Trails!

Happy New Year!

I am pretty happy to be about to be out in the mountains moving around.  Today was probably pushing my luck (in terms of mileage and vertical) but I went for it anyways.  I went up Providence Canyon from the usual church (1 mile of road before hitting the trail).  I went up 1 mile on the trail before putting on the microspikes.  The snow was still pretty squishy but once I crossed the bridge (mile 2 of the trail) I joined the road and followed the snowmobile trails up the canyon.  That made the footing bettter.  Up I went until I hit the Welches Flat Jeep trail junction then turned for home.  It was a beautiful morning once I cleared the yucky valley inversion.

T-2:08 (11:38) 3000' vert (made it to 7920')

5 miles in -4 degrees.  My face was cold.

Did Planet Walk extended -

Providence Hills Loop 

-9 degrees F.  

T-1:03:30 500' vert

Went to the Doc today and got the final "all healed" message.  I have to be careful doing "BLT" (Bend, Lift, Twist).  Don't want to re-injure things.  Still ramping up carefully (as best I can I guess).

Didn't want to smoke a pack today by going for a run.  Lets be honest, it was just too cold and I wanted to sleep in and stay warm. (It was -10F or so).  Spent 30 mins on the bike and did my PT instead.

Joined Joe this morning with the goal of escaping the muck and running in some clean air.  We drove up to Franklin Basin and ran on the road for 13 miles.  The road was covered in a few feet of snow and was nice and packed down for/by the snowmobiles.  We started running in the 6 degree weather (15 degrees warmer than in Logan).  The light headwind and the cold muscles combined to make life pretty miserable for the first 10 mins or so until we climbed up a bit of elevation and our muscles warmed up a bit.  Once that happened, we loved it.  Beautiful day, and it was sure nice to be out running in the mountains.

T-1:48 (8:18) 1100' vert

-5 F at the house.  0 on the bench at the beginning and end of the run.  Went up Providence canyon to escape the inversion.  It was toasty warm at the quarry.  The trail was in the best winter running condition I have ever had.  Nicely packed snow.  It was awesome.

T-1:08:20 (8:31) 1500' vert

20 degrees today!

Deer Fence easy pace.  This trail was not nearly as smooth as the canyon trail, but fun still.  Enjoyed the warmer temps.

T-1:07:45 (8:28) 900'

Providence Hills Loop - 

PM 2.5 at 68.  Probably took a month off my life by running today.  

T-1:04:45 (7:37) 500' vert

Went up to Providence Canyon to escape the bad air.  Did the usual canyon trail to the quarry.  It was too warm.  The trail was all sloppy and difficult to run on.  Amazing what 30 degree difference will make.  Big snow storm blowing in today.

T-1:17  (9:37) 1500' vert

Too messy outside to bother to go outside-

40 mins on bike

Green Canyon with Joe - 

We ran to the Yurt on the road.  The only problem was the road was covered in snow.  Lots of it.  We weren't able to run very fast.  Lots of sliding with not a lot of forward movement.  8.5 miles later we were back at the car.  Too soon to call it a day, we ran the roads (gasp).  Even the roads were snow packed and slick.  Rough day for traction, but still a solid run.  Longest I have run since the Bear.  After breakfast, I took the kids to the big park on Cliffside to go sledding.  It was awesome.

T-2:16:30 (9:25) 1500' vert

Providence Star -

-13F and snowing.  Not as much fun as it sounds.

T-1:15 (7:30) 750' vert

Wimped out and rode the bike in the basement today.  Wimp

Practically warm outside today.  13 degrees.  Did Providence Loop without a watch.  It was probably slow, cause it sure felt slow.

500' vert

Providence Trail (extended) - 

-2 degrees at start/finish but much warmer up the canyon.  Escaped the inversion for most of the run.  So sick of winter already.

T-1:27 (8:42) 1600' vert

Stationary Bike for 70 mins - Good to keep things mixed up to keep balanced muscles.

Winter Adventure Run - 

What started out as a 16-17 mile run ended up as a 22 mile run/hike.  We started at Sink Hollow Trailhead and headed up the snowmobile trail to Beaver Creek Campground.  The temperature was -5F at the house, 0 at the mouth of the canyon, 7 once above the inversion, 0 at the turnoff to the Beav and -7 at the trailhead.  Things improved once we made it up the mountain a ways.  Temps rose with the sun.  Joe and I took the right fork at Pat Hollow and climbed up over the hill to nearly where the road joins the Old Logan Road before heading back and then over to Gibson Basin.  The plan was to cross Gibson Basin and head down Sink Hollow.  Once we hopped off the Snowmobile highway and onto the trail to Gibson, things got ugly.  We were post-holing up to mid shin.  Crossing the 1 mile basin was an exercise in patience.  If we walked, we wouldn't sink in too far.  Running was impossible.  We were only 5 miles from the car if we continued, but 7 if we turned around.  So we wandered around for 2 as we tried to figure out a solution.  We figured that the trail down Sink Hollow would have a decent snowmobile trail and we would be fine.  We got to the trail and there was nothing.  Just a few tracks heading off in random directions.  We followed a few to see if they would work out but it didn't.  We decided rather than post hole 5 miles in mid shin to knee deep snow we would wander back the way we came.  Made for a really long day.  On the return across the basin some snowmobilers stopped and chatted.  We asked for a ride across back to the main trail.  It was sweet.  3 mins later we were 3/4 mile down the trail and back on firm snow.  That saved us 20-30 mins and lots of effort.  6 miles down the snowmobile highway and we were back to the car.  I was absolutely exhausted.  Nothing like a 22 miler in the snow to wear you out.  On the plus side, the temperature had warmed up to the 20's but the place was a mad-house.  Snowmobiles and cross-country skiiers all over the place.  Sure beats the smog back home, can't blame them.

T-3:55 (10:41) 2000' vert

The Mile Long Gibson Basin - Pick a snowmobile track and follow....

60 mins on stationary bike - 

Gonna be a cut-back week.  Tired, and very busy.

70 mins on bike -

Opted not to breathe the worst air in the nation and go running.  Just not worth it.  

Really sick of the bad air.  

PM 2.5 was still over 100 and there is feezing rain outside.  What a mess...

Rode the bike for 70 mins

Bike for 15 mins to warmup

Treadmill (gasp) for 2 miles

Back on the bike for 35 mins

Long Snow Run - 

Today we (Joe and I) re-visited Franklin Basin.  I was thinking it would be reasonably packed down from the high snowmobile traffic in-spite of the warm temps.  I was wrong.  The road was covered in slippery powdery snow that made traction difficult.  It was lumpy and kind of melty but very slick.  My microspikes were not helpful and even collected the sticky snow on the bottom until it was a ball of ice.  I took them off within 3 miles.  No, snowshoes would not have been a good choice either as it wasn't deep enough for that.  Skis would have been ideal. 

We were working VERY hard to go only 5mph on the way up.  We were stubborn enough to go 7.5 miles (in 90 mins) before turning around.  We were exhausted by the end of the run but managed to crank out a fast last mile on the best traction section over that last mile.  Only 15 miles, but felt like 25. 

Looks like today is the last day of the inversion for a while.  The ice storm on Thursday cleared out half the pollution and the storm tomorrow should take care of the rest.  Back to regular training again soon.

T-2:40 (10:40) 1400' vert

AM: 60 mins on bike - too much snow

PM: 40 mins on bike

Providence - River Heights loop

I got it in before the snow hit.  Perfect timing.  The roads were still snowpacked for 50% of the run.  Looks like we should get another 5 inches today.

62 mins 300'

Stayed inside today - Too snowy and I have a crick in my neck.  Can't turn my head.

Providence Star - 

Awesome day today.  30 degrees, low cloud cover, roads were mostly clear.  Good times.

T-1:16:45 (7:40)  750' vert

Planet Walk end to end with a short loop around Thermo-Fisher adn ICON.  Pretty slow today, as its a friday and it was pretty slick for most of it.  (8:30 pace)

Long Run - 

Figured the snow covered trails would be sloppy due to the recent warm temps and recent snow.  I figured since Joe was not available today, it was more convenient to run from home.  Road run then.  Ran to Green Canyon to at least get a few miles on snowpack and see some trees.  Got there and the trail was perfect for running.  Nearly solid ice that had been recently groomed by the cross-country skiiers.  I made a bad call.  It would have been a great day for running up that canyon.  Bummer.  I was at the limit of my allowed mileage so I headed home after going only 1.5 miles up the canyon.  Up in 75 mins, back in 63.  Part of that is terrain, but the effort level increased as well.  Good solid run.  Good solid week (for Jan).  Only concern was the sore IT band today.  Hope it calms down.  Don't want another setback. 

T-2:18 (7:40) 1000' vert

Providence Star - 

ITB was sore for the first mile, then better for a while, then very sore for the second half.  Bad news.  Took the rest of the week off to try and not hurt it worse.  It got sore from walking around the house.  I guess I am just not built to be a runner.  I will be back once it heals...again.

Couldn't make up my mind whether I should go for a hike or completely rest.  The restlessnes finally took over and I went out for a 6 mile snowshoe hike up Dry Canyon.  3 miles up before decided to head back.  Didn't want to hurt the ITB.  Things were great until the final 1.5 miles.  ITB got a bit sore by then.  It is not too bad at this point.  It was great to get out and do something.

