Trails!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

To celebrate the new year I went and ran an old favorite.  Providence Canyon (from the house) with two laps of the canyon trail lower 2 miles.  It was packed down nicely until 2 miles up the canyon so I turned around and ran it again.  Was going to do a third but I was pretty beat.  Great way to start the year.

T-2:35:45 (8:24) 2500' vert

Long Run with Mike - 

I had a tight window to run so it was a semi-early start and a route that is time productive to run.  House to halfway up Green.  Out via canal, back via Sumac Drive.  We pushed the last 4 miles under 7 min pace.  Good run on some tired legs.  Solid week with 70 miles in 4 days of running.

T-2:42:30 (8:07) 1850' vert

Providence Star with Mike and Fan - 

Probably the first time I have run this run with someone else.  According to strava I have done this run 35 times.  Yep, I'm a creature of habit.

T-1:12:45 (7:14) 800' vert

Providence Trail 8 - 

Trail was sloppy and squishy and melty and slow.  But the full moon made it runnable with no light.  Pretty cool.

T-1:21 1500'

Green Canyon Half - 

Ran with Mike, Fan, Zac.  I wore my modified Roclites with screws.  Perfect choice.  Trail was a mix of ice and punchy snow.  Perfect for turning ankles.  Shoes helped a ton.  Rest of the guys were whining the whole way.  Fun run if you ignore the crying...

T-1:52 (8:38) 2000' vert

Canal Trail Easy with Mike - 

Tight and sore the first mile, then loosened up.  Nice recovery run

T-1:07 (8:22) 400' vert

Canal Trail again today.  This time with Keegan.  Foggy until we hit the waterlab then the breeze from the canyon cleared things out.  Had a good chat with Keegan.

T-1:11 (8:52) 400' vert

Deer Fence + Providence with Fan - 

We tried to escape the inversion today.  Headed up to Deer Fence starting at Dry Canyon.  We were barely above it until we hit Millville.  The lower elevation in Millville made us drop down into it.  Worse than the inversion was the frozen, chunky, uneven trail conditions.  Not ideal at all.  Providence Canyon Trail was a dream.  All buffed out by bikes.  I was super tired by the end and Fan bonked worse than me.  Probably cause he let me eat his food and drink his drink.  What a good guy.

T-3:34 (9:42) 4000' vert

Providence Star in the Fog

Icy & Foggy so it was slow.

T-1:23 750' vert

AM: Canal Trail(s) with Mike - took it easy in the fresh pow

8 miles in 73 mins

PM: BST, Green, Upper Canal, River Trail with Mike and Zac.  Trail conditions stunk again.  Lots of complaining from the peanut gallery.  Lots of people falling and rolling ankles etc.

Came home and made an omlette with maple flavored bacon on top.  Mmmm

13 miles in 2 hours

2K vert between the 2 runs.

8 easy miles 'around'

68 mins

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Trail was in great shape today.  Nicely buffed out by fat tire bikes.  It was super fun coming down it.

T-69 mins (8:38) 1500' vert

Easy Easy 8 Miles with Keegan and Fan - 

Fun run chatting

T-1:16

Providence Trail Repeats (3)

3x 6 mile laps -

Lap 1 - 58 mins

Lap 2 - 58 mins

Lap 3 - 53 mins

Added on 2 miles on Deer Fence Trail to round out to 20 miles.  Felt pretty good today.  Trail was a bit sloppy up high but not too bad.  Great run!

T-3:07 (9:20) 4300' vert 155 ave hr

Providence Star 10-

Tired today.  Kept it easy and slow.

T-1:22:30

Canal Trail(s) with Mike and Fan - 

Another easy day.  Both of them were really dragging today so we kept things super slow. T- 1:19 500' vert

Providence Trail with Zac - 

Mostly easy run with an all out sprint for the final 400m.  I wish I had longer legs like him.  Speedy.

T-1:19 (8:36) 1750' vert

AM: 8 miles on canal trail(s)

PM: Attempt at jardine juniper in some seriously ice conditions.  Spikes are mandatory.  Upper bowl wasn't tracked out and so it was pretty pointless to go all the way.  We did two loops of the lower half of the trail. (9.5 miles) 1:38 2400' vert

Canal Trail with Keegan.  Pace was slow and easy.  Perfect recovery day after yesterday's double.

Attempt at a snomobile tracked out forest service road.  It wasn't too bad, but still very slow going.  I went from Camp Lomia up Cowley Canyon and headed up to the pass near the top of Ricks Canyon.  I tagged a new peak (un-named I think) and headed down.  I got back to Camp Lomia and headed up RHF up willow canyon until I had enough.  Wasn't feeling it today so called it good at 3 hours.  My hip flexors were tired after lugging around my spikes on my feet today.  They sure are heavy.

