Trails!

5 cold and snowy miles in the 800's.  It was early and sure quiet out.  All the smart folk were still sleeping.  I did sign up for the Pocatello 50 today.  I am excited for that!

I wrote a year in review summary here

AM: 4 easy in 0 degrees.  Learned yesterday that sitting for church meetings really tightens the hammy causing strain on the tendons.  Guess I had better stop going.

PM: 4 more and things were really tight during and after.  

PW

Easy 5

Still not much progress.  Leg sore after 3 miles or so every day.

Planet Walk 4

Leg felt good today.

Went to the Jazz game last night.  Poor choice of which game to see.  Quite a pathetic result.

5 Happy miles

Picked up the microspikes and headed out to the river trail.  The trail was nice and packed until the single track then it got a bit lumpy.  Great weather as I got to see the sunrise while at Spring Hollow before dropping back into the soupy cache valley.  Leg got sore especially on the downhills.  Still not better, but slowly improving.  

T- 1:17:40 (9:43)  900' vert

* Weekly summary 34 miles 1000' vert (4 hours 46 mins running time)

*** 2010 Year in Review ***

2010 will forever be known (to me) as the birth of trail running.  I began the year in the infancy stages of trail running experience but by the end I would like to say that I am now a teenager.  A know it all and constantly bragging about my exploits.  Hopefully, (for everyone else’s sake) I can now move on to the glory years of my 20’s and 30’s and leave that awkward teenage stage behind.
The year began wonderfully with my highest mileage January on the books.  I fought through the nasty Logan inversion and logged some great base mileage.  
February brought Jon, Paul and I together for an epic pacing/racing experience at the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race.  Against all odds, Jon was able to run his first 100 mile race without actually any running as training.  He even broke the record for the most potty stops of all time within 24 hours.  A normal person would have been in the ER.  I logged my slowest 20 miles of my life with jon at the tail end of that race.  How we remained friends after that is a mystery.
In March I ran my first official 50K.  I made some major rookie mistakes and sure paid the price.  Ouch, that one hurt.  I still want revenge on that course.   
April was packed full of miles with lots of focus on vertical and getting ready for next months big 50 mile race.  Jon and I even did a 50K in training in virtually the same time as my race last month.  
May was the epic Pocatello 50 Miler or should I say 50K as the blizzard shut down the race at mile 33.  I watched jon nearly freeze to death.  Good times!  I heard that the race was cancelled 6 miles from where I was to stop so I kicked up the effort and “finished” in a great position against a solid field.  I am heading back in 2011 for more punishment.  That is one race I will never forget.
In June, my favorite race Logan Peak 28 miler was held and for me was a chance to strip Jon of his 2 year winning streak and course record.  It was a battle and since I won, I am happy.  Joe put in a solid trail race debut and nearly took the win himself.  I love that race and will hopefully be able to defend my self proclaimed title of “King of Logan Peak”.  
July was a month of some serious running.  Jon and I ran the final 30 miles of the Bear 100 course and man, it was a bear.  I also took a trip to Yellowstone and took advantage of the Lion Head Mountain and explored new trails.  53 miles in 3 days with 10k’ vertical. The next saturday, I became the course record holder of the N.U.T.S trail Half Marathon.  I also did the Tony Grove to the bottom of Green Canyon run that I have been dreaming about for years.  Unfortunately, Jon was not there to run with me and will never forgive for running it without him.  In fact, he decided to quit his job just so he could run for a month+ exclusively on trails.  I am pretty sure he did that so he could beat me at El Vaquero loco next month and reclaim the title of biggest trail running geek of Logan.  The last day of July (highest mileage month of the year) marked the toughest race of my life.  The Speedgoat 50K.  It was unnecessarily hard and making a wrong turn made it 2 miles harder.  Sick race!  12K’ vertical.  Never again....probably.
August was filled with glorious training runs with Jon and Joe.  Stump Hollow, Tony Grove to Logan River Aid via steam hollow (bear 100 course recon),  Right Hand Fork Maughn Hollow to Cottonwood loop, Deer Fence, River trail, Wellsvilles ridge traverse, Beirdneau Peak to Mt. Elmer to Mt. Jardine to Green Canyon, and Right Hand Fork to Tony Grove and back to Temple Fork.  All serious runs, but the cherry on top was El vaquero loco, a 50K trail race that winds through beautiful mountains outside Afton WY.  That morning I saw the most gorgeous scenery I have ever seen while running.  The race turned out decent as well with Jon beating me by a good 5 mins, but me holding onto the title of “fastest trail runner of the street” by a mere 5 seconds.  
September was the last month of crazy trail running as I capped off my season with a 4th place finish at Mid Mountain Marathon in Park City.  Mid month I did some serious running while marking the course for the Bear 100.  Which leads me to my favorite event of 2010.  
The Bear 100.  Jon and I had been preparing for this race for a long time.  Although I wasn’t actually running the race, I was more excited for it than Jon.  I was so happy to watch him achieve his long time goals.  I got to run about a third of the race with him and enjoy the 100+ miles of course recon with him beforehand.  An amazing experience.
The Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim in October turned out to be the neatest trail run of my life.  It lived up to all my wild expectations.  So many memories from this one to summarize.  So, I wont.  I will merely refer to my Oct 11 entry in my running blog.    October ended with Joe and I hitting some great high country trails before the snow flew.  
November held some good trails runs, but the main event of the month turned out to be the Thanksgiving day 5K turkey trot.  Whatever inspired me to run a short road race again after all that time in the mountains is beyond me.  The race turned out well enough (3rd place overall and and course PR), but it also affected my 6+ weeks of running.  During that race, I somehow managed to bugger up my knee/tendons/muscles/who know exactly and mess me up good.  I am still working on healing from that issue and hope to be back on the trails again real soon.  
In all, it was an epic year with so many great memories that will be tough to top.  First step, get healthy then get out and find some more trails to explore.
* Stats

• 3035 Miles (58.4 miles a week ave)

• ~264,000 Feet Vertical Ascent (5000+ feet per week ave)
  

• 2 course records

• 58 13+ Mile runs
• 52 15+ Mile runs
• 33 18+ Mile runs
• 25 20+ Mile runs
• 12 25+ Mile runs
• 6  30+ Mile runs

Providence River Heights Loop

Great to be back on an old favorite.  Leg felt pretty good.  My fitness, not so much.

T- 60:00 (7:30) 200' vert

8 tired and slow miles on 400W route.  Uneventful.  Leg still improving.

6 miles on the treadmill.  It was time for a hill workout.  I did 1 mile at 6% then a mile at 0% repeated 3 times.

T- 52:00 (8:40) 950' Vert

PM: Basketball for an hour

Providence Hills Loop

I guess if I can survive playing basketball and racquetball in the same week and not have the knee thing flare up worse, than things are improving.  Decent overall run.  Downhill doesn't feel too good, but uphill is fine. 

T- 66 min 500' vert

5 miles easy on snow covered roads and sidewalks.  Followed by shoveling.

Long Run - 

Well, at least it was the longest run I have done for 2 months. It was great to put in a solid effort not only this run, but this week.  I still feel less than 100%, but the knee is handling the increase in mileage pretty well.  I will try and bump it up to 60 miles next week.  

House to Green Canyon via USU. Super slick out as the rain/sleet was freezing on the roads.  Nice and toasty 32 degrees though.  I felt pretty tired the final 4 miles today, I have definitely lost some serious fitness. Better get at it.

T- 1:50 (7:35) 14.5 miles 600' vert

** Weekly summary 50 miles 2250' vert (6 hours 32 mins running time)

Providence Star

45 degrees and the 1/2 mile of trail was either pure mud or ice.  Kind of sketchy.

T-1:19:30 (7:57) 750' vert

House to Dry Canyon.  Trail was an icy mess, but I didn't have time to venture up it anyways.  

T- 1:15:50  (7:35) 750' vert

8 very easy on the 400W route.  

I got a massage for an hour last night and the timing was perfect.  Yesterday, my hammy and calf were locked up good.  She did a great job loosening it up.  Unfortunately, it tightened up again this morning and the massage pulled on my alleged tear so that it was pretty unhappy today.  Hopefully tomorrow things mellow out a bit. Oh, but I still feel the massage was beneficial.

Providence Star

Medium effort and happily I felt much better than yesterday.  