T-2:00 2500' vert

** Horrible week.  Can't believe I am injured again.  Hoping for a quick recovery this time as I don't think it got as bad as in times past.  Here's to hoping...

30 Mins on bike

40 mins on bike

50 mins on bike

3 miles on Providence Trail.  Leg felt pretty decent.  Did a mix of running and hiking.

Crazy Snowshoe Hike -

For a while I wasn't too sure I was going to make it back down the hill.  My body was not happy with the stiff wind (20+ mph) and the freezing temps.  I had worked my butt off getting up Dry Canyon to beyond the Syncline Junction to get up the ridge to Little Baldy.  That was not easy.  The trail disappeared at the junction and I ended up post-holing with snowshoes on making my own switchbacks till I hit the ridge.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  44 min mile.  Got to the ridge and wanted to go the mile to Logan Peak but thought better.  Wise choice since once I turned around I struggled to go anywhere.  Just put my head down and headed toward Little Baldy and Temple Baldy.  Once I got over those 2 peaks I was out of the wind and was doing much better.  The ridge down to the truck was cold and steep but I survived.  I have to say the shower once I got home was VERY painful as my feet came back to life.  I need to wear better gaiters when I snowshoe.

T-3:35   4250' vert

PICS -

85 mins on bike - 

IT Band is improving.  No pain during any activity so far.

Ran to the golf course and ran and walked around their cross crountry skiing course there.  They have 2 separate 1 mile loops.  I ran a mile then walked a half a few times.  Came home and rode the bike for 20 mins.

same 4 miles around the golfcourse.  Didn't have to stop and walk today due to pain  Thanks Hokas

20 mins on bike

Golf course loops. It was a bit slick due to fresh snow.

Didnt get out until the kids got to bed in the evening. I went up Prov canyon and also a bit on deer fence. Leg felt good

T-56:00 1000' vert

60 mins on the bike.  Better than running in the blizzard raging outside.

AM 50 mins on bike followed by 1 mile on treadmill.  Leg hurts on treadmill.

PM Planet walk 4 miles

Light dusting of snow made for a cushy ride today.  I would call the IT band pain a mild irritation that comes and goes at this point.  Making progress.

T-39:30

6 miles wandering around.  Leg felt 100%

Providence Canyon Trail -

Trail was in decent shape.  Leg was feeling good.  Temps were in the single digits.  Perfect morning.

T-1:13:00 (9:07) 1500' vert

Von's Park - 

Nice 'n toasty warm today - 30  Still rolling along.  Fitness stinks but enjoying getting outside.

8 min pace

1.5 Laps on Green Canyon this morning.  Conditions were pretty good for running on the packed snow.  Lots of cross-country skiiers out, even saw 2 other runners enjoying the trail/road.  Now we are throwing a big family party for my 1 year old daughter.  Mmmm Cake.

T-1:40 (8:20) 1500' vert

*  Made some good progress this week.  Definitely on the mend.  I am convinced the issue is muscle imbalance.  My 2x's daily exercises seem to be doing the trick. 

Providence Hills - 

Not bad for a monday morning.  Feeling pretty confident I am nearly healthy again.  Horray.

7:20 pace 600' vert

Providence Hills -  

Same as yesterday.  How boring I am.  I went slower today.

7:45 600' 

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Trail was in great shape as long as you are wearing traction.

T- 1:09:30 (7:46) 1500'

60 mins on the bike to give my leg a break.  

Landfill loop in the snow.  Big 'ol flakes today.  Leg was pretty achy.  Good to take another easy day on it.  8 min pace

I didn't get out until noon today.  That meant perfect conditions for a nice tan.  It was warm and sunny today.  I even wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  What a nice day.  Too bad my leg was sore and I was freaked out it was getting worse so I stopped at 11.  Not feeling so confident anymore...

My route was up Green Canyon on the slushy snow (very slippery and way too soft) to the yurt then back down the canyon past the truck to wander the roads until I called it a day. 

T-1:32 (8:23) 1500' vert

Bike for 50 mins plus the usual leg exercises 

4 Easy miles - 

ITB is achy when I am running.  Fine the rest of the day. 

Last night I read Joe Uhan's article Going Wide. I have to say I feel I might be suffering from the exact thing he describes.  I think he is on to something.

I get injured every winter..why?

• I run on narrow ski tracks with my feet landing "too narrow".
• I run on snow which causes slippage (strain)
• I run on roads in the winter (not a lot of variation)
• No trails to balance out my muscles.  I have VERY weak hips.
• Too many hills.
• I run too slow (causes stride narrowing)

The fix

• Exercises and drills to strengthen hips
• Practice pushing wide
• Balance out the muscles
• Stay off hills for a while

7 miles on the Boulevard Route - Achy, but not too bad.

T-55:00 (7:52) 150' vert 

Von's Park - 

Leg was again achy but not too bad.  Minor progress.

T-54:00 (7:42) 300' 

River Trail from the house via Sumac Dr.  Leg was achy off and on.  I had moments of elation due to no noticeable issues and then moments of the opposite.  Overall, the leg was feeling pretty good.  Focused on "going wide" and it immediately helped reduce the strain on the leg.  Wanted to go another 5 miles but decided to play it safe today.  Even as it was, I ran double my daily mileage with today's long run.  Slow and steady progress...

T-1:44:55 (7:30) (out in 55 back in 50) 500' vert

Providence - River heights Loop

Leg was achy but not too bad. 

Young Ward Short Loop - 

Still keeping off the hills.  Going mad.  Leg continues to improve though.  I decided to drop to the 25K (Buffalo Run) last night.  Better play it safe. 

Providence Star -

Been a while since I have run this beauty.  Leg held up well.  A bit more hills than usual, but trying to mix some in now.  Not too much yet though...

Start of my 2 day taper tomorrow for a sprint on saturday (25K).

T-1:16 (7:40) 750' vert 

Easy 4

Slept in.

Buffalo Run 25K - 

Was supposed to be the 50K but wed I decided to play it cautious (at the urging of my wife and also Joe) and I dropped to the 25K.  That meant one brisk lap rather than 2 somewhat painful ones.  Sweet.  

I spent the night in SLC and left for the race bright and early.  The crazy blizzard I left had me a bit worried about the weather on the Island.  Turns out that the weather was clear and cold on the island.  Once the sun came up it warmed up nicely.  The race started like just like any other...legs feel great, ready to roll.

Not much of a blow by blow today.  I ran in 4th-6th the whole race.  Taha provided entertainment the first 2 miles.  Spent the rest of the time trying to catch roadkill.  There wasn't a lot of that going on so not much to report.  Nearly got one at the end but it didn't happen.

Bottom line, worked hard, ran a few fast miles, smiled a lot, leg didn't hurt at all.  A complete success.

T-2:01:00 (7:20) 1800' vert 

6 Easy miles on Planet Walk.  Butt is crazy sore.  I guess not running any hills didn't quite train me properly.  Oh well.  Otherwise, I felt fine.

T- 47:00 

5 Easy miles - 

Uneventful.  Soreness is improving. 

AM: 6 Easy - 

Soreness from the race is gone, but last night I played dodgeball for 90 mins.  Back and arms are now sore.  I guess I am getting too old or something.

PM: 6.5  - Couldn't escape the awesome weather so I ended up on Deer Fence for a glorious trail run.  Life is good.

T-52:00 700' vert 

6 road miles - lame

Hip hurt 

Hip was hurting - was limping during walking.  Not happy

With the back flare up (bulging disk), I opted to play it safe and ride the bike.  It was a great day for a ride.  Rode up to deer fence and over to dry and back home.  Things felt great once I got warmed up.  Seems to be the story with the nerve pain.  Painful getting out of bed or a chair then fine if I have been moving around.

70 mins - 1000' vert 

Stuck to the soft terrain of the golf course.  Improving.

45 mins or so.

Landfill loop - 

Leg/hip achy getting out of bed.  Once I warmed up I was fine with no noticeable pain the rest of the run.  Stuck to the dirt shoulder where possible.

7:40 pace 

AM 4.5 easy

PM 10 with joe. Awesome Hit the river trail. Conditions were great. 

6 Easy - Landfill loop.  Tired, but feeling nearly injury free.  Nearly.

PM 4 miles with the kids on bike/stroller 

It was raining and I didn't feel like getting out of bed.  Justified it by knowing that I ran enough this week.  Can't ramp up too fast.  Plus tomorrow's run will be long.  Yes, I still felt like a slacker.

Long trail run - 

Met Joe at the USU Water Lab.  He ran from home due to car issues, I drove.  We took the back way up to Deer Fence at Dry Canyon.  A nice stiff climb to wake the body up.  Leg was a bit achy on the climb but didn't bug me at all after that.  We headed south on Deer Fence all the way to Blacksmith Fork Canyon (nearly).  Lots of mud.  I made a game of counting people vs. animals.  I counted 11 people and well over 30 deer and even 5 turkeys and a pheasant.  Not bad odds.  We didn't even count cows and birds.

The way back was a bit harder.  Solid climbs, headwind, Joe was even complaining he was tired and then made up some excuse that his leg hurt or something.  Totally faking it.  Made me go get my truck and pick him up and take him home.  Hope he gets better from his pretend injury.