T-3:01 3000' vert

Providence and Millville Loop 

First few miles were warm up then moved into almost a tempo effort.  Not quite, it felt fast though.  

T-1:33:45 (6:56) 700' vert

Random road run with Zac - 

We tried a few trails but literally within a few feet we stopped and turned around.  Too muddy.  We did end up in a random field cause we didn't want to backtrack.  That was a mistake.  Nasty mess that was.  I'm hoping that was only mud, but it was dark.

12 miles with Zac and 1.5 before he came (7:13 pace) 750' vert

Easy run with Keegan 7 miles

65 mins with Zac on icy roads from the frozen fog.  Took him on the planet walk.

8 easy miles on Canal Trail(s) with Zac and Joe (yep, joe is alive and well).

8 min pace

antelope island  - 

the plan was to run the big loop now that it's allowed to run on the northwest part of the island. 30 miles in 5 hours.  Well, at mile 14 my IT Band said, "YO BUDDY, I HATE RUNNING!"  I argued for 3 miles before realizing my fight was in vain.  He won.  Major pain and now I am very unhappy.  I was able to hitch a ride back to the car eliminating the last 13 miles of further injury.  Dang it, gotta get it healed up quick.  Hopefully it cooperates.

T-2:38 (9:10) 2500' vert

Easy run to test out the leg.  ITBS is back with a vengence.  Hopefully, I cut my run saturday short enough to minimize the inflammation.  Took Mon/Tues off.  Today, I felt ok.  Pain came and went.  Getting better I think.

4.5 miles

Another easy day of 6.5 miles to test out the leg.  Feeling much better today.  Pain down to a 1/10.  Bonus was finding Keegan out on the roads.  Impromptu training partner.

River Trail to Crimson Trail Loop.  Most of the snow was gone.  Left in its wake is mud and ice.  Not too bad though.  My new Lone Peak's worked great in all the different conditions.  I even washed them off in the river afterward and didn't get my socks wet.  Sweet!  Leg was a bit achy but no sharp pain.  Hoping I can run daily next week without a setback.

T-2 hours 2500' vert

10 easy miles on Canal Trail(s) wih a bit on River Trail.  Leg still improving.

Deer Fence with a bit up Dry and Prov canyons.  Tested out the new Superior 2.0's.  My new favorite Altra Trail shoe.  Good stuff so far.  

1:27 1850' vert

Warmup lap around First Dam waiting for Mike then we headed up and ran the Crimson Trail.  We hit it right as it got dark.  Super cool trail to run with a headlamp and a bit of ice.  Pretty sketchy.  Fun run today.  Leg is feeling good still.  Horray.

2200' vert

9:42 ave pace

Canal Trail with Keegan.  Had to cut it short due to IT band pain again.  Grrrr..It was very angry with me today.  very angry.

Went for a walk today since my leg was still far from 100%.  Good to get the blood flowing at least.  I'm in panic mode for my 50 miler next weekend.  I guess we will see how it goes.  In the meantime its hip and leg exercises to get things back inline.  

4.5 miles in 66 mins.

Easy run on Planet Walk - 

Leg felt ok, 1/10

Easy run around fairgrounds.  Leg felt ok, 1/10 still.  Mostly just achy.

Another easy day to taper/rest/heal before Antelope Canyon 5 on Saturday.  Leg felt ok, definetly not 100% or even close.  Total crapshoot if I will be able to run this race without pain/injury.  Oh well, I'll give it a go.

Antelope Canyon 50 Mile - 7:50:47 - 2nd Place.

Results here

PR by a long shot, but this was a pretty easy course.  Aside from the 30 miles of deep sand to run in.  That stunk.  

RACE REPORT HERE

3 miles pushing the girls in the stroller - 

river trail with Zac, Mike, and Fan. Leg (ITBS) felt good until the final 2 miles, then ouch.

7 easy miles with Keegan.  Pain is a bit high so I'm taking some time off and getting this thing healed up.  Still doing exercizes to strengthen hips and abductor/aductors as I believe that is the problem.

Sanity Check 5

In Cabo San Lucas for the week - 

Went exploring along the sandy beaches and nearby hills.

Colina Pedregal

Ran to a dry wash.  AKA the ghetto.  Pretty sketchy plus some dogs were loose that were pretty scary looking.  I carefully avoided them.

Hiked up to the Cross on the hill (475' climb in .25 miles or so)  Took a million pictures.

Doble Cruz

Went up to the cross again quickly this time.  But this time I went down the far side then back up.  Headed home today.  Bummer.

6 easy miles back on my home turf.  Leg was still not happy.  Not making much progress there.  Still doing exercizes and such.  Must be patient.

