its one that I have been wanting to do for some time. Took it pretty easy the whole way up, dealing with pretty warm temps most of the way - rough, I know. As we started up the chute the wind really picked up with some icy bursts, that had us quickly wanting the warm back! Absolutely beautiful on the summit. Clear skies, with fantastic views all around. Jun had to get back soon, so he took off and was nowhere to be seen within seconds. We had a fun time just slip sliding away our way down. Quad busting awesomeness. Broke my spikes about halfway down, so had to readjust a little until I got used to the change in traction. Great way to start the day and end the week, glad I've been able to use up this awesome December weather. 

I also just realized I haven't had a 40 mile week that hasn't included a race since JUNE!! Yowzaz. This week makes 2 in a row right around 40, so I am certainly happy about that. Good way to cap off the year. Hopefully I can get a few miles in next week as well - lots going on.   

Aaron Skiing his way down 

Lake Mountain with Jun, Scott, Jeremy, Aaron, Craigs friend Cameron and his cousin Mindy. This was pretty much a brutal slog from the get-go. Snow was falling and wind was blowing strong. It wasn't long before we were anywhere from shin to knee deep snow, breaking trail the whole way up. Saw several bucks and Scott and I even had a buck barreling towards us on the trail before noticing that we were on it and coming to a sliding halt. He stared for a minute then spun around and took off, it was awesome! 

Wind gusts got worse as we got higher, and the final push to the top was downright ridiculous. I couldn't feel the right side of my face by the time we reached the summit, but it was nice to get there! We blasted our way down, which was really fun (as usual). We passed some snowmobilers who were coming up the road and couldn't believe that we were up there. We high fived them and moved on. Craig and I took off a little ways ahead, and I only fell twice (one of which was getting up from the first fall!) despite Craigs attempts at making me fall more.

Haven't been on Lake Mountain since last winter, so it was loads of fun.