SNOW!!!! What is up with that?? What was supposed to be a nice June run up in Big Cottonwood Canyon was hampered by the white stuff. But we still loaded the team up in the big van and headed up to Brighton for some Brighton Loops. I was pretty well shocked by the number of people that showed up (and stayed for the whole workout!). There were at least 15 of us (I'm trying to remember everyone that was there; Coach, of course, Craig, Jason, Marie, Natalie, Alicia, Amber, Maggie, Tracy C., Tracy A., Christina, Alan, Jennifer, Traci H., and Miriam -- sorry if I missed anyone!).
Coach Bill had planned between 8-14 intense loops around Brighton (~9000 ft) but due to the road conditions, we cut it short. I think we went a total of 8 loops, including our two lap warm-up. Natalie and I started out really strong on the first two or three intense loops, pulling ahead but always to be passed by Craig -- finishing around 6 mins on each loop. After we both felt a little bit sick'ish, we pulled back a little bit and stayed with the group. Oh wait, we might have done more than just 8 laps because we went once or twice around for a cool down, too.
The snow was brutal -- it caked up on my eye brows and lashes. Can you believe I actually wore shorts under my pants because I thought I'd get too warm? It makes me laugh to think that I brought sunscreen and bug spray to share with everyone. Thanks to the person that placed licorice on the road -- that was my motivation to keep running!
And the highlights of the run were the red-headed woodpecker that we saw (staring back at us), and our conversation about MMA on the ride home. We had hoped for more miles but the snow just wouldn't have it. Great times!! | 