Stuck to the dirt and grass as much as possible today.  Ran around the fairgrounds.  Leg still achy.  Maybe a 1 or 2/10.  

Hike/Run up the Face of Big Baldy (made it to the peak at 7838')

Conditions were great.  40 degrees and hardly any snow.  

49 mins up 20 mins down

2800' vert

Saddleback Peak with Mike plus 2 miles after in Green.

Most painful run ever.  Quads were so destroyed from the hike to Baby Baldy that the downhill was brutal!  

T-1:20 2700' vert

4 easy easy miles half jogging half walking around trying to resurrect my quads.

WDC - 

Unofficial race held in Smithfield up to a tree the locals call "Whistle Dick", hence the whistle dick challenge.  3 times up to the tree climbing different ridges.  Brutal but sweet.  Finish is at the tree.  Erik took off and was long gone, that dude can climb!  After the first climb I was in 5th/6th.  I worked really hard to catch up on the 2nd and 3rd climbs but Mike beat me, so I ended up third.  Nate was 4th and Fan was 5th. There were about 30 people there.  Sweet chance to socialize with the local skimo guys who don't usually do the ultras.  This is their type of race.  Fun stuff.

1:58 to the tree

almost 5K' vert

Link to the Strava route

Laps around blackhawk park on the grass.  Feeling good these days.

-55 mins

Providence Hills - 

Kind of a test to see how the leg handles the road for 8 miles.  Seemed to do ok.  I did run on the gravel on the shoulder where possible though.  Minor achy-ness (sp) is all.

- 7:21 pace, 500' vert

8 miles on Canal Trail and BST - 

Feeling out of shape but otherwise good.

63 mins 700' vert

Got to test out the waterproof shoes (Altra Lone Peak 2.0 with Polartec) in mud and snow today on the Crimson Trail.  Turns out they work great.  Lots of traction, which was good considering the cliff and all.  Midfoot is sloppy but otherwise its a good shoe.  Fun run with Seth Wold (haven't seen him in years) and Zac and Fan.  Made fun of Zac the whole time (like usual).

T-2 hours 2400' vert

Easy 5

Ridge running in Smithfield.  

Went up to Whistle Dick Tree then down to Birch and up the Ridge Between Birch and Smithfield canyon.  Back down the ridge and over to Dry for a short stint before I ran out of time.  Had to go to Stacey Brown's wedding.  Happy for her!

T-2:30 4000' vert

Providence Canyon Trail + bit through Providence afterward.  Felt good today.  Legs were happy.

T-1:18 (8:13) 1600' vert

Quad Baldy Adventure with Mike, Erik, and Zac (for half) - 

Quite the route...just a bit of vertical.  Started at Providence Canyon, easy running to Dry Canyon, up the ridge to Temple baldy (8114') then up to Little Baldy (8763'). Down a cool ridge to providence off trail to "Flag hill" (turns out its called saddle rock by the locals) and down to providence canyon.

Break at the cars for a refill and snack

Then we headed up to Baby Baldy (7838') in the twighlight and Big Baldy (8858') in the light rain and heavy winds.  It was a blast coming down off the mountain until Erik superman'd it.  I bet that hurt. 

Loved it!

15 miles in 4:15 moving time - 8500' vert

Easy 5, feeling sick.

Green Canyon Circumnavigation - 

Insane route with Erik today.  Awesome stuff.  Started at King Park, Face of Green, tagged Peak 9208' and Mt. Jardine, followed ridge to Mt. Fudd, blasted down the crusty snow to the ridge to Beirdneau, tagged the peak, suffered through soft snow and fatigue until tagging Saddleback Peak before flying down to the tuck.  I have always wanted to do that loop.  Conditions today were nearly perfect.  Frozen snow from the cold nights to make it easier to run on.  The section along the ridge to Beirdneau was brutal with the softer snow from the afternoon sun. I felt horrible all day long.  I think I am sick.  I have had a sore throat and stuffy nose.  This will certainly make it worse.....Still worth it!

T-5:50 + time on the peaks

9150' vert

Jardine Juniper with Zac, Erik, Fan, and Keegan - 

Pretty chill pace on the way up.  We let Fan take off on the uphill.  Chill at the tree then ease into a hard downhill session.  Fun stuff!

1:34 10.2 miles 2175' vert

6 Easy easy miles with Keegan

54 mins

At Woodbadge Training at Camp Keisel thurs-sat

couldn't get out on thursday, but got out today early with the headlamp.  Wandered around random dirt roads until I stumbled on a sweet singletrack trail around the lake.  Good stuff.