T- 1:14:30 (7:27) 750' vert

Landfill loop very easy

Long Run

House to Providence Star (5 miles) then along deer fence to Dry Canyon and then .5 mile up the canyon.  Deer Fence had a fresh dusting of snow over a mix of ice and dirt.  The footing was actually pretty decent.  Dry Canyon was much icier and lumpier.  I am pleased that I was able to maintain a decent pace on this hilly terrain.  Slowly and surely and I coming back.

T-2:07:25 (7:58) 1500' vert

Weekly summary- 60 Miles, 3750' vertical, 475 Mins (7' 55")

Next week I will run basically the same thing, but will increase the long run and possibly increase the intensity on the harder days a bit.

Providence Star

Medium Effort - Felt Decent for a Monday

T-1:13:45 (7:23) 750' vert

Providence Hills Loop nice and easy.  Not that I had much a choice in the matter.  Got it done just as the snow started to fall.

T-1:08:00 (8:00) 500' vert

Providence Millville hills loop (Clockwise)

Some faster, some not so much.  Pretty sluggish all around.

T- 1:20:30 (7:19) 600' vert

Deer Fence Providence Canyon to Dry and back.  Trail had about 2 inches of snow.  Just enough to make it slippery.  I saw elk, deer, a dead deer, a dog, a woman, more deer, and heard an owl. Almost hit a deer driving home.

T-54:52 (9:09) 600' vert

Easy 7

I got pulled over by a Sheriff again today (during my run).  Luckily I didn't run shirtless and carry a child with me on my run today.  Or I would have fit the description of the suspect and been shot on sight.

Long Run

Today I ran up to First Dam via Sumac Drive and was graced by the presence of Joe when I arrived at First Dam.  It was a long anticipated reunion and was a very nice change from the lonely winter runs.  We ran up the river trail (I stopped and put on my microspikes) and stopped at about a mile past Spring Hollow.  The trail was pretty packed down low, but got pretty fluffy and soft at the top.  The spikes did great.  We turned around and I want back home the way I came and Joe hung with me for a bit to loop back to his place.  A super nice long run to get the body ready for a beating in 3 weeks.  I am happy to have slipped in a sub 7 min mile in there too.  Wow, better watch out....

T-2:45:00 (7:51) 1150' Vert

**Weekly summary 63.5 miles, 3600' Vert 498 min (8'18")

Providence Star -

Medium to Hard Effort today.  I woke up ready to roll so I went with it.  I was surprised by the first 2 miles at 7 min pace.  Figured it would be a good day.  It was until an ugly face plant happened coming down off the trail.  My headlamp was still using batteries from The Bear 100 and they need to be changed.  Today confirms it.  I totally missed the huge rock in the middle of the trail.  My gloves saved me.

T- 1:10:40 (7:04) 750' vert (38:00 (7:36) up, 32:40 (6:32) down)

8 slow miles on Providence River heights loop

Boring 8 min pace (200' Vert)

Perfect Treadmill Day - 0F with -10F windchill

4 miles of flat @ 8mph

3 miles of 8% incline at 6.6-6.8mph

T-57:00 (8:09) 1250' Vert climbing

Providence Star

I have been feeling sick lately (thanks to my daughter) and it hit me this morning  pretty hard.  I suffered though today's run knowing that this is a bad idea and I should have slept in instead. 

T-1:19:30 (7:57) 750' Vert

Sick - 

Strep.  I do a little whimper with every swallow.

Still sick, but much better than yesterday.  I can talk today and even eat without crying.

*Weekly Summary 35 miles (2 sick days) ~3000' Vert (272 mins = 4'32")

5 PW

Recovery is going well and I opted for an easy 5 to test things out.  so far, so good.

Providence Star - 

 Today, I wore my trail shoes to try and get some traction on the 1-2 inches of white stuff on the roads.  It kind of helped.  Pace was still slow though.

T-1:20:45 (8:05) 750' Vert

Big Workout

Same run as 1/22/2011.  House to Providence Canyon along Deer Fence to just a bit up Dry Canyon.  I returned home the same way.  My sister in law is getting married tomorrow and we have been summoned to attend all the wedding and rehearsal events, so no work for those 2 days.  I took advantage and spent a bit more time than usual on the morning run.  Too bad it was only 10 degrees outside.  The goal today was to try and get under 8 min pace, but the sloppy conditions on the trail just about did me in.  It was super slick and tough to run on.  I should have worn the microspikes.  I was able to sneak under 8 min pace during the last mile, but it took some real work on the final 5 miles to get it done.  Good Workout though.  I followed it up with lunch at Ahh Sushi in downtown SLC.  Yummy. 

T-2:07:00 (7:56) 1:08 out (8:50) 59:00 back (7:22) 1500' Vert

Easy miles on the Jordan River Parkway then on the road back to the in-laws.  Knee is sore today.  I guess it isn't quite healed up yet.  

T-1:01:30 200' Vert

Easy run - Planet Walk

Long Run -

Last chance to cram in some fitness before next weekends sufferfest at Moab.  Busy day, so things started early.  I headed to first dam via sumac and up the shoreline trail over to Green Canyon.  Once there, I was surprised to see the trail in such good shape.  Snowshoes had packed it down nicely and it was pretty grippy.  I only went up to the start of the second single-track section then had to turn around.  On the way down, I stuck to the perfectly groomed road.  I almost felt bad making footprints in the perfect snow.  The way home was perfectly boring.  I tried to pick up the pace to near 7 min pace but couldn't quite get there.  I was struggling.  It took until the final mile to finally hit a 6:48.  

  T- 2:20 (7:47) 1:15 up 1:05 back 1350' Vert

**Weekly Summary 61 miles 3800' Vert 489 mins (8' 9")

Providence Hills Loop - 

Felt crappy.

T-1:06:00 (7:46) 500' Vert

Von's Park, sort of.  It was an ice sheet and I was hiking rather than running so I bagged it.  Super slow today.

Planet Walk with strides.  Knee still buggin

Planet walk in the foot of new snow we got last night.  I threw on my trail shoes and just went for it.  It was pretty fun, but also tough to trudge through the deep stuff.  I followed it up with 30 mins of snow shoveling.

I am finally feeling better.  My leg seems much better and the cold I have been fighting has been defeated.

2 Easy miles to prime the engine.  I still feel sick, my leg hurts, its going to rain the whole time.  I am pumped ready to roll.

Moab Red Hot 55K (or so).  

I am pleased I survived!  It was windy, rainy, sunny, but mostly just windy.  I am not going to provide too many details as I am now on vacation, but just a few.  

The big news was that Aaron has the hand up in the first of our 3 part race off.  But only by just over a minute.  It could have been much worse. I am pretty pumped for our impromptu race series we have now begun.  Yes its true that the current score is now, Aaron 1, Cody 0.  But just watch out for race #2 (Logan Peak). I may have a surprise or 2 for him there.  I have a feeling that it will come down to the big showdown at RRR 50 in Sept.  Fun stuff.

So, the nitty gritty.

I woke up a few times during the night to howling winds outside our hotel.  A bad omen for a 5 hour race.  It rained off and on before the start and while waiting at the start line, I was torn on how to dress.  I feared another "Pocatello" (freeze fest) and wore my St George Running Center Jacket over 3 shirts and arm warmers.  There were times in the first 17 miles that I was glad that I had the extra jacket, but I was happy to shed the jacket at mile 17 in Aaron's drop bag.  Turned out that rain was not the issue, it was just the wind.  Man, did it howl.  Since most of the race is spent on top of a large plateau, there wasn't a lot of shelter from the wind.  Alright, whinning is over.  At least for now.

The race started off with a nice gradual climb up to the top of the plateau.  I was consciously holding back and conserving for later.  The lead pack was GONE and I was happily in my own world 20-25 people back.  I soon found myself running with Anita Ortiz stride for stride for a good 2 miles or so before she pulled away and won the women's race.  That first section of the course was actually pretty quick despite holding back as it was on a packed dirt road (Gemini Bridges Road).  I hit the 5 mile point in about 40 mins flat.  Up to that point things had felt easy.  Well, things got much harder as we turned onto the Metal Masher Loop.  Its a 12 mile or so loop that takes you up about a thousand feet over and around slickrock.  It wasn't as hard as what was to follow, but it was a kick in the pants compared to the easy road stuff.  It was spectacular though as the views from that trail are amazing.  All through that loop I fought the wind, my jacket, and my body as it started to complain as well.  I even had to watch Aaron (my new arch nemesis) pull away from me as I puttered along at a snails pace.  