T-2:30 (8:35) 2000' vert

Kids went with Grandma and Grandpa to the children's museum so Beth and I went and hiked windcaves.  It was awesome.  Legs are really tired now. - 2 hours 2000' vert 

Providence Hills - 

Pretty standard run. Achy for a mile but otherwise ok.  Pretty easy pace overall 7:30ish. 500' vert 

Wimped out due to the nasty storm and stayed inside and rode the bike

70mins 

AM: 6 miles on planet walk

PM: 10 Miles on Rivertrail with new recruit Mike the janitor guy (name withheld for privacy)  He has signed up for Logan Peak. Hasn't run a marathon but who cares. He will do fine. 

T-1:15:30 (7:30)  1000` vert 

Providence - River Heights loop

Super sluggish/tired/slow/sleepy.  Not adapted to bump in mileage yet...

8:20 pace 

5 blah miles

House to Bridger Overlook rock slide (Spring Hollow) -

It was a nice long run - longest in a long while.  (That is my record for usage of "long" without even trying).  I met Joe at mile 5 (first dam) and together we hit the fun part of the run before he called it a day and went home.  I suffered through the final 5 miles enjoying a nice bonk.  Good to get the body used to longer runs.  

T-2:32:30 (7:37) 1300' vert

Had to run the roads today to get home early so my oldest could get Baptized.  So proud of my boy.  It was an awesome experience.  Way better than a silly run.

Prov Hills - 

Just another monday morning

T-1:07:30 (7:37) 600' vert 

6 easy miles in the snow flurries.  Yep, snow in April

AM: 6 easy miles with a few strides.

PM: 10 with Joe.  Green Canyon and BST from First Dam.  Quite cool out and the trail was a tad muddy.  Perfect conditions for having the place to ourselves.  Sweet run

T- 1:18:20 (7:50) 1350' vert

Canal Trail/Temple Run - 

Pretty uneventful -

T-55:00 (7:51)

Only had time for 5.  WP-FG-PW

Long Run with my old high school buddy Nick McCombs.  He was nice to not run me into the ground.  It was great to catch up after all these years.  He is now living in Smithfield so we should be able to hook up for a run a few times a month.  It was raining most of the time with some of it hard but most of it was pretty light.  It is really hard to dress for 40 degrees and spotty rain.  Tough to regulate properly.  Glad it doesn't rain here often.

For the route we headed to Green from first dam and did 3 miles before the rain turned the trail to soup.  We headed back to first dam (10 miles) then headed up Logan Canyon to third dam before Nick was out of time (had to go to work) so we headed back down to the car (18 miles).  Nick took off and I wanted to do a few more so I headed back up to Green once again.  That 300' climb the second time was tough.  I made it to the bathroom at the parking lot in green before turning back.  Fully into my bonk now I shuffled my way back to the truck and enjoyed a nice omelette (once I got home, not in my truck).  Another successful training day on the dirt.

T-3:11 (8:08) 2650'

Providence Star - 

Finally had shorts weather in the morning.  Finally

T-1:14 (7:24) 750' vert

Providence Trail - 

The trail is finally clear of snow and in great condition.  It was completely frozen but still nice.  I felt surprisingly decent today.  Great to get out!

T-1:07:10 (8:24) 1500' vert

AM: easy 6 - no watch.

PM: 12 miles with Joe.  First Dam to Green Canyon (half mile from the Yurt).  Great run.  Legs were tired and the shoes were a bit much for the legs.  IT band is sore now.  Should be ok. 55 and sunny.  Awesome.

T-1:35 (7:55) 1600' vert

6 VERY SLOW miles.  Knew it would be ugly so didn't bother wearing a watch.  Probably just under an hour to slog through this.  

WP-FG-PW-FG-WP

Still felt like a truck hit me.  A nasty bug has hit our house and I think I was losing the battle.  Today was much better than yesterday and am coming around.  Should be good for a long run tomorrow.

Long Run - 

 Everyone (joe/nick/mike) bailed on my today so I decided to check out one of my favorite trails.  Birch Creek Canyon.  Drove to Mack park (canyon road) and ran the mile or so on the road until the dirt started.  Headed up the canyon until just past the Wilderness boundary (mile 5.5 elevation 6500') when the snow became too deep to continue (easily).  Turned around and headed back down until the start of the singletrack and instead of continuing straight down the canyon, made a hard right up to the ridge between Birch and Smithfield.  Paul told me about a trail up there years ago and I wanted to check it out.  800' in .6 of a mile later I hit the ridge.  Great views.  I saw the trail heading west (down the ridge) but didn't see anything heading further east so I opted to go west.  The ridge was fun to run on and before long I was back at the bottom of the trail.  11 miles done, time for lap #2.  This time I crossed to the opposite hill and followed the buried canal 'trail' back up the canyon.  I proceeded to go all the way up the trail to the boundary sign before heading back to the car.  2 laps of Birch with some ridge running.  I also got my share of vert.  Gotta get used to climbing again.  Great day.  

T-3:07 (9:08) 4150' vert 

Providence Hills - 

Slow and easy 9.  Still tired and bit sore from Sat.  

T-1:10 (7:47) 600' vert

Temple - Canal Trail

Enjoyed a colorful sunrise while heading East.  Sluggish the first half then was able to pick it up to sub 7 for the way back.

T-59:00 (7:22) 200' vert

Trail Run - 

Joe, Mike and I all got out for our weekly wednesday night run.  I wanted to run Jardine but since it snowed last night I decided to play it safe and run Green/BST.  Mike was tired and as a result he biffed it 3 times.  Hilarious.  My legs felt good due to no run this morning.  Today will be the last run until Saturday.  Heading to Zion to do the Zion Traverse aka "Trans-Zion Trek".  Super excited.  Until then...

T-1:36 (8:00) 1500' vert 

Zion Traverse (East Entrance to Lee Pass) - 

As I sat in the shuttle that takes you on the Zion Canyon Scenic drive I was eavesdropping on two women with thick southern accents saying, "God must 'ave been drawering in the sand wit' 'is finger."  I totally agree.  However, after talking with the women a bit longer they decided to drop the phony accent and admitted to living in Hurricane (just outside of Zion).  Now I am not sure if I should believe them.  Either way, this is God's country. 

Mile 3 (Jolley Gulch)

Joe and Logan were willing and able to join me on one of my bucket list (20 different ways to attempt suicide while having fun) runs.  I am not sure how to describe the beauty and ruggedness of ~49 miles of Zion.  Amazing.  Awe inspiring.  Suicidal?  

As things tend to do, things were awesome at the start.  Cold temps, fresh legs, lots of energy and excitement.  It took about 20 miles before that wore off and then things got interesting, but I am getting ahead of myself.  

Section 1:  East Rim to The Grotto - 12 miles - 1:50

Like I mentioned before, amazing and loads of fun.  I love running with these 2 guys.  Had the place to ourselves until joining up on the inspiration point trail.  I tried to do some advertising for Steve Hooper and the St. George Running Center by telling all the hikers to shop for their next pair of running shoes like ours at the St. George Running Center.  The problem was that I mumble a bit and I was jogging down a trail while they were hiking up.  At most, they heard "Go to the St. George rumnmnmn cen."  Oh well, I gave it a go.

Hey Logan!

Look at that!

At the Grotto, we had my awesome crew of my wife, my kids, and my parents helping us out.  They would be extremely helpful later in the day.  

Section 2: The Grotto to West Rim Trailhead - 14.5 miles - 2:58

This section contains the largest and longest climb of the day at 3000' in 8 miles.  The climb wasn't really that bad, but it took a lot of our energy and I sure paid for it later.  Logan was counting all the 'roadkill' on the trail to Angel's Landing and hit close to 100.  That was a fun stretch.  We saw more people in 2.5 miles than the rest of the day combined.  The top part of that climb rewarded us with numerous spectacular views and was a definite highlight of the run. Here are some pics:

I swear we didn't just stand around on rocks posing....We did some running.  Really.

 A few miles short of the Aid station at the west rim trailhead, I started feeling pretty lousy.  It was about this point (the tree tunnel) that I knew it was going to be a long afternoon.  I was really hot and it wasn't even noon yet.  I couldn't eat or drink well because my stomach was unhappy and that would affect my energy levels all day.  Eventually, we made it to the trailhead and were VERY happy to see the crew ready and waiting for us.  I really needed to sit down and take a break.  Joe had tweaked an old injury just a quarter mile from the stop and he needed to let it rest to see if it will chill out.  We spent a solid 30 mins eating lunch and trying to recover.  I went from hot to cold to hot in a matter of minutes.  Not good.

My happy crew - 

Section 3:  West Rim to Hop Valley Trailhead via Wildcat Canyon - 9 miles - 1:48

Within 2 mins from leaving the trailhead, Joe pulled up lame and he quickly decided to call it a day and not mess things up worse.  Poor Joe.  I know how much he wanted to do this and that must have been a tough decision.  Get well buddy!

This section was a great downhill, fun, easy section.  At least it should have been had I not already run a marathon.  My body was not excited about this and was letting me know.  Oh well, I was able to keep a steady trot going and I enjoyed the shade of the ponderosa pine trees.  I have got to do more heat training if I am going to run this summer.  This heat is killing me.  