63 mins 1K' vert

AM: Super easy 3.5 miles with fellow Patrol member Victor - 44 mins 675' vert

PM: got out at 8:30 for a longish run up to the top of providence canyon.  Decent pace out and pushed it a bit on the way back.  

2:04 15.5 miles 1800' vert

Canal Trail + BST

Pretty standard run for me.  Trying to get back into a routine.  

T-1:12:45 875' vert

Green Canyon half -

Crazy spring blizzard dumped a couple of inches.  I ran in the middle of it.  It was cold/windy and insane.  Muddy/sloppy mess.

1:52 (8:30) 1950' vert

8 more easy miles in the snow storm.  Winter is finally here.  First real storm since Christmas.  

Exploring at Camp Kiesel during week 2 of Wood Badge

950' vert 66 mins

AM: Explored a sweet and steep trail before the final day at Woodbadge

6 miles 1600' vert 66 mins

PM: got home and since the family was occupied was given a pass to go for a run.  Crimson trail loop in 2 hours.  Always a favorite! 

12.5 miles 2350' vert 2 hours

Deer Fence Loop 12.5

Another classic route for me.  Lots of road, some trail and lots of hills.  Good start to the week.

T-1:33:30 7:28 1150' vert

Ricks - Steel Loop 12

Ran with a great group today.  Zac, Mike, Erik, Fan, Josh, and I.  We were able to hold Mike back for the first 4 miles but after that he was pushing the pace again.  We ended up running a quick lap even with the snow and mud at the top of Steel Hollow.  Good time though!  Even saw 3 moose!

T-1:50 2400' vert

The bad news of the day is my favorite shoe the Superior 2.0 had a blow out (on both shoes) today.  Only 135 miles and they are about done.  Not good.... 

Easy 10 with Keegan on the Canal and River Trails

1:32 650' vert

Providence Canyon Trail 9 - 

Enjoyed my run today all except for tripping on a sewer cover.  Thankfully it was while I was running up the road not down.  Still hurt.

T-1:16 1675' vert

Easy run with Zac this morning.  Tripped on a transition from dirt to concrete.  Of course I fell onto the concrete not the soft durt.  Bloody hand now hurts.

Explored around the Birch Canyon Trails 19.5 Miles

First I went from Dry Canyon around the canal to the Birch Road.  Muddy mess but before long I was on the singletrack.  I went up a new trail to the south right at the top gate.  Molly's trail (or so I've heard).  Lost it near the top but continued on to the ridge.  Found myself at whistle dick tree.  Went down the face to the mouth of Birch.  Then back up the North Ridge.  Followed it until the fence then went down to the main trail up Birch again.  This time I followed the new trails that parallel the doubletrack all the way to the wilderness boundary sign.  Took a quick nap then went back down the new trails and over to Molly's trail again.  This time I followed a faint trail until it dissappeared and I ended up going up the ridge to WD tree again.  This time I went down the south west face and back to the truck via the gravel pit (mud pit currently).  Phew.  Just look at my strava data next time and then I wont have to spell it out.

https://www.strava.com/activities/292361753

4:05 5875' vert

Deer Fence Loop -12.5

Good solid pace today.  

1:32 (7:21) 1150' vert

9 easy miles with Mike

1:12:30 250' vert

Prov to Millville and beyond on Deer Fence

Easy pace except for the climb back to Providence, that hill is a beast!

T-1:16 1300' vert

Big Workout - 

River Trail - Wind Caves Ridge - Beirdneau Trail - Green

Ran with Fan, Mike, and Josh.  We kept the pace chill until Wind Caves TH.  Then it was time to chase the 40 min CR to the ridge. 3 miles with 2200' vert on semi-technical trail.  I put the gas pedal down and kept it down.  Man, that hurt!  I made it in 38 mins and promptly sat down and sucked wind until the others showed up.  Then it became a shuffle the rest of the way back.  I paid for the effort.  Fun stuff

T-2:28 3300' vert 

Super easy 8 around the planet walk and nearby.  Tired from last night.

70 mins

Beirdneau Peak (8914')

Only had time for a single peak today since its Lily's baptism day!  They grow up so fast!

T-3:30 4500' vert

Logan Dry Canyon from the island.  Lots of hills today.  Made it to the snow line around 7K'.  It's been a while since I ran that trail.  Solid climb.

T-1:21 2500' vert

Old Ephraim Grave Loop 12-

Huge group run today.  Me, Zac, Mike, Fan, Erik, Josh, and even Joe came.  It was a party!

Pretty chill for most of the run.  Trail is almost dry and green

T-1:55 2600' vert

Canal Trail with Keegan

Easy 8 with Zac

Zion Traverse (plus a bit to Kolob Arch)

Detailed report to come....  