Miles 5-10 were covered in 45 mins.  Not too bad, since it was a net up-hill.  The problem was that miles 10-15 were covered in 42 mins and gave all that elevation back.  I noticed a disturbing trend at this point.  I didn't have a fast downhill gear.  I could tell my lack of proper training and lack of consistent vertical had not trained my quads to handle the load.  

In my option, the lamest part of the course was the 4 mile stretch from Mile 14 to 18 as it was right into the stiff wind.  Sure, it was pretty flat and smooth, but the wind just sapped my strength.  Never mind though as the race was half over, Aaron had 2+ min gap (by my last glimpse on a long straight section) and I was tired and ready to get this thing done already.  Not a good attitude to carry into the toughest section of the course.  Goodbye road and say hello to Gold Bar Trail.  It consisted of soft sand and hard slickrock.  Nothing in between.  Sure, it was pretty, not as windy, but we were climbing again.  Miles 15-20 were covered in

45 mins again.  Miles 20-25 took an even hour.  It was ugly.  Relentless climb, descent, turn, climb, descend, turn etc.  The good news was that Aaron was taking it so easy through here (or so he claims), that I caught him with a bit of a push to spend some time chatting.  It was sure nice to have someone to help out the navigating duties as it takes full concentration to make it to the next marker without getting lost.  It sure helped pass the time as well.  While running with Aaron, I noticed that he was much quicker on the downhill sections and I had to work hard to keep up with him.  In fact, once we hit some mild downhill that finally wasn't what most people call jumping off huge boulders, he was gone.  It took him about a quarter mile and then he was out of sight.  Crap.

Oh well, at least I was catching a few runners here and there and I felt like I was going to make it the the finish without a helicopter ride.  Miles 25-30 were covered in 49 mins.  Not great considering that we were now descending, but in my defense it was pretty rocky and technical (slickrock) as were were now on the Golden Spike Trail.  

The final push to the finish was sparked by catching the #2 girl.  Plus there was this guy (I should look up his name) with a green jacket who had been about a minute ahead of me for half the day and I was going to beat him, even if it killed me.  That plus the nice downhill DIRT road (Poison Spider Road) made all the difference as I started to get some of my downhill gear back.  My last mile and a half was at 7:37 pace.  It sure felt faster than that, but at least it wasn't another 11 min mile.  I passed green jacket guy and I even thought I saw Aaron way off in the distance, but I wasn't sure.  The finish line happily came and it was all over.  I had quietly predicted 5 hours and was really trying to make it under that mark, but just missed it.  Oh well, I gave it all I had from about mile 5 to the finish and I have to be pleased that it turned out as well as it did.  

I was able to even enjoy the whole weekend as my wife and I had left the kids with my mom and enjoyed some time together.  We hiked Delicate Arch and the window arches (about 4 miles of walking) the day after the race in the sunshine.  The only complaints I had were a horrible pain in my "other" knee and my two big toe nails that will probably fall off now (I guess slamming my toes into the front of shoes while running down slickrock is hard on them).  Time will tell how those injuries turn out.  Its all worth it though.  Despite being the hardest (literally, since the slickrock is hard) course, it is also the most scenic (this side of El Vaquero Loco).  I would recommend this race to anyone crazy enough to consider a silly thing as this.

T-5:01:13 3900' Vert Climbing 4300' Vert Descending

- Pics

Finishing

Tired!

Aaron and I at the finish

Glad To Be DONE!

Pics of Arches -

Balanced Rock

Delicate Arch

Me and my better half

What a gorgeous day!

Nada

4 Easy miles to test out the recovery.  Legs are tired and still have a sore spot on the outside of the left knee.  The big issue is the sore throat that is still haunting me.

Landfill Loop plus some un-timed. Ok, now I am worried.  Today the knee thing I have felt since monday (different than the last knee thing) was seriously unhappy.  Hopefully a few more days at reduced mileage and speed will help.

Rest day to let leg heal

Rest day to let leg heal

Decided to see what is going on with the leg.  Within a half mile I had a diagnosis.  IT band not happy.  I took a walk break (no pain) and tried another half mile.  It was less painful, but I called it a day at that point.  

On a bright note I did see some sun dogs while out shoveling the snow this morning.   It was cool with this halo all around us and multiple rainbows directly overhead.  This picture doesn't do it justice.

AM: 2 treadmill miles instead of the -1F weather in the morning.  2 is all the leg could handle.  Walking doesn't hurt it.  I think I will walk for a few days and reassess. 

PM: 30 mins on treadmill walking at 3.2mph and 12% incline (950' vert) - No pain or soreness.

AM: 2.5 miles in 45 mins on treadmill walking 12% incline (1500' Vert) - No pain or soreness.

PM: 2 miles in 35 mins 12% incline (1250' Vert)

3 Miles walking @ 12% incline - 55 mins or so. -1900' vert

3 Miles walking @ 12% incline - 55 mins or so. -1900' vert

Yesterday I tried .25 mile at a slow jog to test things out.  The IT band was immediately unhappy.  I think I had better take a rest week and start over.

Back from a much needed vacation in Cabo San Lucas.  Fue muy diverdito y no quise regresar.  I spent 0 minutes running all week!  The IT band over the left knee was unhappy for much of the week, but things improved a bit by the end.  Hopefully, I can get some pain-free running in this week.

2 Miles to test out the leg.  It felt great for 3/4 a mile or so and then it hurt.  

No running, but borrowed Paul's TP Quadballer and caused severe pain in my IT band.

No running again, but spent 2 sessions with the Quadballer again.  Still painful.  I expect it will be that way for a few weeks.

Ran 1 mile testing different speeds to see if pain/tightness decreases.  The first half mile was pain free.  The second half was a mix of 8:30 to 6:30 pace.  I didn't notice any significant difference in pain/tightness at those speeds. 

Spent 30 mins doing exercizes and rolling out the IT band afterward.  Very sore during and afterward.

My son woke up at 3am in a coughing fit so I went and got the cough medicine. In my half-sleep I didn't even pay attention to dosage and just filled up the little cup thing. It turns out that I gave him 4+ times the normal dosage (it had codine in it). Hmm, I thought he would sleep it off for a few days but I called poison control to make sure he would be ok. They weren't too happy with me. They ordered me to the ER so he could be monitored. So I spent the morning cuddled with him on the ER bed watching a movie with him. It turns out that instead of getting really sleepy he got all wired and wide awake and chatty. 2.5 hours later I got him back into his own bed. I am now banned from drug dispensing.

By the time I got home, it was time to wake up so a quick 1 mile run and the usual exercises and stretches and then into work. The IT band felt better today than yesterday, but it was done at 1 mile.

Today I still felt ok after a mile so I decided to push my luck.  I made it to 1.25 before it started to hurt again.  I went home and called it a day at 1.5.  So I will call it a long run.  

PM: Leg felt good during my quick jog to the mailbox.  Since I didn't have shoes on, I thought I would try Aaron's advice and go minimalist.  I strapped on a pair of my most minamalish shoes (the Fastwitch) and did my usual mile.  I focused on running on my toes with my heels barely tapping the ground.  Everything felt fine and I enjoyed my jaunt.  Things started to tighten up at a mile so I called it good before it started to hurt.  Is this progress maybe? 

AM: 1.5 Miles - Sore/tight for last 1/3 mile.

AM: 1 mile run, .5 mile walk at 10%, exercises and ice afterward.  Pain at 1 mile.  No pain while walking.

LUNCH: Hour of Racquetball

PM: Mile of running with a bit of walking afterward.

AM: No progress yet really.  Knee was tight and sore by the end of this run.  Once I start walking things are fine again.  Did my usual post-run exercises and quadroller stuff.

PM: I counted my steps per minute today and it hovered right around 190-200.  It was about the same between 7 min and 8 min pace.  I counted about 5 times for 30 seconds each.

AM: Same old stuff.  Leg still sore by a mile in.  Get tighter the longer I run.  A few mins after stopping, it feels fine again. 1.5 miles

PM: 1.5

1.5 -No Progress

AM: 1.5.  I ran .75 then walked for .5 then ran .75 again.  Leg felt good for 1.25.  Going crazy.

PM: 1.5 again.  This time is was a pretty brisk sub 7 pace.  Leg didn't twinge until the last .25 and even then it didn't ever hurt. 