Section 4: Hop Valley to Kolob - 14 miles - 3:00 

The crew once again saved me from heat exhaustion and dehydration.  They were amazing.  One more section to go.  I knew it would be a race to see if I could get it done before my body shut down.  I was starting to see the signs of what I experienced at The Bear and wanted to minimize that.  I drank as much as I could and tried to cool off.  The problem was that the water would evaporate in minutes.

The section in Hop Valley was torture.  Sure, the scenery was amazing.  I was just too tired to care.  The kick in the pants was the sand.  Sections of deep loose sand.  I was looking around praying for a thunderstorm to both cool me off and knock down the sand.  It was not easy to move in it at any pace.  Frustrated we moved on.  Soon, we were treated to following a wash with a creek.  That was nice to have to cool off in, but now we were crossing the creek every 100 yards with sand in-between.  It was rough.  

Smiling, we carried on.  

 Check out the Fly!

We eventually dropped down into the La Verkin Creek drainage.  I started to feel better and we started to roll.  I was enjoying things even as we turned north and headed up the final valley.  We were on the homestretch.  It was uphill and I was running.  It wasn't fast, or pretty, but I was running and over the last 5 miles climbed the final 1000' to the finish.  My short lived energy quickly evaporated and over the last mile I suffered.  My stomach reached new levels of pain.  I visited a bush (which helped) and walked the final uphill.  Just get 'er done.  

With the offer of a dollar to the first person to spot the runners, all eyes were on the trail.  

We finally made it to the finish and I asked, "Am I done?"  I don't know who was happier, my crew or me.  I then spent the next 15 mins dry heaving in the bushes and shaking while sitting in a chair until I could calm my body down.  Things recovered eventually and I was able to eat some pizza, sit in the pool, and take a shower (not in that order).  

Mission accomplished.  Memory burned into my brain.  Yes, I loved it.  Yes, it was hard.  Harder than Speedgoat.  Harder than Pocatello.  Yet, still easier than The Bear. 

What did you do this weekend? 

 T-9:38 (12:00) 8000'-10,000' vert

4 miles pushing the girls in the stroller while my son rode the bike.  Felt sluggish but not sore.

River Trail while dodging a rain storm.  Trail was nice and muddy.  Perfect for trying out a new pair of shoes I got from the St. George Running Center.  They were a compromise between Hoka's and real shoes.  Pretty cushy.  clunky but cushy.  Body felt pretty good all things considered.

T-1:01:30 (7:40)  1000' vert

Canal Trail via Boulevard.

Just out enjoying the morning. 

Felt a twinge in my hammy so played it safe by keeping to the flat stuff today.  Still tired too.  Looking forward to a good trail run tomorrow.

BST (from wasatch blvd) to Corner Canyon area - 

Route - BST - Potato hill - Ann's Trail - Left at Water Tank up big hill - back.

I was in SLC for the night/day so I went back to explore Ann's Trail.  I saw it last time but didn't have time.  It was actually pretty easy/fun.  It didn't take me to the top of the mountain like I thought it might so I decided to go off-trail and followed a ridgeline up to a 6200' peak (800' in 3/4 mile).  On the way back, my foot was hurting me.  I ended up stopping at 19 instead of the 20-22 I was planning on to not make it worse.  The ball of the foot was feeling strained or something.  Probably the new shoes I was trying.  Will have to watch that.  I also ran out of water and was very happy to hit the water fountain at the park where I parked.  Still not used to any sort of heat.  

T-3:00 (9:28) 3000' vert

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Awesome morning to hit the trails.  Loved it.

T-1:14:00 (8:13) 1600' vert

PM: Got out pushing the kiddos in the stroller.  It was 89.  Perfect day to start heat training.  I will probably only do one day of heat training.  Worthless?

4 Miles 

Providence Hills - 9

Tired until the downhill got the legs moving again.  Lots of people out walking/running.

T-1:10 (7:47) 600' vert

AM: 6 around the fairgrounds.  Lots of dirt and grass.  No traffic

PM: 10 - Jardine Juniper with Joe and Mike (the new guy).  Pace was decent on the ascent pretty easy on the down.  

T-1:26:32 (I think, my watch died at mile 4) 2000' vert 

10 slow miles - Boulevard - Canal Trail to water lab and back.  Looks like they might pave the trail.  What a shame.  Pretty tired today as this is going to be my highest mileage week yet this year.

T- 1:22:30 (8:15) 250' vert 

Providence Hills Loop 8.5

Worn out and tired of running on the roads.  Just can't get up early enough to hit the trails in the AM.  Boo Hoo

T-1:10 (8:14) 500' vert

Double Jardine Juniper plus 5 - 

Just like last year I decided to do this run as a spring tune-up to see where I am at pre-pocatello50.  Just like last year, the rains came and the mud appeared (and no one came with me)  It was a mess out there.  It was raining very steady in the valley and I wondered what I was in for.  Surprisingly, it was only raining off and on during the run and was only steady nastiness for a few minutes at a time.  It was pretty sweet to watch the clouds move in and out and pass through them constantly.  The downside of the run was the mud.  Solomon XR Mission shoes are not good at shedding mud.  They became bricks and really slowed me down.  The upper bowl right before the wilderness sign was a disaster.  Hardly runnable, but once past that things got better again.  Nothing like a trail run where you try and jump rock to rock.  

Lap 1 - Start to the tree turnoff (I didn't go down to the tree) counter-clockwise (usual route) then back down the trail to just past the wilderness sign to Cottonwood Canyon.  Then back up the trail but this time clockwise around the backside then back down to the Truck.  This lap took 1:58 (12.5 miles @ 9:27 pace)

Lap 2 - Same as Lap 1 but with a snickers in my belly and a new waterbottle.  I was really struggling on the uphill on this second lap and the rain was making the mud worse as time went on.  Things were slow.  I tried to make it up on the downhill but was slipping and sliding all over.  Good times.  This lap took 2:04 (12.5 miles @ 9:55 pace)

I did this run last year a bit earlier in the year and 6 mins slower.  Pretty close to the same fitness as last year.  Roughly.  Looking forward to the Pocatello 50+ in 2 weeks.

T- 4:02 (25 miles) 5000' vert

Self Portrait of mud after first lap - 

Shot of the awesome canyon -

PM: Took the morning off to sleep in.  Glorious.  Took the kids to Logan High in the stroller so they could run a lap.  They were pretty excited.  Win/Win

4 miles - no watch.

Deer Fence Loop - 

Within 2 houses I knew something was wrong.  Not sure how to describe it.  Pain in my butt/groin/hamstring.  It reduced me to a walk numerous times in the first half mile.  Things loosened up though and by mile 2 I broke 9 mins/mile.  Weird tightness.  I could feel it in the hammy for the run but was able to get going after a while.  Better keep an eye on it.

T-1:36 (7:41) 750' vert

Trail Run with Joe - 

Ricks Steel Hollow Loop.  One of the best after-work runs around.  Mostly shady with lots of sweet singletrack.  They recently moved the trail out of the bottom of the valley to the sidewall.  Makes for a less rocky route but not as cool.  Its only for the first 2 miles of Ricks though.  I made joe run with me around the dirt parking lot loop to make it an even 12.  OCD.

T-1:45:45 (8:49) 2400' vert

Providence River heights loop

Nice 'n easy 

Von's Park

Plenty of niggles lately.  Must be time to taper I guess. 

Took the family camping last night to Right Hand Fork, just below camp Lomia.  We got a decent (free) spot next to the creek.  I got up a bit before the family and went for my run.  They had breakfast and went on a hike.  I ran from camp to Right Hand Fork trailhead then went up Willow to Ephraims Grave Cutoff and over to visit the grave.  Spectacular morning to be in the mountains.  Capped off the run by heading down Steel Hollow and back to camp.  Wonderful course.  I would be satisfied if that were the only run I could ever do (over and over).  It's that good.

T-2:15 (9:18) 2800' vert

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Last year I ran this same run on Memorial Day as a pre-Pocatello50 tune-up.  I guess I am a sucker for tradition as I did the same thing today.  Today I went at it pretty hard from the start and was breathing hard the whole time.  It felt great to open up the legs a bit and not worry about blowing up since the run was so short.  It went great.  Today's time was 35:50 up and 24:43 down for a total of 1:00:33.  New PR by 3.5 mins.  Sweet.  Now I get to take it easy the rest of the week.

T-1:00:33 (7:34) 1500' vert

Heading out for some canoeing on the Logan River with the family.  Should be interesting... 

Temple Run

5 Easy, boring miles.  Whole family is fighting a cold except me.  How do I quarantine myself?

Hiking with the Young Men - 4 miles (2 up 2 down) up Spring Hollow.

Pocatello 50  

Another successful race!  Great day to enjoy the trails.  7th overall.  Just over a minute faster than last year.  Consistency is my middle name.  

