Like the canyon

Easy 6 on the trails.  Can I complain about being sick of putting on my long sleeve running shirts and rain jacket every night to go run, and the mud, and the puddles, and the wet trees hanging in the trail.......good thing about it all is everybody else is sick of it too so I've got the place all to myself. 

Legs felt like crrrap! blah.

Picked up a bit tonight.  Tempo paced 8.2 miles at a 7:55 pace,  950 vert.  No rain, no mud, a few puddles, lot's of mtn bikes.  Wondering if the bridges over Strongs and Waterfall creeks' are going to make it.  Felt great to turn it up some. 

BST, up Indain and down the other side into Ogden Canyon a ways, back up over Indain and BST.  Kept a run, but not much snap in the step tonight. Heal sore from yesterday, more sore now, figure might as well beat it up a little so the doc has something to look at during my follow up appoitment. 

9 miles, 2360 vert.

Like the Gdoc, I too visted an old lover this evening.  Headed up Wheelers to run a loop on the trails below Snowbasin.  I haven't run up here since before the Bear 100 in September so I was looking forward to cruising on some of my favorite trails in the area.  As I approached the trail head I noticed a sign that said all trails in the are closed to all users due to the wet conditions and the possibilty of trail damage.  To me this seemed to apply most aptly to mtn bikes and horses so, perfect, that means nobody around!  I knew there was a chance that the trails could be very soft and muddy, and knowing this was prepared to turn around if I felt my passage would do harm, either to the trail or myself. 

Yes, the trails are a mess.  Yes the Forest Service went to great lengths to assure that no one missed the closed singns, placing big wooden baracades at all the main trail heads.  Yes I was able to pick my way through the loop, staying out of the mud by running on the edge of the trail.  No way a bike or horse would get through without leaving huge ruts and holes.  Most of the trails are running with water, making them like mini creeks, gave me flashbacks to the 15-20 miles of creek trails I had to run through on the Zion Traverse.   Absolutely gorgeous out there! Green as a tropical island, bright white snow coverd mountains above, creeks everywhere, rivers raging, sweet trail all to myself.  Icebox canyon has to be one of the sweetest one mile of trail around!

8 miles or so, 1500-1800 vert I would guess. Best run of 2011!  

Ortho doc says Achilles is imroving markedly and to keep running, stretching, doing ART and more stretching, then stretch more.  Funny thing is he measured my foot for an orthotic and concluded I am running in shoes a full size to size and a half small.  Hmm, no wonder all my toenalis are black.  He actually said the small shoes may be contributing to my Achilles issues as my pain isn't in the tendon, but in the area where it attaches to the heal, may be getting irritated my not sitting in the heal cup on my shoe properly and the shoe putting pressure on the tendon. Hmmm, a possible magic bullet? 

Great run with a good friend from Logan who I haven't run with since he paced me the last 50 miles of the Bear 100.  We met at my house and headed up and over Indian Trail.  He hadn't run through there before so we had a good time, just taking it easy and enjoying the trail.  A couple of hikers out, but really just us.  We cruised down to the canyon, turned around and hiked for a bit, talking away.  I had to stop for a bathroom break and he continued, knowing my pace was generally faster than his.  Aftet the couple minute head start he had on me, I had to push pretty hard to reel him back in.  By the time we hit the shack I was pretty worked.  We kept the pace up on the run through Warm Water canyon, running down this section is trail running Disney Land, up's, downs, twists, turns, the trai lis never flat and never straight, and its all on the best technical single track around.  We joked that it was like a Mario Bros video game. 

11 miles, 2850 vert.

Was suposed to get up early and meet Corey J, Matt C, and "Striders" John W at 6:00 AM on the trail.  Work was tough this week, running's been heavy, and when the alarm went off my body and mind said nope.  I hit snooze, figuring I'd start later and meet them on the back part of their out and back and finish up the Malan's Peak section with them. 

Starting out I was feeling the run from friday night and it took about 3 miles to warm up.  I started the climb on the south end of the BST up toward Beus and could see a group of people hanging out on top of the hill.  I knew this was the boys, as Corey knows everyone and is a social butterfly and everyone knows John from Striders so the two of them running together is doomed for any progress. 

Sure enough  I ran into them shortly and Matt was joking that they had B.S.'ed for at least 45 minutes of the hour-and-a-half run.  I jumped on the back of the train and tried to keep up.  I was tired and the pace was pretty fast. 

Coming out of Waterfall I took the worst digger I've yet to take on the trail.  I went to kick a small rock off the trail and slipped/tripped, feet flying off the trail, hand and head making contact with the trail first, two full summersault rolls into the weeds. Looked worse than it felt and elicited some concern for my well being from the group.  Got a couple good digs in my hand, and a sweet shiner on my forehead.  I think we all had a good laugh about how the hell one hits their forehead on the trail. Ha!

Felt good on the run up Malan's and kept a good run going up to the lookout.  I was the first one there, but Corey and Matt were kinda goofing off, so can't say I dropped them by any means.  Thr group turned around at the overlook and I continued up.  Haven't run Malan's in a long while and forgot what a pull that hill is. 

Funny moment was after continuing on to Malan's Basin, I came back to Malan's Peak. No one was around at all and I stood looking out over the valley for less than a minute I am sure, felt the erge to "go" and well, "went" with my back to the trail, finished my business, turned around and there 10 ft behind me stood a yuppi looking couple with their two big poodle dogs. Ha! Lesson, don't pee with your headphones on. 

11 miles 3100 vert

Week: 53 miles, 12,000 vert

7 of the last 8 days running: 68 miles, 16,400 vert

Heel feeling better, so trying to find my hill gear again.  It's getting there.