*** Weekly summary 14.5 miles of short runs.  No real progress this week until the sat afternoon run.  I feel a breakthrough coming.  I predict a whole 5K sometime in April.

AM: 2 miles!  First 1.5 was glorious then the leg started to get tight.  I stopped before it hurt though.

PM: 1.5 miles.  Last .5 the IT band was tight and sore.

AM: 1.5 - Its not so much sore as super tight.  I am stopping before it starts to hurt.  When it tightens, it REALLY tightens up.  Not sure why/how/and how to stop it.  

PM: 1.5 on the TM to test out my IT band strap I dug out of storage.  I forgot I had it.  It is supposed to support it so it doesn't act so violently across the knee.  I am not sure it helped.  I need more test data.

I decided to hit the trails for a whopping 2 miler.  I ran on Deer Fence out and back from Providence Canyon.  It was worth the 20 mins of driving to run for 18 mins.  I did decide to walk on the trail for another mile after the run just to make it more worth it.  My mental state thanks me.  I wore my IT strap but it was still very tight after 2 miles. - 250' Vert for the running

AM: Drove up to Providence Canyon again and this time went south 1 mile then back.  The leg was still ok, so I went another .5 mile before calling it quits.  It was a great morning to be on the trails. 315' Vert

PM: Quick 2 miles after work.  I think I should have only gone 1.5 as the leg was pretty inflamed by the end.

2 Miles - knee is sore

Deer Fence

I couldn't resist hitting the trail again today, if only for a little bit.  I ran 1.5 miles out then headed back.  Things felt good except for the downhills.  I was feeling fast today.  Sub 8 pace!  Once back to the car, I walked for a bit then talked myself into another .5.  Things were pretty sore and tight, but I made it.  Progress is so slow, but at least I am improving slightly.  

T- 26:50 (7:40) 500' Vert

PM: Found a break in the day for a bike ride.  Spring has been long awaited and despite the wind was a great day for a ride.  Things felt great with no issues with the injury during or after the ride.  Looks like I have a great cross-training option now. 

T-36:00 (19.1 mph) 11.5 miles (Count as 3.5 crosstrain)

** Weekly summary 22 miles (186 mins) 1065' Vert

AM: 2 miles - Knee felt ok until the last .25 as it started to ache and get tender.

PM:  Bike ride in 45 degree weather.  Not too bad.  I rode up to the top of Hollow Road and back.  Leg felt great.  It was a bit shaky when I got home as I was pushing it a bit.  Also noted that I should have worn gloves, brr... 

Out in 25:30 Back in 19:50.  45:20 Total - 19.5mph ave 14.75 miles - 200' vert. (Count as 4.5 miles X-train)

AM: 3 Miles Deer Fence - Knee hurt bad on the downhill, but was fine on the uphills.

T- 28:00 (9:17) 550' Vert

PM: Only managed 1 mile on the treadmill before the pain was limiting.  I called an orthopedic doctor today and got an appointment for Friday.  Getting tired of this.  Want to make sure it is only IT band inflammation over the knee and not something worse.

AM: 2.5 Miles on Deer Fence before the massive snowstorm.  I was trying for 3 but my leg told me to stop at 2.5.  T-21:20 370' Vert

2.5 Miles to make sure things good and hurt before going to the doctor.  Not sure if that was a good idea or necessary.  I went to Alpine Orthopedic Specialists who specialize in many things including sports injuries.  I figured it would be a good idea to see an actual doctor about my self diagnosed IT band injury.  I think it was a good idea as he was a runner too so could co-miserate with me. 

Turns out I was right with my diagnosis.  IT band tendonitis.  He said I have been doing many things right.  Stretching, icing, massage.  He gave me a localized shot to help reduce the inflammation.  He also said I need to do a steady cycle of Ibprofen to reduce the inflammation.  That and a few days of rest and things should improve.  Or so he claims.  Maybe the localized shot really will help, but right now it aches pretty good.  So, ice, rest, anti-inflamatory meds, stretch, and not a whole lot more to do, but to wait it out.   If that doesn't work there is some ultrasound and physical therapy I can do, but I am going to wait on that.  Not terribly excited to pay for that. 

Here is my X-ray.  All checked out ok.

After taking it easy this weekend I was really anxious to get outside for a bit today.  Per doctor's orders I rode bike instead of running.  A quick loop around the Young Ward Loop was just the thing I needed.  T-31:30 (20mph ave) convert to 3 miles x-train.

Oh, the leg was sore all weekend from the shot but things feel better now.  Still, the test is running, not biking.  We shall see...

PM: 2 Miles running to test things out.  IT band was sore after 1.5 miles, but no pain in the knee.  Played it safe and called it.

AM: 2 miles slow - Leg felt the same as last night.  Sore ITB but no pain

PM: 2 brisk miles (sub 7).  Same result.  I will take that as good news.  

AM: 4 Miles (Made it to the end of Planet Walk and back).  The small victories.  

Lunch:  1 Hour of Racquetball

AM: 5 MILES! Yep, you read it right.  All running miles and leg was no more sore after 5 then it was at 3.  That is, mild tightness in upper ITB.  No knee pain during or after.  Sweet!  Progress.

Trail Run - 

After a long drought, Joe and I finally hooked up for a run.  Sure, it was for only an hour, but it was great.  We are getting excited for the mountains to clear and we can endure some sweet adventure runs.  Today's jaunt was the longest run I have done in 8 weeks.  I survived it without any pain.  There was a lot of tightness during the last 3 miles, but since those miles were downhill, I blame the hills.  I still have to take it easy, but I think things are looking up. 

Today's run (for me) was starting at First Dam and up the River Trail to the Spring Hollow loop.  (The right fork then down to third dam at the 4 way intersection).  It doesn't matter, it was on dirt!  Mild rain throughout, but who cares it was awesome.  Alright, you get the point.

T-1:06 (8:00) 700' Vert

** Weekly summary - 26.25 Miles (23.25 running) 215 Mins 800' Vert

AM: Treadmill due to the torrential rain outside. Hill climb workout.  1@5%, 1@8%, 1@4%, 1@8%, 1@2% - 45 mins 1400' Vert

PM: I was so inspired from Paul's 3rd American Finish at Boston today, that I had to get outside and run again.  Alright, I admit I was going to anyway, but dang that was sweet.  I headed out to inspect the Logan and Blacksmith Fork Rivers as there is some serious runoff with all this rain.  This is a picture of where the logan river and the blacksmith fork rivers combine.  My house is over the trees to the left.  So far no flooding issues at my house.  Getting kind of scary though. 

Here is a picture I took today at noon from the end of my street.

I didn't get a picture, but the bathroom at the end of the Planet Walk is very nearly under water.  In fact the loop that we have dubbed the Paul Petersen memorial loop would require a boat to navigate as it is submerged  completely.  I have never seen the rivers so high and technically, the runoff has not peaked yet.  By my rough estimation, the river needs to rise only 1 more foot to breach and cover the golf course completely.  The next 3 weeks will be quite interesting.    5 miles of investigating.  37 mins. 

AM: Back to the Bread and Butter routes now. Today was Providence Hills Loop. I can tell my fitness has slipped as 7:30 pace was harder than it should have been. It was great to be out though. Leg sore by the end. T- 63:45 (7:30) 500' Vert

PM: Easy 3 on Planet Walk loop.  River is down about 6 inches today.

Deer Fence from providence to dry and back.  Taking it easy today, the leg is unhappy.  No double to let it rest a bit.  

T- 50:00 (8:20) 650' Vert

Providence Millville loop -  Leg was still unhappy.  Too much too soon I guess.

T- 58:00 (7:45) 350' Vert

Deer Fence

T- 42:00 500' Vert

Bike Ride -

My leg was quite unhappy with me the last few days.  I guess I did too much this week and it caught up with me.  So, for a break I went for a bike ride.  That seems to not hurt it at all.  I figured a nice ride up to Hardware Ranch would be just right.  Well, apparently I am out of shape.  The nice tailwind I had going up the canyon was brutal on the way down.  I was quite miserable.  Oh, well I survived and with a 2.5 hour ride to boost the fitness while not hurting the leg.  Perfect.

T- 2:28 (44 miles) 17.8 mph (convert to 15 miles x-train) 500' Vert

** Weekly Summary 55 Miles (40 Running) 465 Mins 3900' Vert

Too much running hurt the leg again.  Better re-evaluate for next week.

