Same route today as last Saturday only this week I did it backwards, starting at 27th street to Malan's Peak then Indian Trail over to the Ogden Canyon TH and back. I also added a little more BST this week. (Note to myself: when the weather is bad, just get out the door, once your moving you dont notice it)
The reverse loop is either much tougher or I was way off today. I actually ran faster this week, but suffered bad maintianing a run back up the climb out of Ogden Canyon. Weather was off and on, mostly snow. It was snowing hard as I was running over Indain Trail and there was 2-3" inches of fresh snow on the trail 1/2 way up Malan's. I had to break trail on Malan's even though I got out late, around 10:45. Suprising no one had been up there, and I didn't see anyone on the up or back, which is odd, even when I run up there in the dark I almost always see a couple of people. Beautiful up there today though, running through the fog and snow. The great thing about the trails around here is they are rocky enough that even after a good soaking like today there is almost no mud.
Malan's felt good, I always wonder as I start up that how it will go. Like a rock climb or boulder problem that you have dialed, but it's right near your limit, so you always wonder if you will pull it off. Churned up it steady today though, kept the heart rate low and cruised to the top in 38:.40 Sick of the slushy snow mess through the top though 1/2 mile or so, it needs to melt out, please! Everytime I run through there I have been sliding out and tweaking my lower back a little, I'm so dense though I forget until I get there and do it again, then I think "oh ya, that's why my back hurts" Dumb!
Feel so lucky to be able to get out and cruise over so much awesome terain in a relativly short period of time. Gotta love trail running, so minimalist, just me a gel in my pocket, a little water, shorts, shoes and a long sleeve shirt. People I did see out today were in full winter gear carrying good size day packs. Like I have said before, a year ago, one of these segments would have been my tough run for the week. At the end of my run today I was coming up a short but steep little section on the BST, a section that, a few years and 50 lbs ago, when I finally decided to get back in shape, I always had to walk even though I was only 1/2 mile into what was then a tough 2.5 mile jog. Today I made the extra effort to really punch through that section hard, at mile 15.5 with over 5000 vert on my legs, just to remind myself how far I have come.
Overall run, 16.25 miles, 5490 vert, 3:28. got really powered down at the end of the last climb, hung on and maintained a run through 100% of the 16.25 miles. It was so foggy on Malan's I didn't even take the usual sight seeing stop.
Not alot of miles this week but managed about 11,500 vertical. 21,000+ for two weeks. next week I'm backing off the climbing a little and trying to get in more distance. | 