T- 9:21:15 (by my watch) 9:19:37 (Ultrasignup) (10:35) ~12,000 feet vert

Photo of the kids nearing the finish line -

Ways this year's race was a success

• I got to take the family and camp out with them
• "Trail Running" with them the night before the race on part of the course (see pic below)
• No IV necessary at the finish.  Sure, I wanted one, but I didn't need one!
• Weather was awesome.  High of 75.  No blizzard ruining the race.  No 85+ degrees like last year.  Course records fell all over the place.  Good thing the weather was so nice.  It made up for my lack of training.
• PR is a PR
• Felt better than at Zion Traverse.  Body is getting used to the training load finally.
• Learned how to cool my body down better this time to not get heat stroke.  Arm warmers filled with Ice feels amazing! 
• Course knowledge is king.  At least 3 of the top guys got lost.  Not me.
• I had fun.  Painful fun, but still fun.
• I can bomb the downhills still.  I passed so many 50K and 20 mile racers on the downhills.  The decent off Scout was unreal.  Dropping 3000' in a few miles of rocky trail is insane.  Especially at mile 45.  
• I still have all my toenails (unlike last year)
• I got to lead the race for the first mile as we jogged down the road.  That was fun.
• I beat Joe (dropped out), Ty Draney (dropped out), Jared Campbell (ran 26 hours last weekend in Zion NP), Greg Norrander (beat me last year, wore #1 bib for the race).  Sure most had some excuse but tough.  I still win.  Ha!
• I got to wear bib #2 (as 2nd fastest returning runner).  Too bad I didn't finish 2nd.
• I didn't die

Ways this year's race wasn't perfect 

• I didn't win the $500 prize money
• I got chicked.  Joelle is amazing.  She beat her course record by 23 mins.  How do you compete with that? 
• I have liver pain.  I thought it was just a side-ache coming down off scout mountain but it was my inflamed liver.  Not sure what to do about that.  Its almost gone now 48 hours after finishing but it was pretty tender even yesterday.
• I didn't get in the training necessary to take a serious attempt at breaking 9 hours.
• Joe had to drop.  Ty had to drop.  Bad days for them.  I wish them well.
• I forgot to get the Wolf Man to sign my shoes.
• In fact, no one even asked for my signature.  

Other nerdy facts 

• I had 3 target paces printed that I carried.  9:00, 9:23 (last years splits), 10:00.  The 9 hour was a dream pace.  The 10 was a 'B' goal.  Breaking 9:23 was the 'A' goal.  
• I was within 1 minute of last year's splits at all aid stations but 1.

Aid 1 Gibson - 1:11 (last year) - This year (1:11:22)

Aid 2 City Creek - 2:40 - This year (2:39:12)

Aid 3 Midnight - 4:25 - This year (4:24)

Aid 4 Mink - 5:27 - This year (5:23:55 in) (5:26 out)

Aid 5 S. Scout - 6:37 - This year (6:34)

Aid 6 Big Fur - 8:28 - This year (8:27)

Finish - 9:22:38 (last year) - This year(9:21:15)

I suppose that if I expect different results I must train differently.  No time to do that, and I don't really care that much.  Not likely to happen.  I just love being out there and doing these kind of runs.  What a life!

Elevation Profile

 Trail Running with the Kids the Day before the race.

5K pacing my son(age 8).  He was running his second 5K ever and was trying to beat 40 mins (he ran 44:45 last fall).  I pushed the girls in the stoller while Beth ran behind or ahead.  It was a whole family affair.  2.5 laps of the Planet Walk later he had a new 5K PR.  36:50  Nice work!

I felt great and had no pain or issues from the 50.  Time to ease back into it. 

Green Canyon with Mike - 

Joe was still taking it easy on his bum knee so it was Mike and I for a jaunt up Green.  Pace was nice and easy since I am still recovering.  Great day for the trails.  Always is.

T-1:16 (8:27) 1100' vert

Deer Fence from church in Providence.  Slow and tired.  Not recovered yet.

T-1:09 (8:37) 1000' vert

The cold I anticipated hit me with a vengence last night.  I was in bed by 8:30.

No running today to get well.  Felt much better by the end of the day. 

Spent the night camping again with the kids (father and son (gender not checked)).  Lots of fun but getting home at 10:30 meant that the run was going to be hot today.  Heat training.

I started at first dam and went up BST to Green and up all the way to the spring just past the rockslide (7850').  That was the plan cause I knew I would need water and to cool off.  It was a perfect plan because I was not going to make it without that water.  I survived and actually had a decent run even recovering from Pocatello and a cold.  

T-2:57:30 (9:20) 3500' vert

Providence Canyon Trail from the park/church at Providence Elementary. More mileage this way.

T-1:21 (8:06) 1650' vert 

Blvd-Temple-Canal Trail

Long Trail Run - 

Joined Mike for his first 20 miler on trails.  He's training for Logan Peak and couldn't fit in a long run this weekend so I joined him.  I picked a pretty hard 20 miler for his first.  Poor guy.  At least it was an awesome trail.  Route was Ephraims Grave Loop (Willow-Cutoff-Steel) then back to the car for a water refill and then back up Ricks to nearly the top then back down Ricks to the car.  We got done just in time to not need any lights.  Good thing 'cause we didn't have any.  Mike was sure dragging by the end, but he made it.  He didn't even slow down that much, in-spite of his whining.  Not many people whine as much as me.  He makes the list...

T-3:17 (9:51) 4500' vert

6 horribly slow miles.  Only had 8 hours from the end of last night's long run till this morning's run.  Didn't wear a watch but wouldn't have been surprised if it was 10 min miles.

Drove to the temple and ran from there.  Wanted dirt and flat and close to home.  Came up with the canal trail and river trail combo.

Trail Run - 

Joe and I decided to go tag some peaks today on the Wellsvilles.  It was awesome.  First up was Mendon Peak.  4 miles straight up from Deep Canyon.

View of Deep Canyon from just below the saddle.

 This is the route we are about to take.  South on the ridge to the peaks behind me. Shot is taken from on top of Mendon Peak.

  We had to hike up a little hill now and then....

  Next up was Box Elder peak (behind me)

 The final peak required a drop of 1000' to the saddle and then a nasty bushwhack that caused blood to ooze out of our shins.  Joe is still mad about making him tag that peak.

By halfway (mile 10) we had tagged Mendon (8766'), Wellsville Cone (9356'), Box Elder Peak (9372') and unknown name peak not worth the effort (8686').  Too bad it took 2:45 to do those 10 miles.  Time to go home.  9.5 miles and retracing our steps but without tagging the peaks we made it in a blazing 2 hours.  Food gone, water gone, legs tired.  Done.

T-4:45 (14:37) 7250' Vert

 ** Weekly summary - Great week for the climbing legs.  Some hard earned miles but great to get out into the high country.  Snow is gone.  Mountains are open for exploring.

14,000' vert total.  72 miles.  760 mins 

Providence Hills Loop - 

Uneventful (Hour something) 7:20 pace or so

PM: boating and waterskiing at hyrum lake.  awesome. 

AM: 10 on canal trail route.  Ran to the Water Lab and back.  Canal Trail is still dirt.

T-1:20 (8:00) 400' 

PM: Ran/Hiked Deep Canyon with Beth.  She set a pretty good pace uphill (hiking) and was even running down at a decent clip when she slipped and superman'd it.  Unfortunately, her ankle is swollen and not happy.  4 miles 1800' vert

Stump Hollow - 

A wonderful trail, beautiful weather, no crowds (only a few bikers and joe the runner), perfect.

T-1:48 (9:00) 2000' vert

Easy miles to von's park.  Joined up with the Ragnar runners for a bit.  I can't believe that 1500 teams are running WBR this year.  Insane.

PM: Hiked up Deep Canyon (again) with the Scouts.  Bunch of whiners.  Most did well though.  Only one was actually crying.  Most of us made it to the saddle (8100') in 80 mins.  Jogged easy down.  6 miles 2700' vert 

Stroller with the kids.  Dropped off a redbox and went to the "red track" (Logan High)  for a lap.

Richards Hollow -

Today Joe was out of town preparing for his wedding next week.  So it was just Mike and I (and a few motorcyclers) for company today.  Got to run a classic (on my top 10 list) run.  Richards hollow left at the elbow to the junction with the road at the top.  Flowers were out and the temperature was perfect.  A great day for a run.  Wanted to go longer but saving it for Logan Peak next weekend.  Instead, I spent the rest of the day at Hyrum Lake with the family.  

T-2:11 (9:41) 2800' vert 

Temple/Canal Trail

Von's Park

T-52:00 (7:25)

Planet Walk 6 - 

Saw a random car driving down the road with a mattress on the roof.  That's different, I thought.  Then I recognized the driver.  It was Joe.  

5 Miles with the kids in the stroller.  It was hot.  97 degrees.

4 shakeout miles.  Ready to roll tomorrow at Logan Peak Run.  Forecast is for 100 degrees.  Thankfully, I will be done at 10:15-10:20am.

Logan Peak Run -

1st Place 4:08:20

Herald Journal had a nice re-cap HERE

(Photo courtesy of HJNEWS) 

Looking around during the pre-race briefing I took stock of the crowd.  No Seth, no Joe, no Jon.  We did have last year's 6th & 7th place finishers Kyle Wright & Neal Legler.  Plus a friendly and speedy looking guy Nick Sourlos.  We also had one of my new training partners Mike McKnight quite nervous about his first run over 20 miles.  What a race to break him in on!  With no fanfare the race started and within a quarter mile it was already down to a group of 5-6.  Neal and I set the pace and chatted away as we headed up Dry Canyon.  