Amazing (again)!  Weather wasn't ideal but added some craziness to the day.

https://www.strava.com/activities/301439883/overview

Easy miles at lunchtime.

Everything seems to be ok after my long run Saturday.  Tired but in one piece.

14 final farewell miles with fan

For his final run with me before he heads back to China (with a short visit to New Mexico on his itenerary) we did the Spring Hollow trail from First dam.  My legs were petty sluggish so the pace was slower than normal.  I do love that trail though.  So scenic and things are greening up nicely up the canyon.  Love it!

T-2:17 3000' vert

8 mostly flat miles with a steep climb up the face by BST.  Pretty tired today.  

1250' vert

9 Miles on Maple Bench.  Went up to Coldwater 'lake'.  Fun trail.  Had to avoid the turkey 'hunters' driving around in their truck looking for turkeys.

2200'vert

Easy miles with Keegan

Crazy Schwacky, Muddy, Snowy, Rainy run around the wellsvilles.

Crazy fun but very unconfortable.  About froze to death climbing up to Box Elder Peak so we (erik and mike) bailed and ran in the mud for a few hours instead.  Crazy storm.  Good luck trying to figure out our route.

https://www.strava.com/activities/305666279

3:30 5300' vert

Providence Canyon from Church by Maceys.

Solid run today.  Pushed the trail section pretty hard.  Close to max for the 3 miles up trying to take back a CR from Erik.  25 seconds short over just uner 3 miles.  I think its doable if I don't run the 3 mile approach as hard.  Gonna take a max effort.  Not sure if its worth it....Fun trying though.

T-1:34 (7:48) 1900' vert

10 easy miles

Started to rain the final 3 miles, but I guess I am getting used to that now. We already are at 150% of average rain for May and it only the 19th.  With storms predicted all week.

Spring Hollow overlook from First Dam with Mike

Pretty chill pace.  Wild rain for the first 2 miles then perfect weather after that.  Muddy and fun

T-2:25 3200' vert

8 easy miles with Keegan - 

We did Prov-River Heights loop.  No rain.

Deer Fence 8

Took it chill today.  Going for a long run tomorrow.

68 mins

Sweet new loop today - 

https://www.strava.com/activities/310255364/overview

Steel, Bear, Seep, Richards, Cowley, Little Ricks.  

Super fun even if the weather was not ideal.  Trail was a river for the first half.  Running in the river would have kept me drier than what I ran in today.  Had to consult my map a few times.  Good thing I brought it.

T-5:40 (counting stops) 6000' vert 

Tri-Baldy + Providence + Logan Peaks

Nice loop through the high country.  Had to post hole through the snow between Providence Peak and Logan Peak.  Nasty stuff.  Rest of the hike/run was sweet!

T-4:30 7500' vert

https://www.strava.com/activities/311660922

Jardine Juniper Two Loops No tree 11 - 

Ran with joe and mike and josh.  Great to get out on one of my favorite routes (still).

Kinda muddy in the upper bowl due to the rain but otherwise a perfect day for that run.

T-1:31 2000' vert

Random loop into Providence.

Kept it pretty easy today.  The taper for Bryce 50 is on.

68 mins

More easy miles (9) on Canal Trail and BST.  Socks got wet from the long wet grass and made my shoes squeak every step.  Very annoying.

Sweet new loop I worked out.

Card Canyon (west) to Logan Peak Road, down Richards Hollow to the elbow, along the Bear Course to Logan Peak Road, along the road to Card canyon East trail back to the car.  Perfect 13 mile loop (if you take 2 wrong turns and explore a bit).  Perfect for a taper saturday.

T-2:22 3500' vert

Providence Canyon Trail - 

Feeling a bit sick.  Its going around my house.  Gonna taper hard this week and nip it in the bud.  

1:10 1500' vert

6 miles with the kids on bikes and stroller.

Landfill loop - Final taper run for Bryce 50

Bryce 50 Mile - 1st Place 8:21

Sweet race with an awesome course.  Very scenic with some great trails.  All mostly runnable (if you were fresh).  Ran with the front pack and stayed with them as others started falling off the pace.  That continued until it was just me with 18 miles to run scared until the finish.  2nd was about 10 mins back with 3rd 1 min behind him.  Felt solid all day.  A touchy stomach held together until the end.  Very happy with the result. 

Full report on my blog to follow (with some pics).

REPORT IS NOW POSTED

http://trailsnap.blogspot.com/2015/06/bryce-50-mile-race-report.html

5.5 easy miles to check out body damage.  Still have a few sore or tender spots but generally things are in order.

Card Canyon + Upper Richards Hollow

Ran with Keegan, Erik and Mike.  Good times.  Beautiful day on the trails.

2:25 3150' vert

Slept in on purpose!

