Like the canyon

Good hardish effort up and back on Malan's.  Temp wasn't hot really, but humid as a Southern Lousianna trailer house. Soaked like I'd been in a lake when I got to the car. 

4.4 miles, 2200 vert , 50:03 RT

Easy 40 minutes cooling the legs off from yesterday's effort. Things felt ok, legs a little sore on the downhills, been a while since I have been sore. Kind of nice feeling.   

What is it about 3 seconds?  My Malan's RT yesterday was a solid 3 minute PR for the peak and back, but those 3 seconds are haunting me....why does 49:59:59 sound so much better than 50:03? HA! Stupid!

Hour or so easy pace, just to keep the engine turning over.  Feeling the spark a bit after a couple of weeks of slog.

Oh ya, better note that I went to the vodoo guy today, we'll see.  Lots of hocus pocus.  No sugar at all, in any form, for me for 24 hours......damnit! 

Sureal late evening run.  Got out just after the sun went down and cruiesed for an hour or so.  There were some weak thunderstorms dancing around the west side of the valley and over the mountains just south of me.  Pretty cool light show for most of the run. 

Legs just getting past the fatigue and soreness from Monday's effort.  I hanven't been sore for a long time like that, not even after a hard race, kinda crazy.  I think I'm in fourth overall on the Striders race, but I'm only a minute to 2 minutes behind guys that would put an hour or more on me in a marathon and 4-5 minutes on me in a 5k. I guess that's alright considering I have done absolutely no speedwork or even much tempo work at all this year. I know I left 30 seconds to a minute out there just given how poorly I felt overall, might have to give it one more go. Gotta get those 3 seconds back at least. Not to worried about placing as i am sure my number is dropping, as soon as the go fasties get a shot at it.....

First "trail run" with my 3 year old. The kid is toough as nails, shuffles the ups like a pro, cruises the flats and bombs the downs.  We go for hikes most evenings that usually involve about half running, but tonight he put the hammer down on me and we ran a good mile and half with a couple hundred vert in there.  Granted there was some stopping to climb boulders and throw dirt and rocks, but over all he nailed it!

 New Route for me in the local hills, in fact I’m calling my favorite route to date.  All areas I had been to before, though mostly in the winter, I had just never linked it all together.  I started in the pre morning dark at the Wheeler Canyon Trail Head and ran gorgeous single track up toward Snow Basin Ski area.  Once in the ski resort, I followed a combination of mountain bike trails and service roads up the top of the John Paul chair lift and the on to the peak of Mt Allen, from there I traversed the ridgeline south, hitting all the other peaks and high points along the way.   I felt good this morning and was excited to be able to run every step of the initial 4000 ft, 10.5 mile climb, all the way to the peak of Mt Allen.  I don’t know what it is about maintaining a run to a high peak, even a slow run, that makes the top that much more gratifying.  

Here are the details in pictures:

Looking up at the route from Ogden Valley.  Mt Allen is the peak on the right, I ran across the skyline, hitting Mt allen first, then Mt Ogden (highest, just left of Allen), Needles, DeMosiey, and Stawberry Peaks. The route starts below the low green hill in the foreground.

Running up the service road and looking up at DeMoisey Peak.

Still headed up, Mt Ogden and Allen with wild flowers!

View from the top of Mt Ogden looking down to the start.  The trailhead is right next to Pineview, the lake you can see in the distance.

Looking North from Mt Ogden back toward Mt Allen, the first peak I got to.  North beyond that is Lewis, Ben Lomond and Willard. Such an awesome place to be able to run everyday!  The service road I ran up is visible in the lower right, near the start shack for the Women's Olympic Downhill.

After leaving Mt Ogden, I traversed South to Needles Peak and then on to DeMoisey Peak, pictured here. The whole run  through this section is right on the ridgeline like this, just freaking awesome!

Looking South again from DeMosiey Peak toward Strawberry Peak.

Looking back toward the start/finish from Stawberry Peak.  The trail head is at the bottom of the canyon shadowed in the top/center.  Lots of sweet downhill run'en from here. 

Run stats: 23.5 miles, 5800 vert, time 4:50 (moving) Pace 12:15.

Exactly what I wanted from this run, to feel comfortable at an all day, 100 miler pace.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/104531591

Oh, and if you haven't seen this....pretty freaking incrediable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFCjaKhbHMk&feature=player_embedded