My plan this year was to be right around the same splits as last year and even a bit slower and hope I would have the legs to actually run the downhills this year.  Last year things fell apart at the Tower so I knew there was room for improvement.  As we neared Aid 1 at mile 4.4 I looked around and could only see our group of 3.  Neal, Kyle, and I.  Quick bottle fill, some chips and off I went.  First out the aid but I could hear them not far behind.  Neal caught up and we continued chatting but soon he said something about his bottles and stopped.  I opted to keep plugging along and figured he would catch up soon.  Kyle and Neal ended up hanging about 50 meters behind me as we made our way over to the Welches Jeep Trail.  So far, things were going great.  My split at Aid 1 was only 30 seconds slower than last year, but the effort was easier it seemed.  From when Neal dropped back a bit all the way to Aid 2, the two guys stayed around 30 seconds to a minute or so behind me.  I noticed I would gap them on the downhills and they would almost catch me on the climbs.  So far, the heat wasn't an issue.  There was some cloud cover and tree cover so the sun wasn't on us at all.  I stopped at a spring at mile 9 and dunked my shirt in the water.  Glorious.  

I hit Aid 2 all alone (still only 30 seconds behind my splits from last year) and drank some fluids as they filled my bottle.  As I was leaving, Neal and Kyle arrived.  At that point, I decided to push it up the climb and create a gap that might stick.  It was time to go.  That bit of the course climbs 900' over 2.5 miles.  It is runnable.  Except for the 9000' elevation causing lack of oxygen.  Still, you have to run it.  The sun was out and getting strong during this stretch but my shirt was still damp.  That saved me.  

I tagged the Peak's Towers at 2:35:40 making up my 30 second deficit and putting myself a minute ahead of last year's pace.  I stopped to take in the 360 degree view before hammering the downhill.  I was mentally prepared to make it hurt this year and go hard the second half of the race.  I was only 30 seconds from the top when I crossed paths with Neal/Kyle.  So, roughly 90 seconds ahead.  I put my head down and let it rip.  I love this section 'cause you can see your gaps and you get to receive/give near constant encouragement.  My buddy Mike was looking great in 6th-7th place but I was not surprised to see Nick Sourlos in 4th only a few mins back from Neal/Kyle.  He was still in the mix.  

I stopped briefly at the Aid to top off the bottle and headed off to hammer my favorite section and the crux of the course, the North Syncline Trail.  This trail was nearly the death of me for my first running of this race and still is a TOUGH section.  Lots of rollers.  Most people expect a downhill path all the way back to the Finish, so this section is a slap in the face.  The heat was starting to get to me here as my shirt was dry and I filled my bottle with HEED not water.  I didn't really was to douse myself with HEED so I started to roast.  I did know of a spring right before aid 4 where I could dunk my shirt again and that was all I could think about.  It finally arrived and yes, it was glorious.

A quick stop at the final aid station to fill the bottle (with water this time) and down the canyon I flew.  Only slowing when necessary and when the side ache hit, I pushed all the way to Deer Fence Trail.  That was like a furnace through there.  Short steep climbs with full exposure.  Brutal, but I was almost done.  Convinced no one matched my downhill run today, I cruised it in to the finish where my family was waiting.  

I really enjoyed the second half of the race this year.  It's so much nicer to have the legs and fitness to take advantage of the downhill and post a good time.  Kyle came in next about 12 mins back.  Neal struggled the second half and even hurt his ankle coming down dry canyon.  He was passed by Nick for third place.  Mike came in 5th well under his 5 hour goal time in great spirits.  Not quite as confident about moving up in distance as he was in the past, but ready for the next challenge...El Vaquero Loco (50K).

While the competition wasn't as good as in year's past, the top 10 still all went under 5 hours. Still, no course record for me (Seth's 4 flat is impressive), but I am pretty happy to run 11 mins faster than last year for the second fastest time ever.  And a win to boot!

Elevation - 6500' per sporttracks, 7261' per website, 7100' per Garmin Connect

2013 Splits (compared to 2012)

Aid 1 - 58:00 (+.5)

Aid 2 - 2:09:30 (+.5)

Tower - 2:35:40 (-1)

Aid 3 - 2:52 (-3)

Aid 4 - 3:39 (-8) 

Finish - 4:08:20(-11) 

First Half - 2:35:40

Second Half - 1:32:40 

In the afternoon, evening we drove to Pleasant Grove for Joe's wedding reception.  A worthy reason to miss the famous Logan Peak Trail Run.

A few pics -

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Logan joined me for a jaunt up Prov Canyon.  Pace was conversational and fun.  Legs felt pretty good considering my race.  Think I am good to go.  Tired, but no soreness anymore.

I did enjoy seeing Logan covered in dirt.  He's a dirt magnet.

T-1:21 1700' vert 

Jardine Juniper 11 - 

Great post-work run.  Was on my own today, and ended up going really slow.  My left arch was sore.  Good old post-race niggles.  Did 2 loops at the top to get to 11 miles.

T-1:44:30 (9:30) 2500' vert

Happy 4th of July!

Got up at 4 to meet with Bryce at North Ogden Divide to head up to Ben Lomond Peak (9712').  Along the way, we stopped to talk with no less than 20 other runners all heading down.  Talk about an early start!  They all knew Bryce.  I felt horrible and luckily Bryce was kind and kept the pace easy.  My stomach was really unhappy on the downhill.  That made it rough.  We hit the peak and back in 2:50 taking a few shortcuts.  Bryce needed to bail but I decided since I was there, I should take advantage and check out the Skyline trail heading south from the divide.  It was a steep 2.5 miles to Eyrie Peak (8136').  Out of time and water and most importantly energy, I called it a day and shuffled back to the car.  I want to go back and run the Skyline Trail from Pineview to Mantua.  Someday...

T-4:02 5600' vert 

off

Took the family camping up Franklin Basin area.  We ended up just below Logan River Aid on the Bear Course.  Did some exploring, brat cooking over the fire, smores, then ducked into the tent trailer just in time for a brief rain squall.  Woke up Saturday and I headed down the road to Franklin Basin Aid then ran the Bear course backwards to Tony Grove.  I was just about to hit white pine lake when I saw Mike out running to join me.  We half-heartedly planned on running as he was camping at White Pine.  If I had run 5 mins faster we would have missed each other.  As it was though, he joined me for 12 miles or so as we went over to Tony Grove and down white pine trail (before he headed back to camp).  My family was there at Tony Grove ready to go hiking and playing at the lake while I was out running.  They were kind enough to replenish some supplies before mike and I took off.  I ended up running short of water since the water jug tipped over and emptied on the drive to Tony Grove.  Other than being thirsty, a great (SLOW) run on very tired legs.  I really should rest one of these days...

T-4:05 (10:13) 4000' vert

** Weekly summary - 66 miles in 4 days.  13,800' vert.  Sure wore me out, but awesome!

Hidden Peak (11,000') & Baldy (11,068')

Took the family to Lagoon today.  Since it doesn't open until 11 and I was already in town, I took advantage and drove up to Snowbird and hit the Speedgoat course.  Those were some hard-earned miles.  Still, I was able to tag two 11K peaks and head down.  Nearly all the run was on course, just out of order.  Pretty nice to hit the "Ridge Trail" while relatively fresh instead of at mile 25.  I finally made it home at 11:00pm after 11 hours at Lagoon.  Had a blast (mostly).

T- 2:35 12 miles 4250' vert  

Flat Top Peak (9539')

The family is out of town for the week so decided to bag a prominent peak.  I have hiked to the saddle only 500' below the peak numerous times but have yet to go to the top.  Today, that changed.  Route started at the first gate in Birch Canyon.  Headed up the road 1 mile until the trail began.  Headed up and up and up.  Things started out very slowly and went progressively slower as things got rockier and steeper and more overgrown (the trail needs some love).  The heat and the dead legs kept the pace very slow and things really didn't improve until the downhill.  Oh well, it wasn't about speed.  I got to hit some nice trails and see some spectacular views.  I even saw my first moose of the season.  A huge bull moose about 150 yards away.  I didn't bring my camera today.  Figures.  Just image a black smudge mixed in some green trees.  There's your picture.

T-3:10 (2 hours up, 70 mins down) ~15 miles 4700' vert

Off - volunteered at the Bishop's storehouse instead.

13 with Mike - 

Ran the Beaver Creek/Gibson Basin Loop.  A little rain, a few rocks, some dirt, 1 deer, 1 moose, 1 snake, 1 truck, 2 hicks.  Great run.  Easy pace.

T-1:50 (8:28) 1200' vert

Have felt like I have been pushing my luck lately.  Have some ITB niggles and my foot is still not 100% after Logan Peak.  Had lots of energy today but saving it for tomorrow's long trail run.  Must be healthy!

31 Miles - High Creek - High Creek Lake - Mt Naomi (9979') - Tony Grove - 7 sisters - Mt Elmer (9676') - Green Canyon

Mission accomplished!  Joe and I have been dreaming of this link-up for years now.  Today it finally happened.  We even had Mike along for the ride too.  It was all that I had dreamed about.  Lots of climbing, lots of views, lots of sun, some pain and misery.  Everything.