Wellsville loop of death by bushwhack!

Tried a new loop based on some info from friends of friends and some searching on Google Earth.  What could go wrong?  Well, the first 4 miles took me 75 mins.  And it was pretty much flat.  I was wading through ferns laced with Stinging Nettle.  Nasty stuff.  Later on after making my way up the nasty Coldwater Canyon Trail I decided to follow the ridge from Hawk Watch peak rather than the nice trail down deep canyon.  Bad idea.  That was full of un-cross-able sections of trees/scrub taller than me.  I tried swimming over and through but ended up bloody and frustrated.  I finally found my way down 2 hours late and without water.  Never again (but glad I tried so now I know to never do that loop again).

Here is the strava data to show the loop.

Bovine Syncline Loop today

(Baby Baldy Peak to Bovine Syncline Trail to Providence Quarry and down the normal trail)

Great loop to hit before work.

T- 1:55 3500' vert

Erik and I went for a sweet loop from Tony Grove.  At first it was easy as we headed to White Pine Lake.  No big deal.  Then we headed out of the bowl from the northwest corner of the lake gaining the main ridge  between White pine and High Creek.  Hit peak 9828' and followed the ridge with some rock climbing  involved to Mt. Naomi.  Then we attempted to follow the main trail back to TG but missed a few turns while glissading.  I was tired today during that run.  Super cool, but I was slow.

T-2:15 3100' vert

Another awesome route today.  Tony Grove - White Pine Lake - Mt. Gog (9714') - Loop around Mt. Gog on a faint trail back to White Pine Trail - Tony Grove.  Fun stuff with Mike and Erik. 

The bad news was my leg was bugging me (behind the knee) and got really bad out there running.  I decided to take Friday and Saturday off to let it heal.  Today (sat) it feels 90% better.

Knee hurts (behind the knee) - off

5 easy but hot miles at dusk in austin.  Total ghetto and I was the only white guy around.  Sketchy

6.5 miles around Austin.  Ran to the University of Texas Intramural Field.  Better neighborhood.

8 miles aound Austin. Went to University of Texas' campus.  Did a few laps around the Lacrosse field.  Found a half mile trail on the way back.  Hot and humid at 6am.  Leg started hurting again during this run (it had felt good monday/tues).  No running until Logan Peak Run on Sat.

Logan Peak Run

7th time running this awesome local race.  Luckily it remains pretty small with not a lot of serious runners.  So I managed to finish 2nd, Erik 3rd, Mike 4th.  The winner was Jeff Mogavero.  He remains undefeated in his short career.  

more details someday maybe

4:18

6700' vert

Green canyon with Logan and a few dozen bikers.  Thought going early morning would miss most the bikers.  Wrong.  Fun to catch up with Logan though.

T- 1:45 1600' vert

10 Easy miles with Corey Hyer and old friend from 2 houses ago.  Great to catch up with him.  He is doing quite well.  BST+River Trail

90 mins

Ben Lomond (9712') and Willard Peaks (9764') from North Ogden Divide.  Ran with Mike and Logan Fielding.  Good times.  It was crowded on Ben but quiet on Willard.  Plenty of goats to keep us company.  Logan pushed the pace at times but we had fun.

T-3:32 moving time 4700' vert

Saddleback then ridge over to Preston Valley Trail down to green. The ridge traverse was overgrown and tough to run on.  Mostly hiked.  Tired from yesterday.  Good loop though.  Saw Mike and friend in the hammocks trying to sleep.  I made sure to wake them.  It was past 7am.

T-2:13 3400' vert

"Softrock" Day 1

- Maggies Gulch + Peak 13053' (3.3 miles 1200' vert)

https://www.strava.com/activities/340583040

- Maggies to Cunningham + Canby Mtn 13478' (6.2 miles 2300' vert)

https://www.strava.com/activities/340583047

- Cunningham to Silverton (9.3 miles 2880' vert)

https://www.strava.com/activities/340583043

Day 2 - 

Scouting out approach into Ouray with Tim (2.5 miles)

https://www.strava.com/activities/341332838

Blue Lakes Pass (5 miles, 2K')

https://www.strava.com/activities/341332864

Colorado Trail at Molas Lake (3.75 miles)

https://www.strava.com/activities/341332845

Day 3:

Grouse Gulch to Handies Peak 14,048 (5165' vert)

Super cool peak to tag.  Weather held out ok.

https://www.strava.com/activities/341869259

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0fzN7Ynl6Q

Day 4:

Ice/Island Lakes Exploring

Super fun time with Bryce and Beth.  Some amazing views. Spent too much time running and not enough pics!

https://www.strava.com/activities/344955577

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i20fw562OW4

Crewed Tim all day at Hardrock 100 with Beth.  Fun stuff watching all the big names either pace or race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2TP4Nn8BHc

Started pacing at 12:30 am on Saturday

Hardrock 100 pacing - 

Redemption from last year where instead of pacing I sat in the hospital.  Not a good day.  This year it was much better.  Amazing watching Tim survive the course.  Will write a proper blog post when I am not so tired still.