AM: 4 easy miles to test out leg.  Yep, it still hurts.  This is in a different spot on the same leg though.  Probably related injury though.  

PM: Quick bike ride before a storm hit.  I finished with seconds to spare.  

  T-35:00 (11.5 miles) 19.7 mph - convert to 3.5

Crappy, it hurt after 1 mile.  Gonna stick to the bike for a bit again.

Bike Commute - Went home via airport road to add on a bit.  

Bike Commute plus a loop around Young Ward.

T-1:20 24 miles

No running on Wed, Thurs and all I have to show for it is a 1/2 mile more of running pain free.  I ran 1.5 miles before the pain set in today.  I stopped to walk at mile 2.  It quickly felt better so I ran again.  Within a half mile it was back.  Stop and walk, better, run bad, walk good.  You get the idea.  Same relative location as before.  I guess I still have some internal issues that present itself during running that don't show up except for an occasional twinge during the day mostly going down stairs. 

I had a real heat to heart today with my leg and we came to a truce.  I will no longer subject it to biking and running until I don't feel it twinging during the day and during subsequent testing.  Nothing for a week.  Possibly 2.  Even biking.  I think I will lose my mind after a week, so wish me luck.  I have pretty much written off Logan Peak and Pocatello is now laughable.  Even the 20 mile option I was hoping for at Pocatello is out.  See you in a week or two for an update.

Massage

Hiking with Beth

AM: Trial run to test the healing.  No noticeable improvements.  Still hurt over the knee.  It wasn't terribly painful, just still not right. 4 miles

PM: Went for a bike ride since it appears that will be my new pastime since the running is just not happening.  Wellsville Mendon Loop 24.5 Miles 1:14 20mph ave (convert to 7.5 cross-train)

60 Min Walk

60 Min Walk

Went back to the doctor again today.  They first wanted me to do an MRI, but I discussed it further with the doc and we both agreed that it likely wouldn't give us any further information.  I passed all the mobility tests and we agree it is unlikely that I have torn meniscus. We agree that it is merely runners knee (aka IT Band Tendonitis).  So, I have tried the run through it technique and wasted 9 weeks.  Time to try something else.  Last time I went to the doctor, I got a steriod and anti-inflammatory shot and the next week was blissful running until the shot wore off and I was back to square one.  This time I will get the shot and then the key step will be no running period for a month (at first) maybe more after a few mile test at that point.  So what will I do in the mean time?  Mtn Biking and Road Biking.  I just can't stand sitting around twiddling my thumbs so that is the plan.  Since it is only running that hurts the knee, biking is still allowed.  So biking I will do to keep the horses calmed down. 

So, canceled my entry into Pocatello and Logan Peak.  Truly a sad moment.  Well, so things around here will be even more boring then they have been for the last 9 weeks.  It will be a log of my biking, walking and basically non-running experiences.  So come back in 4-8 weeks and I will be back.

Road Bike Ride - Providence and Millville out to the USU animal research center (where the dogs howl really loud above Hollow Road.

T- 55 min 15.2 miles 16.5 mph 650' Vert 

Knee sore from shot on wed.  Pretty good bruise. Let it rest today.

Mountain Bike Ride -

House to Providence canyon and along Deer Fence to Dry and up dry until the snow line.  1 hour to that point (8.5 miles and 1500' vert).   Back to Providence canyon and then up the canyon 1.75 miles (42 min) then home (19 min).  I went as high up Providence as I did up Dry and the road was clear.  I bet it is clear up the Quarry.  I will investigate further next week. 

The highlight was riding across the flooding Blacksmithfork river after it joins Logan river as it crosses 6th west.  The sand bag bank they built had burst and the water was a foot deep running across the road.  My feet were submerged as I peddled.  It is crazy.  No flooding issues at my house though. 

T- 2:00:45 (10.5mph) 21 miles 2600' Vert

*Weekly summary - Starting the clock over at Week 1 of no running.  36 miles of biking, 3250' Vert, 2 hours of walking, 300 mins total.  Next week will be daily mountain bike rides with some bike commute thrown in. 

Bike ride with my son on Planet Walk netted us some pictures of the water situation here.  This first pic is what happens when the Blacksmith Fork River Floods the "Planet Walk".

The raging water under the bridge is usually dry except for during the peak of the runoff.  It is far from peaking and its a good 2 feet deep there.

* Shot is with river running at 900 cubic feet per min (88% of flood stage)

Providence Canyon Road.  Got snowed on.  My hands also froze.

T-1:14:00 15 miles 12.1 mph 1650' Vert

House to Providence Canyon, along Deer Fence to Millville Canyon.  Up the canyon 1 mile then back.  Lots of hills again.  Dressed too warm today for fear of a repeat of yesterday.

T-1:20:00 15miles 11.2 mph 1600' Vert

House to Dry to 2nd Gate back to Deer Fence to Providence to Home

T- 1:15 14.5 miles 1250' vert

Found a break in the rain at 7:30pm.  Quick trip up the canyon again.

T-65:00 14miles 1200' vert

Green Canyon from Kings Park.

 Pretty Muddy and even still had snow on the top 2 sections of singletrack.  Took it really easy. 

T- 56:45 (8.5 Miles) 1100' Vert 40:30 up, 16:15 down

Long Mountain Bike Ride - 

 First Dam to Green Canyon - Uneventful but fun

Green canyon to Birch Canyon - A disaster since the dirt road I was on turned into a mud pit and after walking my bike out of the mud since it wouldn't move anymore, I had to use a rock and a stick to peek off the mud to make it ride-able again.  And I wasn't even close to Birch canyon yet.  So, I bailed on the dirt road and wandered on streets until I hit Summit Drive and took the shortcut to the canyon.  The best part of that was the crossing of the creek coming down the canyon.  It was deep enough to get my bike partially washed off.  But my feet were then freezing the rest of the ride.  I only made it 2 miles up the canyon or so before the muddy road was just too much mud. 

Birch to Green - I stuck to the boring roads and avoided the mud this time. I didn't even take the canal trail since I was unsure of its muddiness.  I didn't want to get stuck again. 

Up and Back in Green - I rode up only the first 2 singletrack legs (with the road section in the middle) before time ran out and I needed to call it a day.  That was the highlight of the ride.

Green to First Dam - I seriously love the singletrack section here.  Its way more fun on a bike than running.  Narrowly missing the scary brush at high speeds is fun.

T- 2:40 (10.5mph) 28 miles 2800' Vert

** Week Summary 51 miles of cross training equivalent (at 10 min mile pace) of biking.  I was on the bike every day and loved it. 95 miles of mountain biking most of those miles were hard earned hilly miles.  8350' Vert.  511 mins (8 hr 31 min). 

Solid week of fun.  Knee is still tender.  Doesn't hurt during or after riding, but is tender to the touch.  Oh well, give it another week or 5.

Providence Canyon Road/Trail

Thanks to a tip from Bruce Copeland I was able to locate the Providence Canyon Singletrack Trail.  Yep, that's right.  A new (at least to me) trail to explore.  It took 2 extra crossings of the creek, some seriously wet feet, and a few dead ends, but I found the first half of the trail.  I say first half, because it took until Tues to find the other half. 

T-1:13:30 (14 miles) 11.4mph 1300' Vert

Providence Canyon Trail

Day 2 of exploring up Providence Canyon.  Today I took the first section of singletrack (starts 1 mile up the canyon at the first wood fencing). 

Section 1 is .9 of a mile with a net gain of 300'

Section 2 is a faint trail next to the road for .25 with a net gain of 120'

Section 3 is on the other side of the road (North) .8 of a mile 400' gain.

Total is pretty much 2 miles even of technical trail.  If green canyon is for beginners, this is intermediate for sure.  Love it.

Past the end of the trail is the Quarry.  I went as far up the road past the quarry as the snow would let me (it wasn't far) before turning around and blasting down the trail. 