We started at 6:45 where the road turned to dirt at the mouth of Richmond?/High Creek? canyon.  Some boring dirt road running for a few miles before we hit the trail.  I was dragging until the moment I hit the trail.  Don't know what it is, but a switch went off in my head and I suddenly had energy and excitement.  Trails!

9 miles in we had made it to High Creek Lake (9000') -

Some hiking and whining ensued on the climb to Mt Naomi -

Me, on top of the Bear River Range.

Now for a 3 mile descent to Tony Grove.  After a quick douse in the lake we were back moving (slowly now) towards Coldwater Springs and Mt Elmer.  En-route, we got quite wet during a typical thunderstorm.  Lots of thunder had me worried about our exposure on the 7 sisters, but it blew over quickly (we stopped under a tree to stay drier as we were getting quite cold).  

(Above pic is of Mt. Elmer) 

This next section became the crux of the run.  Insanely rocky, deer trails, lots of hills.  Perfect combination for slowness.  Add to that, Joe was in a full bonk mode (due to lack of training).  Poor guy, he sure suffered.  What do you expect when you choose to honeymoon instead of run around the mountains?

 This gave Mike and I time to pose for pictures and practice our ridge running technique.  

Yes, Mike almost tripped and fell.  So close...

 We eventually made it to Mt. Elmer where Mike and I tagged the peak while Joe went on ahead.  

This is a view from Mt. Elmer of the route we just took with Naomi in the center. 

 10 miles left, all we had to do was drop 5000 feet down green canyon and call it a day.  We stopped at the spring at the top of Green to fill up and douse ourselves to combat the heat of the day (91 degrees).  Mike and I quickly ditched Joe and cruised down the trail (every man for himself!).  Joe ended up struggling to finish up and after 35 mins of waiting at the bottom, he finally showed himself.

Tired, satisfied, beat-up, but happy was the consensus of the group.  One of the greatest routes around.  Highly recommended.  

T-6:30 (12:35) 8500' vert 

AM: 7 - Deer Fence South to beyond Millville Canyon.  Felt pretty decent all things considered.  Didn't push too hard, but kept it honest.

T-59:20 (8:29) 800' vert

PM: 15.5 - First Dam - Wind caves trail - Beirdneau Trail - Green - BST - Loop.  Family was still gone so figured why not?  It was 98 degrees at the start.  Yuck.  My first mile (pretty flat)  was 9 mins and things didn't get much better.  It was slow and painful.  I forget how awful that trail is above Wind Caves.  Climbs 2K feet in 3 miles with hardly a trail for 2 of the miles.  Kept an eye out for rattlers.  Thankfully, didn't see any.  Not much fun "running" up that trail.  Luckily coming down the other side makes up for it.  Gonna take it easy now.  Maybe I will ride my bike tomorrow and give my body a rest.  It needs it.

T-2:44:30 (10:37) 3200' vert

Took it easy today due to time constraints and energy constraints.  Rode the bike for 45 mins up to near Providence Star.  

T-46 mins 500' vert 

Logan Peak (9710') - Providence Peak (9598') - Little Baldy (8763')

Final big workout before Speedgoat.  Figured I could run some hills and tag some peaks all at the same time.  Ended up bushwhacking for an hour.  What a mess.

Route was up dry canyon left onto connector to North Syncline until I hit the spring.  Dipped my shirt and hat and filled up.  Retraced my steps until I hit the connector trail that goes straight up to Logan Peak.  On Google Earth, the trail is clearly visible.  I guess it hasn't been used in a few years.  I was getting off trail every 50 feet.  After a while, I got frustrated and gave up only to stumble on the trail heading back down.  I gave it another go, but was soon bushwhacking again.  I decided to just head to the ridge and guess what I found, the trail.  For a bit.

Eventually I made it to Logan Peak tagged the tower and rushed over to Providence Peak.  Big dark clouds were looming and it was getting really late.  I figured I had 1 hour to get down in daylight.  I moved as quick as I could along the ridge to Little Baldy.  There was a trail for a while.  Then more bushwhacking ensued.  I almost cried for joy when I hit the South Syncline trail.  Now racing the sunset I headed back to dry canyon and down it back to the car.  Quite the link-up but I will probably not do that again until snowshoe season as the trail stinks.

T-3:36 (13:56) 5500'

No time/desire

(8)- Temple-Canal Trail-River Trail

Richards Hollow 13.5 - 

Starting my taper today for Speedgoat 50K.  Shaved a good hour or two off my typical long run.  Still managed to see a biker, motorcycler, 2 horses (and their riders), 100+ sheep and one angry bee (my eyebrow is still swollen).

T-2:06 (9:20) 2700' vert

Providence Canyon Trail - 8

Legs felt good today, but kept things in-check.  Didn't want to over-do it.  I love dirt.

T-1:09:53 (8:44) 1500' vert

Planet Walk 5 - 

I forgot how lame it is to run 5 whole miles on the road/pavement.  Lame. 

Green Canyon 8 - 

Pretty mellow run.  REALLY wanted to run further.  Not a good idea with Speedgoat on Saturday.  Can't wait...

T-1:10 (8:45) 1000' vert

Sick- Crappy timing!

Still sick (head cold, headache, wife has Mono).  Not looking good.

Speedgoat 50K

-6:59:22 (11,000' vert)

Not my best day.  Glad I survived (I was wondering for a few hours).  Report will follow when my head is not pounding (don't run a race like this while sick).  

- Summary:  Combination of a head cold, elevation, and a certain extreme endurance event caused my body to make me stop running.  "The Central Governor" was saying STOP.  I knew it was going to happen, I was only hoping it wouldn't be too bad.  It was.

Right from the start I felt like I had already run a 50K. Legs were dead, but the breathing was out of control.  Heart rate felt high, but shoot we are running up a mountain.  What do you expect? 

 Photo of the first 8 miles or so.

I was in 15th-20th place at the top of Hidden Peak (Mile 8.4).  1:45. Right where I thought I should be.  I was mixing it up with the top 3 ladies.  The men were long gone (Sage Canady hit the top in 1:23). Just as expected they flew up the hill.  Sage went on to set a course record in just over 5 hours.  Insane!

 Mile 8 (I am in Red) - 

 Yep, that's me.  Thanks to my wonderful wife spectating and taking photos I have these pictures.  

The next 3 hours were spent down here -

Some sweet singletrack downhill.  Can't complain about that!

After the sweet singletrack, we had a short off-trail stint over a saddle then down a crappy ATV road full of rocks.  This is where I realized my downhill skills stink.  I was passed by Ruby Muir wearing 5 fingers (she ended up 3rd).  She was gone.  Very impressive.  I was hanging with Stephanie Howe (eventual winner) for a while too (until it leveled off).

Turned around at Pacific Mine (Mile 15.5) @ 2:50.  Still doing ok, but legs are slowing down.  From this point on, I would not pass a soul and I would become roadkill for anyone nearby.  It was the beginning of the end.  The entire climb up to Baldy was a suffer-fest.  Light headed, wobbly, dizzy, weak, couldn't breathe.  It only got worse the higher I got.  By the time I hit Larry's hole I was done.  I ate and drank lots hoping to improve.  I had completely given up racing and was merely moving just to survive.  No longer with any pride, I no longer cared who passed me and how many did so.  I had to stop to try and catch my breath a few times.  What race?  I am going to die.  Who cares about a race?  The final 750' climb in .4 mile (to 11,000') was a death sentence.  

Almost there...

Made it!

Oh look, she's taking pictures, I will try to run again.  Ouch.

I stopped to get a hug but secretly wanted her to carry me to the tram.  She gave me some tough love and sent me on my way.   

 This is the route down off Baldy towards the tunnel under Hidden Peak.

Looking back at Baldy

Is Speedgoat Karl sponsored?

One more descent and climb to go.  12 mins down and 42 mins back up the ridge trail to hidden peak (again).  The downhill hurt my body as bad as the uphill.  I got passed by 2 people on the downhill.  That usually doesn't happen...

The Ridge Trail

Ouch

Once over the final climb, I suddenly felt better.  My lower back stopped hurting as bad, my breathing improved.  I could run again.  I was watching my watch and doing some math.  If I hurried, I could break 7 hours.  Things weren't looking too good for a while but once I dropped below 9000' I could breathe again and life was good again.  I managed 3 sub 8 min miles to sneak under 7 hours.  I even had time to slow down so my son could join me across the line.  I didn't realize that my daughter had tried to run with me too.  My fan club at the finish line got this great photo of the finish.

So happy to be done....

So, I figure I could run 6:30 on this course healthy with my current fitness.  Slowing down 30 mins felt a lot worse than it was.  I thought I was going to hit 8 hours for a while.  If I even finished.  There is only 1 time I have felt this bad in a race, ever.  The Bear 100.  So I am pretty happy with how things turned out.  I survived!  I think it made my cold worse though.... 

Day 1 of Backpacking the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming with the 14-17 year old scouts.

It started off with a guy (random stranger) having a heart attack? in the grocery store in Pinedale WY.  We were 10 feet away and tried to wake him up until we realized he wasn't breathing and had no pulse.  We were getting ready to start CPR when the police and paramedics arrived (less than 2 mins - very fast).  They tried to revive him unsuccesfully and then carted him off to the hospital.  We weren't sure if he made it or not until Saturday when we asked at the store and found out he died.  Crazy start to the hike.

