Back At It

First time out since hurting my back last weekend.  Seems it was just a minor flare up but I took a few days off just to be sure.  Took it easy today.  Went up to Butler Fork and ran up to the Desolation junction then back down.

54:15
1,400' vert

Got up to Mill D North and was planning on making my way up to Desolation Lake then head back down.  I knew the rain might be a factor so I ran hard.  I didn't expect what was to come, however. 

A moose was blocking the trail almost 3 miles into the run.  I stopped my watch and waited her out from about 50 yards, for 10 minutes or so, making all sorts of noise so she'd know I was there.  When I finally decided she wasn't making much progress, I went up the mountainside to swing wide around her.  When I was straight across from her at about 60 yards away, a mountain bike came down the trail and blew by her.  The guy probably didn't even see her.  However, she wasn't very happy and started grunting.  I continued my forward progress and got to the point where I was going to drop down and connect with the trail again.  And guess who was there?  Yeah, she now had a sense of urgency and she was pissed, now coming straight at me.

At this point the only option is to run away, so that's what I did.  I ran as fast and as hard as I could through the belly-high bushes.  I turned my head around a couple times to see where she was and she was making ground.  When she was within 40 yards or so I came upon the ridge then dropped straight down, basically falling down the mountain.  I didn't look back, just tried to put some distance between us, however futile it may be.  If she really wanted to get me she easily could have.  She was just an ornery thing that was looking to put a scare in me.  Mission accomplished!

When I felt comfortable that she was no longer near me, I bushwacked to try and find the trail.  Wasted major time doing this, but I eventually found my way back.  Once I hit Blunder Fork I decided to head up to Dog Lake real quick to feel like I got some semblance of a run in.  Then the rain started and the lightning soon followed, so I pushed it down the trail.  On the way down I passed some bikers.  We chatted for a second, then I put some distance between us.  When I got to the bottom, the lady that was in front arrived a few minutes after and told me that about 1 minute after I pushed ahead of them, she saw a bobcat run across the trail!  So mad that I missed seeing that!  I've always wanted to see one in the wild.  Oh well.  It was an interesting day to say the least.

Distance is a total guess
No idea on time
No idea on vert

Got out with Jun and Scott in the afternoon to run the Big Mountain to Lambs section of the Wasatch 100 course.  This was the first time I've been on this section since running the race last year, and it's every bit as brutal as I remember.  Lots of rolling hills which are all runnable, but also lots of tricky descents due to the amount of rocks.  We also ran in the heat of the day which made things really interesting.

The most miserable section is just after the Alexander Spring aid station.  Lots of little rolling uphills, but it's also very exposed and very hot.  I ran every step of the way though and felt decent at the end of it.  Coming into the final section we missed a turn somewhere and had to do an uphill bushwack out of the bottom of the gully we were in.  That was kinda fun even though the scratches all over my legs are a bit irritating.

Once again I forgot to change my watch settings so my memory ran out about 20 minutes before we finished.  I think Craig said we were something like 2:58 total running time so I'm going with that.

2:58:00
2,400' vert (gain)
3,800' vert (loss)

Didn't have a whole lot of time this morning, so I went up and did the Desolation Loop.  Wasn't sure how my energy would be after yesterday's tough run, but after half a mile or so I felt really good, so I decided to go hard.  Ended up PR'ing up to the lake and also PR'd the loop.  Once I have a little more confidence in my ankle I know I can go under 2 hours.

2:03:42
2,800' vert

Decided to run up Broads Fork in BCC since I haven't been there yet this year.  Just went up to the meadow and back down.  Forgot how steep and technical this trail is in places.  Definitely gave me more confidence in my ankle though, which is just what I needed.

1:03:55
2,000' vert

Did the Butler Fork loop then added the short connector to Dog Lake to make it an even 10.  Felt ok the whole run, but not great.  Just like everything else in the Wasatch, this trail is terribly overgrown.  And it's like nettle death out there right now.  Can't tell you how many times I got stung today, but there's no way to avoid it in some spots so you just plow through it.  Then to top it off I jumped a big bull moose that was laying in the creek when I was running down.  Didn't even see him.  Scared me to death!  Luckily, he wasn't upset with me.

Interesting note: I typically run about 50% of the initial climb on this route.  Today I ran about 90% of it just for fun.  When I got to the ridge I was about 90 seconds behind my PR.  Just goes to show that running everything isn't necessarily all that efficient.  However, I plan on running like this more often because it's a much better workout!  My legs are spent.

1:34:23
1,900' vert

Full report with pics can be found HERE

Went up to King's Peak to tackle a double with Scott and Matt.  We didn't complete the double due to some bad planning, but I still had a great time out there and it was nice becoming familiar with the route.

We ended up starting at about 10:45 PM on Friday night, going on no sleep... Mistake number 1.  We took our time getting to the summit and we all felt the effects of the altitude.   Matt got a bad headache and pushed ahead to tackle the summit in order to get back down.  I had a little headache and felt some vertigo up near the top... Nothing too serious though.  Scott puked his guts out on the way down, about 25 yards below the summit.  I hung with him to make sure we got off the mountain safely.  He ended up taking a 15 minute nap after we got down, which was capped off by some hallucinations.  That's always fun!