T-1:40 (10mph) 16.5 miles 2150' Vert

House to Dry via Prov and deer fence and back 

T- 1:20 12mph  16 miles 1100' Vert

Lunch - Racquetball for an hour

Evening - Providence Star 750' vert 14.5 mph

Providence Canyon Trail from the house

T- 1:16 (11mph)  1350' Vert

Long Mountain Bike Ride - 

Sad I didn't get to run Pocatello today, but did enjoy a great ride in the light rain/mist.  I pieced some good trails together.  House to Providence along Deer Fence to Dry.  Down Mountain Road cutting over to the Sumac shortcut.  Up the river trail to Spring Hollow CG.  Back to the mouth and up BST to Green.  I ran out of time and only made it to the end of the first mile of singletrack before heading home via BST and Deer Fence.  Lots of vert today and this week in general.  Getting stronger...

T-3:16 (11.3mph) 3000' Vert (37 miles)

** Weekly summary 107 Miles of mountain biking, 9650' Vert, 584 mins

It rained over an inch of rain last night and this morning.  Water was coming out of our ears.  I didn't want to bike in a mud bog so I stuck to the roads today.  As it was I was racing rain storms and battling wind left and right.  I got soaked and then the sun was out, over and over.  Decided I had enough at 24 miles.  I went out to the Mendon Cemetery then over to wellsville before the rain chased me home. 

T-1:14 (19.4mph) 24 miles 350' Vert

Standard, uneventful, but still fun Mountain bike ride

T-1:17 (12mph) 15.5 1050' Vert 

Providence Canyon Trail to the 7.5 mile mark (from the house).  The creek crossing gets my feet wet and then they freeze the whole way home.  Other than that, glorious.

T-1:20 (15 miles) 11.2 1500' Vert

- Bike commute - convert to 3 miles x-train

Providence Trail again (same as yesterday) 

T-1:21:30 (15 miles) 11mph 1500' Vert

AM: Green Canyon to 1/4 mile past the end of road (via singletrack of course) before the snow stopped me.  I froze on the way down.  I need to wear my warm gloves not my thin ones.

T- 60 min 9.25 miles 9.2mph 1200' vert

Lunch: Drove to green canyon with Dan and biked for about 30 mins for our lunch break.  It was fun, but pretty short. 

T-32:30 5.25 miles 9.7mph 700' vert

Long Trail Ride -

House to Providence along Deer Fence to Dry Canyon as far as I could go then down and over to Providence Canyon to the Quarry, then halfway down the canyon and back up to the quarry, then home.  Lots of hills.

T- 3:05 (8.5mph) 26 miles 3600' Vert

Weekly Summary:

61.5 converted miles, 94 mtn bike miles, 24 road bike miles, 9900' Vert, 591 Minutes (9 hr 51 min)

Providence Canyon Trail from the House...again, but not sick of it yet.  I passed a biker going up today who was riding a $3K dollar bike.  Take that!  On the way down I nearly crashed into a moose who thankfully was scared of me and took off.  I was to slow with the camera to get a decent picture.  It just looks like a blog in the trees.  It was pretty close when I rounded the corner though (15-20 feet is all).  

T- 1:30:30 (10.2mph) 1750' Vert

Deer Fence Ride

T- 1:21 11.8mph 1200' vert

Deer Fence to Millville and up just a bit.

T- 1:20 11.2mph 1350' Vert

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Muddy and wet! 

T- 1:27:00 1750' Vert

Deer Fence to Dry and back.  Boring Boring....

Jardine Juniper with Joe (JJwJ) - 

One of my favorite trails of all time.  The only problem was all the rain that has fallen lately really muddied up the trail.  The first loop, Joe took it easy on me and I managed to barely keep up on the uphills.  The first section up to the first summit took 30 mins counting the crossing of the raging creek.  The next section was not so glorious as it was pure mud.  The sticky kind.  My bike totally bogged down and I actually stopped and took off my gear and was going to hike it.  I changed my mind and re-geared up and pushed the bike through the sagebrush up by the trail.  The trail finally became rideable again, but the bike was just covered in it.  I managed to make it around the loop at the top but the north side was still full of snow banks to hike over.  The ride down was fun, but I had to ride in the bushes again for the mud section (half mile or so). I stopped at the creek and washed off a lot of the mud making my bike work again. Lap 1 in 1:21 (9.5 miles). 

Picture of the trail partway down

Lap 2 began with a short up and back to meet Joe coming down.  This lap, Joe was going to go faster and I was going to stay on the lower section of trail and do it nearly 2 times.  This time, it took 38:30 to get to the summit.  My legs were shot and my bike was still riding slower than normal.  Enough excuses.  At least it only took 13 mins to get down. 

Lap 3 began with the sun coming out and the rain and mist gone and now I was HOT and overdressed.  That slowed me down too.  I couldn't wait to see Joe again so I could turn around and head down.  It took forever since he went to the tree twice that lap.  Even with him stalling, I didn't make it to the summit.  30 mins up and then 10 quick mins down.

That was exhausting, but a lot of fun.  I would wager that I could do the loop on try trails and no snow in 70 mins.  I will test that out someday soon.

Thanks to Joe for not killing me the first lap and for giving me someone to chase coming down.  Good times! 

T- 2:53 (20 miles) 7mph 4200' Vert

** Weekly summary: 59 miles converted - 97 actual bike miles - 11,250' Vert - 586 mins

Leg still gets sore off and on.  Some moments I feel healed, others it feels it hasn't healed at all.  Not sure what to think about it yet.  I will give it short test run next week and see. 

Providence Trail - 

Got a 3 am work related call.  Nice.  At least it woke me up enough to make good time today.  Could just be a coincidence, who knows.

T- 1:20:00 (new record) 11.6mph 1750' Vert

Deer Fence to Dry - 

T- 1:20 (12mph) 16 miles 1150' Vert

 Bike Commute

30 mins - 8 miles

PM: 60 mins of TRX

Providence Canyon Trail - uneventful but great

T- 1:20:00 (11.5 mph) 1750' Vert 15.5 miles

Took a half day vacation and spent the afternoon hiking Crimson Trail with Bethany.  It was a blast.  The river is flooding over the trail so we did an out and back on the trail rather than return along the trail.  Hopefully the trail survives. 2 hours with 2k' vert.

PM: 30 mins of TRX

Deer Fence to Dry Canyon - 

HJ News had an article describing the mile long trail piece that they are building going up Providence Canyon.  It says another 5-6 weeks until it is done.  I can't wait!

T- 1:24:30 (11.7) 1250' Vert

Test @ 5 weeks of no running -

Today I ran 2 miles!  Not much, but it was sure nice to run again.  Sure, I could have run sooner, but I wanted to let the leg heal as much as possible before I tested it out.  I did laps around Gibbons Park grass fields.  Things were great until mile 1.5 or so and then the IT got tight.  No pain, but tightness so I called it good at 2.  Not sure what to think about it.  I guess I will try another 2 miles tomorrow to see if it is better/worse/same.  At best, I will be ramping up very slowly.  At worst, it hasn't improved and I am stuck on the bike all summer.  Too soon to tell.

I did get in some biking before and after running, but who cares about that?

Bike T- 67:00 (14 miles) 1000' Vert

Running T- 16:20 (8:10) 150' Vert

Long Bike Ride-

House to Deer Fence South to Blacksmithfork Canyon.  I battled huge winds but they died down by the time I turned off to Left Hand Fork Canyon.  Classic.  I went to check out Leatham Hollow trail, but found a stream instead.  Bummer.  I only made it half mile or so before I was forced to give up.  

T- 3:00:00 (11.5mph) 2500' Vert

Picture of the "Trail"

 PM: 2 Miles of easy running to both check things out and loosen up.  Things went well.  No pain and my tight muscles loosened up a bit as well.  Good sign.  I got home and did 30 mins on the TRX.  Exhausting day.  

  ** Weekly summary 64 miles equivalent - 9550' Vert - 633 mins - 120.75 bike miles, 2 grass, 2 road running miles.  Lots of volume this week.  Next week I will be traveling, so not much will be happening fitness-wise

Business Trip to San Antonio this week.  Left sunday afternoon.  Arrived to my hotel room at 2am today.  Got up in time for a 2 mile run followed by a 35 min session on the elliptical.  Between the running in the muggy 80 degrees and the indoor elliptical session, I was drenched.  The running felt ok.  This week was the test to see if things are healing....

2.5 miles in sketchy neighborhoods (compared to logan at least) around San Antonio.  20 mins on the Elliptical after.

Nada - No time today

2.5 Miles running followed by 25 mins on the elliptical.  Leg hurt during the run.  I see no progress in the healing with a 6 week hiatus.  Dang

On a happy note, I visited the Alamo yesterday.  Pretty cool, but not as cool as the all you can eat ribs we had after.  Beef Ribs, Pork Ribs, Smoked Sausage and Smoked Chicken in massive quantities.  Very nice.

