Back With a Capital Vengence!

Early Dog Lake w/ dogs.

Finally posted a race report of sorts from The Cortina Trail I did in Italy in June. So much ridiculous fun!!!

Little longer Dog Lake loop with swim break for Roo. Today is one of those days that I couldn't get out of bed and then when I finally got running I felt like I could run forever which is good because I need to be able to run forever...

I'm looking for BEAR 100 PACERS if anyone is stoked to stay up all night and force feed me and keep my from laying down on the trail and dying. Honestly I'm excited and think it is going to be so much fun!!!

Pace gig includes food, beer, and weekend lodging in Bear Lake.

Emigration bike up to Pinecrest.

Up Old Red Pine Road to secret Crest connector trail. Love exploring new (to me) trails! Followed by long awaited PT appointment w/ SI guru. Was well worth the wait since he was totally stoked about me doing a hundred. First medical professional (and well maybe first person in general) to be supportive of me doing such a thing!

Roo and I tried to run up to the Continental Divide from the Hebgen Lake Road, but we got thundered and torrential downpoured on and had to turn around. I'm never going to get to go to the Lion's Head :(

About one mile of running and three miles of whining in my head.

No energy for running so walked Roo to ice cream shack and then to King's English for book browsing and then home where I blew up my million dollar blender :(

Pfeiffernoodle for breakfast. Legs were all noodle-y and I fell down at least 12 times. 

Dogs to Dog Lake.

My rant about the trinketing of the Wasatch.

Ran from Brighton to a friend of a friend's house in Midway mostly along the Wasatch 100 course. Fell on my face 0.69 miles into the run, first faceplant running ever. Especially frustrating because it happened during the flattest, smoothest section of trail on the entire run. Then ran into an entire herd of moose that refused to leave the trail. Good thing they drained Lake Mary and we could get around them by cutting through the lake. The trails in American Fork were amazing and then I got stung by bees. Margaritas and chips followed at the Tarahumara and then our shuttle driver's car blew up on the way up Guardsman's Pass so we had to hitch back to Brighton. All is all one of those days that makes you feel super alive! 

AM: Run with Roo on the Flying Dog plus a half mile on the Jeremy Ranch Road which was about all I could handle of flat road monotony :)

PM: Sunday Superior w/ Mr. and Mrs. Krong. Totally forgot how long and hard that is!

Glorious Upper Milcreek run! Great Western to Crest to Sheep Shit and down secret crest connector trail. Felt amazing after 2 rest days!!!

Days Fork, Emma Ridge, Twin Lakes Pass, Patsy Marley, Wolverine, Tuscarora, Catherine's Pass, down to the Albion Grill for a grilled cheese thank goodness they are open in summer because I was starving, up to Cardiff Pass and down Cardiff Fork all the way to the Big Cottonwood Road and then up the road back to my car. That was my first time running the entirety of Cardiff Fork and I want to do more exploring there. Dirt roads and trails everywhere going to old mine crap. 

Flying Dog from Jeremy Ranch (actual running not slogging). Saw a bus at the start of Jeremy Ranch Road and wondered what awesome cross-country coach would bus his team up there....

Upper Millcreek with Roo and Fritz and the rest of Salt Lake!

Had planned on back to back 20 milers this weekend, but ended up with 40 miles across three days with 10,000 vert. I only have to do 2.5 times that in about 30 hours in 30 days.

I just get too darned tired (and hungry!) with this much activity and I'm sort of questioning what I am doing it for. I love being in the mountains, but I'm too tired to have much energy for anything but mountains and lying on the floor reading books.

BST trudge on a broken calf/shin. I have no idea what is wrong with my leg. My calf is super tight and I have this sharp pain between my shin and calf (not really on the bone) about a third of the way up my leg. It didn't bother me at all during my runs over the weekend, but came on Sunday night and just got worse over the last 2 days with no running. I thought it might loosen up with activity, but my calf got tighter and and shin spot more painful during my trudge ggrrrrrrrr.

I was just saying last week that I have never felt better in my entire life and was actually getting excited for the Bear :( I got taken out by a mountain biker on Saturday, but the tire hit me on the opposite side of the shin, but maybe this is some sort of delayed bike smashing pain and it will go away soon. Or maybe I was doing too much and it was about time my body blew up!

Sad run to bust over the 200,000 feet mark.

Legacy bike. Boring, but something. Lots of sunflowers.

Super duper run fail. Tibia pain came back after 3 steps. I threw a trantrum and cried.

Saw SI guru and got needled! My SI was super jacked beyond belief so he yanked on my leg until all my bones popped and then he stuck needles in my piriformis, glutes, and hip flexor and then electrocuted me. Apparently this is the new thing and it hurt like HELL!!! He then stuck needles in my calf and shin muscles and jiggled them around and told me to run tomorrow. I like him.
 

AM: 3 mile dog walk to Java Jo's

PM: Came home from work and crawled under the covers and read Grapes of Wrath for 2 hours, which I wasn't forced to read in high school like everyone else I know. It is too sad. Then I took Roo to the park and tried to run a bit in the grass. No stabbing shin pain. I then ran the 3 blocks home and again no stabbing shin pain. Stoke! Plank and glutes work out and then lots of stretching. 

Very, very careful run to Dog Lake. Hiked the uphills and took the flats and downhills at a very slow and comfortable pace. Was absolutely thrilled to be back on the trails, I was starting to take running for granted so this shin issue was a nice reminder.

My calf was still super tight and my SI a bit creaky, but nothing I don't think I can continue to work through. I'm still hoping I can salvage what is left of my Bear training without getting worse. Today I had an epiphany of sorts that this thing might actually be doable. I only have to do the run I did today 11.8 times in a row and for some reason that feels strangely doable at the pace I was going and that pace would put me at 20 hours meaning I have at least a 10 hour buffer to eat snacks.

I really didn't think there was anyway I could bounce back from this so quickly. I'm totally getting more needles!!!