15 hours with Tim - 35 miles - 13,000' vert

Ouray (56.6) to KT aid (89) + plus back to the truck

https://www.strava.com/activities/344955593

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5x9xeCIAmk

Pics and thoughts from Beth Posted HERE

Flattop Peak (9539') from Birch Canyon with Erik and Mike.  Felt horrible.  Felt kinda sick today and yesterday.  This didn't help.  Better rest and take care of it.

4200' vert 12.5 miles 3 hours

4 easy miles from the Auto shop back home.  Feeling better every day.

Wellsville Traverse - 

Mike and Josh did the double while Matt and I joined for the second half.  Weather was great for us (not so good for them).  Enjoyed the views and generally took things pretty easy.  At least as easy as the wellsville can be...

T-3:20 (moving time) 5K' vert

AM: 9 Easy run with Corey in Green Canyon.  Starting to feel better again.  Just in time to taper for Speedgoat.  Gonna be a short taper.

1100' vert

PM: 4ish.  Family is out of town and I am stuck here working so I grabbed a jimmy john sandwhich and hiked it up to Whistle Dick Tree (6696') for a picnic.  Jogged back with a full belly.

1800' vert

6 medium effort miles at Narrow Canyon (Wellsville).  Trails are in great shape there.  Fun stuff.  Time to taper now for Speedgoat 50K

T-56:30 1500' vert

6 Easy miles with Keegan on the Canal Trail.  They finally fixed the section of mountain that collapsed and connected the trail up again.  Its nice.

Doughnut falls with Mom and Jaxon.  Fun hike for us.  Ready to roll tomorrow in the 50K.

Speedgoat 50K

My third (and final) go at this race.  This is the slowest time I have run (it was 8 seconds slower than in 2013) BUT, the course has been changed each time I have done it and made harder with each version.  I would estimate about 15-20 mins harder than in 2013.  So, I am happy with it.  

Overall, I feel my hiking speed is average at best, but I was able to run the flats and downhills faster than those around me.  Lots of yo/yo running.  They'd pass me on the ups and I'd pass back on the downhills.

I tried to moderate my pace for the first hour or two but failed miserably.  I tried to keep up with Erik who is a much better climber than I am and I think it hurt my overall time.  He went on to have a great race and continued to pull away on the climbs.  I just had to push through the fatigue and do what I could.  I had very little motivation the final hour until I got rolling on the downhill and chased the 7 hour barrier.  I sure cut it close, but was able to jog it in with the kids.  They had a blast on the mountain killing time waiting for me so good times were had by all.

Time to move on and run a different race next year.  Maybe the Tushar race near Beaver UT....

T-6:59:24 11K+ vert

All day at Lagoon.  Legs are tired!

Wide Canyon + Narrow Canyon

Great loop with and back to the cell towers overlooking Wellsville.  Trail is kinda hidden under the long grass but the trail is soft and fun to run.  Great after-work loop!

T-1:24 2K vert

9 easy miles in Green Canyon

Chill'n the first half, bit faster on the downhill.  Still tired as expected.  Good to get out and enjoy the brisk morning!

T-1:18 1100' vert

Birch Canyon + 5 pyramids

Easy run with Todd (new guy from Cali).  Pace was easy but man, it was hot!

Easy 8 to Green Canyon (roads)

68 mins

Awesome loop today that I couldn't pass up doing.

Smithfield Canyon to Mt. Naomi (9979') including some off-trail stuff, down to Tony Grove, then up the traditional trail back to smithfield canyon (coldwater spring area).  It was probably a bit much 1 week after Speedgoat and 1 week before El Vaquero Loco.  Oh well, it was fun even if it was tiring.  Gonna do that one again someday!

T-4:10 5800' vert

5 easy miles

Another 5 easy

Canal Trail with Keegan (easy)

Legs are coming around.  Should be good to go for another go at El Vaquero Loco Sat!

4.5 miles easy around the apartment on boring roads.

El Vaquero Loco 50K - 

4th time running this amazingly beautiful course.  It was especially pretty today due to heavy rains overnight and threatening weather.  The weather held out for me to finish, eat a burger and drink a huckleberry soda.  I feel sorry for those that came in later.  Rough stuff!  The race itself went fine for the first half (even though I was in 7th at turn around at 2:37).  The second half held some carnage including myself.  I must have gone out too hard again.  I struggled but survived.  'Loss of will' hit me hard when things got really hard climbing back up to the lakes and over the final 4 miles.  Had fun though.  Ashley Erba and one other guy (I forgot his name already) entertained me the first half before we parted ways.  Ashley went on to crush the 2nd half finishing 2nd overall in 5:22.  Impressive!