I hit my own pillow at 1:30 am today.  Got up and was at work by 8:30.  I rode the bike to work today for the exercise.  This week was lots of sitting around and eating candy bars and ribs.  So, a successful week but enough of that.  Back at it.  

After work I went up Providence Canyon.  I was in withdrawals.  There is some serious water coming out of that canyon.  The road is totally washed out halfway up.  There is a second river coming down the road.  Major damage.  The singletrack is still in good shape though so I made it fine. 

T- 1:25 15.5 miles 1750' Vert

Watched the Logan Peak Race this morning - 

The course went through drastic changes due to the dangerous snowy (as in slip and fall off a mountain dangerous) conditions.  They had first planned to have the course an out and back to Providence Canyon (22 miles) but there is still too much snow on the south syncline trail and Providence Canyon road is washed out so the aid couldn't get set up.  So, the course became an out and back up Dry Canyon to the ridge on North Syncline trail.  Only 11 miles.  Right before the start, I took off on my bike and started up the canyon.  I got about 2 miles from the start before the leaders caught me.  Seth Wold was leading the charge with about a min lead on the chase pack of Joe Furse, Ty Draney, Chris Cawley, and Aaron Kennard.  I let a few folks by then resumed my ride up the canyon.  I made it the farthest I have ever gone on my bike up that canyon.  Its too rocky to do it often.  I made it the start of the switchbacks before calling it good.  I tried to sit down and wait for the guys to come back down, but the mosquitos devoured me.  I ended up hiking up and down the trail cheering on the other runners.  Before too long, seth was on his way down.  He had built up a 4 min lead on the chase pack (now Ty, Joe and Chris).  I followed Chris down on my bike then passed and caught up to Joe and passed him too.  About that time Ty and Seth were running together just 15 seconds ahead.  Joe kicked it into gear and nearly caught them before the mouth of the canyon.  I zipped over to the finish to watch the action.  3 guys all together and Chris a few seconds back.  Turns out that Seth was able to hold off the charging Joe, but just barely.  What a race! 

Seth, Joe, Ty, Chris, Aaaron....

Trail at mile 4 or so.

If you want to download a video of the chase pack at this point click here

Finish video of Joe and Seth here

I did a bit more riding on Deer Fence before calling it a day and heading home. 

1/2 mile jogging with Aaron before the start

1/2 mile hiking or so

22.5 miles biking

2:40 total time 3600' vert

PM: My family is out of town so I decided to kill some time by heading out AGAIN for another ride.  I just can't sit still.  Providence Canyon up to the singletrack bridge.  I ditched my bike in a bush and ran the trail (including the section under construction) as far as I could go.  The leg felt pretty good.  I guess I just need to run more trails.  Course it was only 2 miles.  Oh well, it was fun even if it was short. 

T- 62 min bike (13 miles)  19 running (2 miles) 1500' Vert

** Weekly Summary - What started out as a bust of a week ended with a bang with 2 big days.  I just didn't have time to exercise while traveling.  It appears that my leg just hasn't made significant improvement in the last 6 weeks.  What to do?

51 miles equivalent running - 59 mtn bike miles, 9.5 actual running miles - 462 mins - 6850' Vert (in 2 days)

- Providence Canyon to Bridge on mtn bike - 42min 1200' 6.5 miles

- Providence Trail in both directions running - 27:45  3 miles 475'

- Home - 18:30 0' 6.5 miles

- To and From Work - ~8 miles 30 min

- TRX 30 Mins

I am feeling more optimistic today about my running as I was still feeling good after 2 miles so I pushed my luck to 3 miles.  Still felt ok then and now.  Fingers Crossed....

Providence Canyon - trail run - Home

The new usual run/bike route.  13 miles of biking with 3 miles of trail running sandwiched in.  Leg felt ok, not as good as yesterday, but not terrible.  Still hoping for the best...

T(bike) 61min 1200' Vert

T(run) 28:30 3 miles 475' vert

Usual routine but easier today.  Slower bike ride to and from the trail, and only 2 miles to let my body recover.  Most rides are not easy.

Bike 65 min

Run 20 min

1500' Vert

Usual ride up to the Providence Trail.  They are making progress daily on the trail.  I would guess 100-200 feet a day of new trail.  Leg was feeling good for most of the run today.  Little by little I guess. I pushed it hard on the bike too.  Made it up to the trail at PR pace.

Bike 60 mins

Run 3.5 miles 33 min

1800' Vert

Green Canyon - That trail is tough as you have to cross the creek (small river at this point) a good dozen times.  Or you can take the road until the section where the road is washed out and you have to swim across that!  At least the upper section is gorgeous.  I enjoyed the running on that section.

T- 70 mins of biking / 2.5 miles at 8:45 pace - 2250' Vert

House to River Trail to Spring Hollow.  Once there, I ran for 1 mile until the trail flooded out.  I then rode down the canyon and along BST to Green.  Once in Green, I traded off riding the singletrack getting wet and riding the road staying dry.  I ditched the bike again for 3 more miles of actual running in Green.  Thinks are same as always with regards to the injury.  I can get a few miles here and there with no issues, but that is all.  One of these days....

T- 150 mins on bike (28 miles)

T - 4 miles at 8:20 ave pace running

2500' Vert combined 

** Weekly summary - 99 miles biking, 14 running, 11,400' Vert, 645 mins

I once camped at this very camp spot with Jon (in Green Canyon)

Jardine Juniper - 

Up at the crack of dawn to beat the crowds to the trails.  It worked for the most part.  I biked up to the tree at a easy-med effort.  I hit the first summit at 33:33 and the tree at 55:00.  I quickly dropped the bike and gear and ran in circles swatting the mosquitos before running the loop at the top.  It turns out it is 1.5 miles with 250' Vertical per loop.  The trail is nice and dry this time on the loop (although the 2 stream crossings earlier were nasty).  First loop in 13 mins.  Second loop in 12:06.  Third and final running loop in 12:25.  I loved it.  It was sure nice to run on trails at altitude mostly pain free.  Things did get tight the last .5 mile so I called it good.  I quickly donned my bike gear and did the loop on the bike for comparison.  10:12.  So its faster to bike it by about 2 mins.  Times up, down the trail to the car.  22:45 counting stopping for bikes and hikers where necessary and stopping in the creek crossing to soak the knee for a min.  What a blast! 

T Bike - 1:28 - 2250' Vert

T Run - 38:00 - 750' Vert

Providence Trail - 

Biked up, Ran 3.5, Biked home

Bike 60 mins

Run 3.5 miles 33 min

1800' Vert

Bike Commute to/from work - 3 miles equivalent  (8 actual)

Easy Day - 

Providence Routine as usual, but slower and only 2 miles of running.  Dead Legs.

T- 1:27 total 1500' Vert

Biked to Deer Fence - Ran 4 miles on the trail.  First 2 were perfect, next mile and a half the ITB tightened, the final half mile the tightness moved to the outside of the knee.  Biked home.  

T- 45 min bike, 33 min run 1150' Vert combined

PM: Ran the kids to the park and back.  Barefoot and pushing the stroller.  Felt good.  Call it a half mile or so.  TRX for 30 min afterward.

The usual - 

Bike 44min - Run 18min  Bike - 19min - 1500' Vert

Epic Bike Ride - 

Alright, not really epic, but it was cool.  Parked at the corner of Left Hand Fork and Blacksmith Fork, jumped on the bike and followed the road up the mtn. for 15 miles.  Things started out fine until the cows took over the road and I was forced to play rancher for the next 3 miles.  It was not fun.  Too many stupid cows refusing to walk 10 feet out of the way and instead running for miles up the road.  I would get around some and then there would be more waiting up the road.  I ended up following the road until it met up with the top end of Richards Hollow.  15 miles and 3000' vert in 2 hours.  Time for a jog now.  Ditched the bike and headed down Richards Hollow.  The trail was pretty muddy and the stream was running high.  4 miles round trip of blissful trail running.  No issues with the leg today.  Could have been the stream crossings kept things icy cool.  4 miles in nearly 40 mins with 800' vert climbing.  Back on the bike.  This time rather than re-visiting the cows, I went for the awesome trail down Richards Hollow.  The stream crossings make the bike all squeaky and muddy, but the flowers were out in force.  10.5 miles back to the car in about an hour.  It was a blast coming down that trail on a bike.  Nearly as fun as running, and much more dangerous.  I nearly killed myself a few times.  Too many rocks and blind corners combining forces.  Finished this up with a dip in the stream and a shout out to Paul P. who was running up the canyon on my way down.  Go Paul.  

