Back At It

Got out for my first run since the crash 3 weeks back.  Decided to tag along with my dad who was looking for a 3 hour effort or so.  Ended up going up to Butler Fork, tagging Gobbler's Knob, bushwacking down the side of the mountain and finishing on the Butler Fork loop.

Knee held up well, but the downhills felt like someone was tapping their knuckles against a bruised bone with each step.  Painful, but bearable... I'll take it over not being able to run.  Beautiful morning out!

Five around the hood.  No big deal.  Trying to get back on track, but forcing myself to ease into things and play it smart so I don't do anything stupid again.  I think I'll try to run every other day for the next week or so, then slowly get back into training mode.

As a side note, I completely suffered in the heat.  It's not even that hot but I was miserable.  Ugh!

Went into this one underhydrated and low on calories.  Wanted to simulate a late race death march... Success.  Not a good time though!  96 degrees and crazy wind does not equal fun.  After a complete failure last week I'm hoping to get back on the wagon with a few good runs this week.  Hoping for at least 4 days, maybe 5 if I feel up to it.

Got bored at work and had some clothes in my car, so I took off for a lunch run.  Did this one sort of backwards today... Had my bacon cheeseburger and Pepsi prior to my run, instead of after.  No issues and obviously had great energy throughout.

Got out with Jun and Scott for a night run.  We started just after 9pm on the Coyote Hollow trailhead in Draper and did a fanstatic loop, which included a run to the top of View Benchmark and a descent on the Eagle Crest trail, which I've never run on before.  I forget how much fun it is running with people, and especially running at night.

Scott's headlamp crapped out on the way down... Actually, it was never that bright to begin with.  I ended up tailing him close on the way down so he had a little bit of light and didn't fall on his face.  We made it out successfully... No falls!

My fitness sucks right now.  I was huffing and puffing on the way up to VB and actually ended up hiking two of the steeper sections.  I always run every step of that trail so I was a little bummed.  I realize that it'll take a few weeks to get things back in order.  After all, I've basically been injured since January, with a few runs here and there in between.  Patience is key, which unfortunately - when it comes to running - I lack almost entirely.

Looks like we're gonna start doing these night runs once a week or so.  Super stoked on that!

Woke up and decided to skip work and hit the trail.  Did the Desolation Lake loop in easily my slowest (solo) time ever.  Felt absolutely miserable for the first two hours, then things slowly started getting better.  At one point I even dropped in the middle of the trail and layed down for almost 10 minutes.  I promised myself I wasn't going to quit though and that my reward would be a Costa Vida pork burrito.  That thing motivated me during the whole run, which made it that much better when I ate it.

When I dropped down into the Millcreek side, ash from the fires was falling from the sky.  It was really crazy to see.  Made for a pretty memorable run.  Was definitely worked at the end of the run, but I slowly feel like I'm getting some of my climbing legs back.

7 around the hood.  Felt like putting in a hard effort so I made sure to take a water bottle this time.  Didn't suffer too much in the 90 degree weather.  A little posterior tib soreness post-run, but felt pretty good other than that.  Hoping to get my butt in gear and start getting up early for some runs at least twice a week.  First test coming tomorrow morning.

AM: Fail.  I got home early last night in order to get up for a run... Then laid awake til 1 am.  Sheesh!  Needless to say I didn't get out.  Will get out for a shake out run on lunch or after work, then an early am run with the crew tomorrow.

PM: Easy 3 around the neighborhood to loosen things up.  Big morning tomorrow so I'm hoping to go to bed early!  Yeah, right.

Had to wake my sorry butt up at 3:00 am for this one.  I live out west of Airport 2, so any trip to the canyon is a haul.  Not to mention the fact that I had to get ready for work since I don't have a shower at my office, and I wouldn't have time to go home first.  If you're wondering, the answer is yes... I'm sitting in my filth for the rest of the work day!  Can you say wet wipe shower?

So after meeting at the Park N Ride, Craig, Scott, Mark, and I headed up to Albion Basin.  We climbed up the Cecret Lake trail then proceeded to tag Sugarloaf, Baldy, and Hidden Peak in succession.  I let the boys go tag the AF Twins since I'm a baby and I'm DEATHLY afraid of heights!  I actually fell 30 feet out of a tree when I was 14 and got really broken up, so I don't feel like such a huge wuss, just a little one.  Still, I really wish I was able to do some of those exposed climbs, but I'd just freeze up and put other people in danger, so I don't.  I'll just live through pictures instead.

After watching the boys traverse the ridge from atop Hidden Peak, I descended down Peruvian so I could get a few extra miles in.  Ended up back at the car about 40 minutes ahead of the boys, which is actually better than I thought.

Excellent day out and really enjoyed getting out with some good buds.

Met my dad at the Butler Fork trailhead at 7am and we headed to the Gobbler's summit.  After coming back down, at Baker Pass I turned on the jets and bombed the downhill on the Bowman trail til I hit the Terraces.  Turned around and met my dad on the trail, then we did the route in reverse.

I've done this run a few times in past years and I always forget how miserably long that climb on Bowman is.  It's something like 4.5 miles long with around 3,700' of vert.  Seems never ending; especially in the heat!  Definitely good training though, which is why I end up doing it every year.  I was on tired legs, but this run was definitely what I needed to get back into the groove.