We hiked in 7 miles to Camp 1 but not before a few more incidents.

- I was not feeling well and caught the flu bug that hit my house last weekend.  It hit me hard at mile 4.5 and I was shaking, freezing, light headed, dizzy, unable to move well, dry heaving, etc.  Basically unable to go on.  I received a blessing and had a quick recovery and was able to make it the 2.5 miles further to our camp location (with some help from the boys with carrying some of my pack weight).  

- About 20 mins after that, a boy decided to check out the scenery at an overlook a little too close and slipped over the edge.  He fell about 20-25 feet and only ended up with a gash in the leg and some bad bruising.  

- Not long after that, we got interrogated by the ranger and was fined $150 for not filling out the proper paperwork we didn't know we needed.  Ignorance is not bliss.  I would later be able to undo the fine (see Friday's entry).

We made camp and called it a day! 

I am counting my backpacking miles as running miles because they were dang hard.  55+ pounds is a lot to carry when sick and you only weigh 135.  

Day 2 of Backpacking the Wind River Range

- Today we took a long breakfast and eventually broke camp to move only 3 miles further inland to Seneca Lake.  I was feeling much better today after puking up dinner.  Ate and drank normal and regained strength.

Base Camp  

Day 3 of Backpacking in Wind River Range - 

Today we took a day hike (15.5 miles from base camp) up to the Continental Divide at Indian Pass (past Island Lake and Indian Basin).  It was a fun 3000' climb day.  It wasn't real hard, but was the highest anyone in the group had ever gone (12,180') except for me and one other leader.  It was pretty fun watching them struggle but still make it to the pass.  Well done!

 - We hiked up to the pass shown just left-center.

Day 4 of Backpacking the Wind Rivers - 

Today everyone crashed from the hike yesterday and took a fishing day.  Not much happened around camp.  Luckily, my strength had returned so I went for a little jog.  I decided to run back to the truck and head into town to get the paperwork resolved to save us the $150 fine.  Really, it was an excuse to go running and explore the mountains.  Happily, I headed off and took the scenic route back to the trailhead.  I took probably 30 pictures of lakes that I passed and only got pics of the bigger ones.  Never mind the 50 small ones I passed.  That place is crazy.  Water everywhere.  It was 17 miles and 3:35 to the trailhead.  I grabbed a burger and a shake while in-town and tried not to barf on the run back to camp (10 miles in 2:30).  It really messed with me.  Won't try eating that again before a run.  Got back to camp and took a dip in the freezing lake.

4000' vert - 27 miles - 6:05 (counting all the photos).

Last Day of Backpacking Wind River Range (actually only a very small piece of it).

Today, we packed up and hiked the 10 miles out.  Packs were a bit lighter without the food and fuel.  I felt a million times better than on Tuesday.  I also had gotten used to the 10,300 foot elevation of base camp.  Still heavy breathing on the hills, but no longer all the time.  We made good time except for one incident.  A scout got ahead of the group and then took a wrong turn.  We thought he was in-front of us until we made it to the trailhead and discovered him missing.  We guessed where he went wrong and sent out the search party (me) to find him.  I had a 12 mile route planned to check and we figured we would find him within that route.  I ended up finding him just 2.5 miles or so up the trail.  He had indeed taken a wrong turn and hiked an extra 4 miles.  He was tired and thirsty, but well.  I gave him water and then headed back to the trailhead to call off the (professional) search party.  I did get 5 miles of good trail running in though as a bonus (always thinking of the positive).  

The boys killing time waiting for the lost scout.

Took a day off to try and get better from my sick-o-ness. (I am sure its a word).

Deer Fence 6 - 

Was still hacking up junk, but feeling better. 

Birch Canyon 9 miles - 

Joe, Mike and I back at it today.  Still feeling pretty crappy, but had a good time.

T-1:30 2200' vert 

El Vaquero Loco 50K - 3rd Place 5:48:46  9000' vert

I am pretty happy with it even though it was 11:35 slower than last year.  Only missed 2nd by 1:25.  I have got to get better from whatever it is I have before I try and race again.  Its hard to race sick.

All around it was a pretty good day.  Joe finally finished a race!  His first since Logan Peak LAST YEAR!  Mike killed it (per my prediction) running a 6:15:47 for 5th place.  David and Tim Nelson both did well in the 25K (JV race).  It was also a rare no-rain year which was nice for Joe and Jenny who slept under the stars.

 Photo courtesy of Bethany Draper

So, the longer version isn't going to be very entertaining.  No deaths or near death experiences like my backpacking trip last week.  Sorry.  Here goes...

I took friday off work and headed up to Cottonwood lake with the Family and trailer in tow.  We found the last remaining spot where you can park a trailer and set up camp.  We spent the rest of the day checking out the lake and playing frisbee and dodging random rain storms.  Just having a good time in the mountains.  Around dark, Joe, Jenny, and Mike showed up with my bib # and hoodie (thanks) and also David Nelson from Washington (formerly from Logan) and Timm (sp) Nelson his younger brother who lives in Alaska.  Yep the race is that cool that Timm would ride a snowmobile for hours to make it to the airport to fly to Seattle then drive with David all the way to Afton for a short 25K thats mostly uphill.  It's that good.

The race started off well with Luke taking his rightful place up front.  I thought he might take it easy on us this year, but within 20 seconds he was already pushing the pace so I let him cruise off into the sunrise...Some guy who ran like a deer stuck on him like glue and the two of them were off.  Plaid shirt deer guy had crazy form, but had a beard so I figured he would do well.

I settled into third with Joe dropping back and two other guys not far behind.  It remained this way up the 3000' in 3.6 mile climb.  Well, for most of it.  The final mile they caught and passed me putting me into 5th.  I was realizing that my climbing gear was broken again.  Warning!  I am about to give an excuse....I was still sick.  There, I said it.  I was lacking energy, ability to breathe, etc due to my (now diagnosed) sinus infection.  

Oh well, I was there to enjoy it and do the best I could.  So, run/hike I did.  I passed one of the guys back running down "balls" but the other guy maintained his 100m lead.  No worries, its a long race.  We cruised past the lakes and admired the red sunrise and especially enjoyed the shade while it lasted.  No rain and no clouds meant things would warm up.  

As usual, the final 3 miles to the turnaround were harder than they should be and I knew things were going to be rough on the return trip.  I saw Luke heading back up and saw he had gained a gap on deer boy but didn't get gaps on anyone else.  I had my #1 crew there at the turnaround and they helped me get ready for the return trip.  I stocked up on Mtn Dew and EFS slurry and went back at it.  

I hit the turnaround 3 mins behind PR pace and knew it wasn't going to be easy to make that up.  I settled into my best sustainable pace and went after 25K roadkill.  They had about a 10 min lead on me so it took awhile to catch them but I was soon knocking them off.  I kept looking for third place guy but never saw him.  I did see deer boy sitting off the trail looking utterly spent.  Very deja vu from last year with Joe. It was almost the exact same spot.

I wasn't moving as fast as I wanted but I was now in 3rd place.  Looking at my splits I lost another 7 mins on my splits from last year by the time I hit the Lakes.  I had no clue at the time and just 'ran'.  I loved the downhill into the lakes and had a blast running kamikaze down those hills flying past the 25K people.  The uphills sucked though.  Period.  I thought I was going to die hiking up balls.  I was going to stop and admire the view but someone had beat me to the best spot. David was just standing there admiring the view.  Who knows how long he stood there hanging out hogging the good view.  Punk.

All uphills finished, I tried to let my legs fly down the final brutal decent to the finish.  I was determined to run this faster this year.  I was doing well I thought, until I got a side ache.  It really hurt.  I had to slow and try and work it out.  I still managed to pass another 5 or so people on the descent and finish in a respectable manner.  

Come to find out, I had run the downhill so fast compared to 2nd place I almost caught him.  He was over 10 mins ahead at the lakes and I finished just over a minute behind him.  If only I had known... 

11:30 slower than last year but still a respectable 3rd place in 5:48:46.  I know I can go sub 5:30 on this course.  Next year..

Mike did really well considering his lack of training lately due to a foot injury.  He managed another 5th place (2 in a row).  Joe, he didn't have as great of a day, but like I said, he finished!  That is an accomplishment any day but especially for him lately.  His leg hurt him and he had to slow to a walk for a lot of the final 8 miles which cost him an hour but if you ask him, he down't care.  It was a great day!  

David and Timm?  Timm did well and dusted his older brother.  Ha!  Well done to both of them with their limited training.  It was great to hang out.  

Lets see, we ate burgers, drank huckleberry soda(s), soaked in the lake, packed up camp, ate at La Beau's (shakes and burgers) and crashed.  A perfect day!

- Sunday, after hacking up a lung all night I went to instacare and saw a doctor.  Neither of us really wanted to do a mono test and figured it wasn't going to change anything anyways so its possible I do have mono BUT he did diagnose a sinus infection and put me on antibiotics.  I think it is actually helping and I am finally breathing normal after 3 weeks of sickness (I am writing this on wed night).