Finally we pushed ahead, got Scott running again and slowly made our way down the mountain.  It took us longer to get down than it took to get up the mountain.  We got to the parking lot and contemplated a second lap, but there just wasn't enough time.  We took well over 10 hours for lap 1, which we had hoped would be closer to 7 hours or so.  Based on the time, fear of repeat headaches, puke, and hallucinations, and being up for 30 hours straight, we decided to bag it.  A good call I think.

I don't ever recall feeling this good after such a demanding run.  Probably because I took it really easy.  I never really got breathing hard at any point and my feet had zero blisters; something that always plagues me on tough runs like this.  Crazy!  So now I'm sitting here seriously contemplating getting back out there to attempt the double again.  If I can find time I'll try it this weekend or maybe during the week next week.  I'm seriously obsessed with King's right now.  Can't get it outta my head.

10:27:28
5,000' vert

Didn't have much time so I decided to head up to Butler Fork.  Just went up to the Desolation Trail junction and turned around.  Perfect day out and wish I had more time to spend out there.  Looks like I'll be having to cram runs in where I can the rest of the week.

47:54
1,400' vert 

Got out to the JRP for a quick 6.  Been awhile since I've run there and now I remember why I prefer trails to roads.  I just enjoy the variety the trails have to offer.  Still enjoyed myself and was able to get my legs turning over pretty well.  I thought I'd be slower on the flat stuff since I rarely get a chance to run flats in the mountains.  Turns out I've maintained my speed and maybe even picked up a little.

41:59
little vert

My family was up camping in AF Canyon over the weekend, so I decided to go up Friday night and hang out.  Got up Saturday morning and ran Timp.  There had to be four or five hundred people on that trail... It was insane.  Since this was the first time I've run the entire trail, once I got up into the basin I headed left instead of staying to the right.  Realized my mistake once I got to the base of the mountain and noticed all the people were north of me.  Ended up cutting across the snowfield and made my way over to the trail.

On the way up to the summit I ran into some billy goats.  There were people standing 10 feet away from them and they didn't even care.  I took a little video of it.  Pretty cool.  Once I hit the summit I stopped my watch and hung out for 10 or 15 minutes to take everything in.

I tried to keep a smooth pace on the descent, but my pace was constantly interrupted by hikers.  It was a bit frustrating, as I'm sure it was for them having to move out of my way.  Now I know to stay off that mountain on the weekends.  Just way too many people.

Once I got down I ran up the road back to camp.  Got there just in time for some pancakes, bacon and a coke... Awesome recovery meal!  What a great way to cap off a pathetic week.

3:32:21
4,900' vert

Not much time today so I went to the JRP for my usual 6 mile route there.  Felt hot today but my body dealt with it pretty well.

Found out last night that I'm pacing my friend Darrell from Brighton to the finish at Wasatch this year.  I'm excited to do this section when I'm at least semi-coherent and feeling ok.  I remember last year I was dealing with a hurt knee and that, along with the cold, were the only things occupying my mind.  Looking forward to a totally different experience this time around.

46:54
little vert

Lake Blanche trail.  Ran 100% of the trail today.  The only place I stopped was on top to take in the view for about 10 minutes.  Energy was good but it was a total sweat-fest out there.  I couldn't keep the salt out of my eyes.  Lots of fun.

1:24:32
2,500' vert

I hate days like this.  I had plans to get out and run the JRP right after work, but the freak lightning show that rolled through at 3:00pm changed my mind.  From my office I could see lightning striking near the area I run.  It was enough to scare me from going out.  The last thing I wanted was to be the lightning rod hopping around on that trail.  It didn't last too long, but by the time it ended my window had closed since I had somewhere to be at 5:00.

This is the one major problem with running in the afternoon/evening.  If I don't get my run in, my day is done; whereas if I were to miss a morning run I'd still have the afternoon to make it up.  Maybe I should start trying to run in the morning more often?  I realize it's not that big of a deal to miss a day, but it stinks when I had every intention of getting out there.

Wasn't able to get out yesterday, so I planned my long run for today.  I went up to Butler Fork and climbed up to the Desolation Trail junction where I stashed some food, water and supplies just in case I needed them.  Did a route that I'd been eyeing since last year.

About two hours into the run I got an enormous headache.  I never get headaches when I run so I was a little concerned.  Once I dropped down into Millcreek at the Terraces, I found someone who had some Aleve to take.  I also refilled my bottles at the water spout there and pounded a full bottle before taking off back up the canyon.  The meds took about an hour to kick in, but I felt much better afterward.

I spent most of the run soaked from the waist down due to the heavy rainfall the night before.  The overgrowth in some of the places also forced me to walk.  As much as I wanted to tear through it, it's wasn't worth risking injury less than a month out from The Bear.  Other than the headache, I felt like I had a pretty good run.  Energy was ok and my legs felt great.

5:20:02
5,700' vert

Mill D North up to Desolation Lake and back.  Quads and calves were a bit sore from yesterday's effort, so I wasn't able to run some of the steeper sections.  Pace was nice and easy on the way up, then I tried to run hard on the way down.  Started feeling tight in the calves and my left achilles flared up just a bit, so I backed off.  Taking tomorrow off just to be sure this doesn't turn into an issue since I've got two big weeks ahead of me.

1:18:54
1,900' vert

Got out for my 6 mile route at the JRP.  Was hot, but not terrible.  Need to spend the next few weeks focusing on heat training for The Bear.  I have no idea what it will be like on race day, so I need to prepare for the worst.

47:19
little vert