 Took the family to Minnetonka Cave near bear lake and it was a hit.  We even went on a hike while there and the kids wanted to trail run with their old man.  What have I done?

Total - 3 hours bike - 40 min run - 3800' vert 

Weekly Summary- 73.5 equivalent miles - 15.5 miles running  - 12,750' vert - 94 bike miles - 720 Mins - Highest Volume week of the year.  Leg is marginally better, but not much.  Enjoying the short runs, much better than nothing.

Deer Fence Bike Run Bike - 

Today the legs were feeling good so I did a test to see what they could handle.  The answer was 4 miles, but since I was still a mile from the bike at that point I ended up going 5.  Got a bit sore and tight, but I survived.  Things felt great for the 4 though.  The only other highlight was the deer that was not afraid of me and let me pet him.  Just kidding, but I did get pretty close.

T- 46:45 biking - 42:00 running - 1300' vert total

Providence Trail - 

I was feeling slightly under the weather today, but once I got out the door, things got better.  The run was nice.  Uneventful except that the new trail is now 4/10 of a mile long.  That makes it 1 mile exactly from the bridge to the bottom of the trail.  I would guess 3/4 of a mile to go to make it to the mouth of the canyon. 

T- 60 min bike 32:30 run (3.5) 1800' Vert total.

By lunch time I was feeling exhausted and all stuffed up.  Either severe allergies or crazy head cold.  By dinner I figured head cold.  I couldn't breathe or move so I went to bed.  I got 12 hours of sleep.  Awesome.

Slept in to let the body recover from its cold.  I woke up feeling way better today, but I was still miserable most of the day.  It was a never ending faucet.  After dinner, I pushed the kids in the stroller to the park then ran some laps around the grass field while they played.  It felt good to do something.  3 miles total.

Feeling much better today and I attribute it to the mountain ride/run.  Today it was the usual ride/run/ride up Providence Canyon.  Nothing special.  Leg felt good until the final downhill then it started barking at me.  I stopped just in time.  

T- 63 bike 32 run 1800' vert

Lunch was an hour of racquetball.  Kicked some butt.

Green Canyon - 

Awesome Ride, nearly hit a moose on my bike coming down the canyon.  Crazy.  Scared both of us.  

5 miles of biking - 3 miles of running

T- 65min bike 27min run 2400' Vert

I am in SLC for the day so I brought my mountain bike here and went for a sweet ride.  I started at my Mom's house in Cottonwood Heights and headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon via Top of the world drive (hillier than wasatch).  I found myself in the middle of hundreds of road bikers riding what they call the "4 canyons" (little,big,millcreek, and emmigration).  It was fun to mix it up with them for a bit.  I peeled off at the Temple Quarry trail and followed it up the canyon for 3 miles or so until it became a bushwhack and I hiked it up to the road.  Once again, I was in the midst of the bikers until the top.  Once at Snowbird, I hit the trails.  I biked around a bit on the Speedgoat course until I felt like it was time to run some.  

The run was only 4 miles but it was fun.  I had serious flashbacks to last year and what I deem the toughest 50K ever.  Made me nostalgic but I was glad I wasn't running it this year.  I wandered all around the course and nearby looking for the flattest trails.  There weren't many, but there was great scenery.  I love that canyon.  Post run, I filled up the water bottle at the lodge and headed home.  Riding down that canyon is a blast, even on a mountain bike.  I will have to try it on a road bike and see how much I can top 43mph (my max speed today).

T Bike - 27 miles in 2:35 - 4000' Vert

T Run - 4 miles in 40:30 - 800' Vert

Weekly Summary - It was a rough week being sick most of the week.  I still feel less than 100%.  It has moved to my lungs and out of my head (thankfully).  The leg is still not right.  I have moments of tightness and achy feelings, but for the most part it feels fine.  I am enjoying the amount of running I am able to do, but do wish that I could do more.  

19 miles of running - 73.5 miles of biking - 12,100' Vert climbing

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Bike Run Bike with the run covering the entire (currently existing) singletrack trail for the first time.  4.5 mile run, felt pretty good.  Mild tightness on the downs. 

T- 60 bike 40 run 2000' Vert total

Bike commute (3 miles equivalent)

Providence Canyon Trail again....  still loving that trail.  Ran the whole thing again today.  

T- 62 bike 40:20 run 2050' vert

Quick trip up to Deer Fence to bike/run.  Spent the rest of the day driving to Colstrip Montana to spend a few days with my wife's sister and her family.  It took a long 12 hours.  Fun.

T bike - 42 min T run - 33 min 1000' vert total.

Explored around Colstrip Montana.  I took the road out of town for about 5 miles then turned off onto Cow Creek (pronounced Crick) Road.  It was a dirt and gravel road that went for miles.  I could have gone for 40 miles or so before it ended.  I made it only about 11.5 before ditching the bike in the brush and running for a bit.  I ran on the flat road for 2.5 miles before heading back.  There wasn't much to see except some ranches and lots of weeds.  I would sure miss my mountains if I lived out here.  I made it 4 miles before the leg started to hurt and by mile 5 I was glad that I was back to the bike.  Once on the bike, the tightness immediately dissapeared.   The ride home was nice, but man it got hot and I was out of water.  I saw way more cows than people this ride but failed to find the creek that was advertised.  Liars

T bike - 65min out & 69min back (convert to 13.5 miles)

T run - 36:30 (7:20) 750' vert for bike and run

This was the biggest "hill" I could find around here.  Reminds me of Goblin Valley kind of.

Rode up to the Colstrip lake and rode around it 2 times (2.5 mile gravel trail) before running it once.  My leg felt fine during the run but didn't risk another lap.  I was feeling sluggish today so I kept things pretty chill.  After the run, I took the bike on a tour of the town before calling it a day.  Spent the day at the lake and on the golf course.  Rough day...get it?

T- 62 bike 23 run 350' vert

Lake -

Power Plant - The town is built around the coal mines and the power plant.

Colstrip Tour Day #3 -

Today I went north and explored some roads north of town.  One was great, but only 5 miles before it dead-ended.  Another turned out to be a private driveway that was 1/4 mile long.  Another was a mud bog that went for miles.  The last was another ranch (ie private road and probably had a guy with a shotgun waiting for me on his porch).  I headed back to the lake and did a lap on the bike before doing a lap running.  Another tour of the town and I was bored so I called it a day.  

T-Bike 2:25

T- Run 24:00

Vert - 700'

Happy Pioneer Day - 

Its a good day because I am back home again and also because I got to skip work to ride/run the stump hollow trail with Joe.  Not much to complain about there.  I had fun riding that trail on my bike for the first time ever.  Its way more fun on the bike than running.  The going uphill part was tough, especially trying to keep up with speedy Joe.  Luckily he was being nice to me and I survived.  We got to the sinks and decided to run together for a bit until my leg told me enough.  We proceeded to jog up a hill or two and down the other side when all of a sudden both quads seized up on me.  It was wild.  I have never had that happen before.  I would assume it was unrelated to my injury as it happened equally to both legs.  It brought me to a stop for a good 2 mins to try and get them to relax.  They kind of loosened up, but it was painfully tight every step.  Even walking.  I jogged and walked and moaned and whined.  Nothing helped, and the whining just made Joe angry.  At least we were exploring an ATV trail that neither of us had been on.  Sweet views of valleys and even Bear Lake.  All too soon, I opted to start back due to the "minor cripple issue".  I was able to run the whole way back to the bike, but my legs were very unhappy with me.  I hopped on the bike and rode back down the trail.  Luckily, things were fine on the downhill and as long as I didn't try and use any power on the uphills I was fine.  Maybe too many miles/hours in the car yesterday did me in.  Maybe it was pushing too hard on the climb today, or both.  At least the downhill was spectacular.  That trail is custom made for a bike.  No really, there are jumps everywhere.  Loads of fun. 

T-Bike 50 min up 30 min down

T-Run 46 min with a good 8 mins of that walking

2500' Vert combined - Great to be back in the mountains.