My splits and such below

https://www.strava.com/activities/364505571

2.5 with the kids

8 miles with Keegan

75 mins

Cherry Peak via Cherry Creek with Mike and Erik.  We all were pretty tired so we called it quits at Cherry and didn't continue on to Naomi as originally planned.  Hot day!

T-2:30 4200' vert

Beth finally put up some pics from Hardrock.  

I think they are pretty sweet.

Check them out HERE

Logan Peak run via Providence Peak.  Great run today.  Focused on pacing for a 100.  Think I managed ok.  Dialing in my heart rate.  It is a tricky balance from what feels too slow and too fast.  6 weeks to the Bear....

T-5 hours 6850' vert

Green Canyon - 11

I needed a headlamp for the first 4 miles.  Bummer.  Days are getting shorter.  No fun!

1:36 1500' vert

Franklin Basin to Steam Mill Lake then Shorty's cutoff (north) to White Pine Trail then over to Franklin.  Awesome 'loop' with the new section for us being the Shorty's cutoff to white pine.  It was pretty slick.  Very runnable.  Gonna go back and hit that one again sometime.

2 hours 2500' vert

9 miles with Keegan.  Another good recovery run.

Bovine Syncline 10 - 

One of my favorite loops.  Lots of different terrain.  Steep/Rocky/rooty/cow pies/etc

1:58:30 3500' vert

Easy 7 - smoke is really bothering me

Last 23 of the Bear 100 (cow 100) with Zac - 

He kept the pace moving on the climbs and I kept him going on the downhills.  Just no power for me today.  Great week of actual training again.  Too much Taper/Race/Recover going on.  Time to get ready for the Bear!

3:47 (4:00 elapsed) 3800' vert

Green Canyon - 11

Smoke is finally clearing from the fires out west.  Good chill run.

1:34

Green to Preston Valley Trail Saddle - 9

Good solid run to start the day.  Little sore in places but kept the pace reasonable.  Nothing real fast.

T-1:32 2200' vert

BST + LRT

1:35 1350'

Jardine Juniper Tree then dropped off the backside onto the old trail that has been worked on recently into Cottonwood Cyn.  Steep but fun.  Back up to the tree and down the normal route.  Nice little addition to JJ.

2:17 3400' vert

easy run with keegan

AM: Easy 10 in Green Canyon

1:32 1300'

PM: 18 miles in the heat.  Went up Blind Hollow to the connector to Cottonwood.  Down Cottonwood and over to Mt. Elmer (but not to the peak) and across 5 of the 7 sisters and back to Tony Grove.  Did a lap around the lake then met the family for family pictures.  I was all ready to have my pic taken in my running clothes but Beth made me change.  

4:11 5700' 

8.5 Miles above Hyde Park on the trails

2k' vert 1:30

10 Miles in the hills around Hyde Park Canyon.  Good stuff up here.  Perfect for headlamp running in the early AM

1:50 3K' vert

9 miles in Green with Corey

Steel + Bear Hollow + Ricks Loop -12

Ran with Nate.  Other than a bit of route finding to link up Bear and Ricks, we had fun.  Saw some Elk.

9.5 on Canal Trail + a bit around Logan High.  Went to warm up around the block since I was a few mins early.  Turns out I took way too long and by the time I got back to our meeting place Keegan was gone.  He figured I had already left.  I tried to catch him but failed.  He also went further up the canyon than me so I missed him on the way down too.  Bummer.  Sorry Keegan.

Wood Camp to Cottonwood to Mt. Elmer then down some random gully until I eventually found a trail.  Got cliffed out and have some bloody shins now.  What an adventure.  I left Nate and Pete not long after Elmer and I beat them back to the truck.  I thought all my wandering in the wilderness would let them get ahead on whatever route they ended up taking.  Must have been worse than my route.  Crazy day.

T-4:30 6k' vert

North Fork of High Creek to Doubletop (9873') then along the ridge to Steep Canyon and down a ravine to the main trail.  Followed that to Shorty's Cutoff over to White Pine and up to Tony Grove. 23 miles

Met the family in TG then hiked with them all over the place. 5 miles Fun day.

Card Canyon Loop into Upper Richards Hollow with Erik

2:12 3300'

Pacing Mike @ Wasatch 100 - 

Big Mountain to Brighton  

Crazy hot out there.  Really messed with Mike, but once things cooled off he picked it back up and was back to his old self.  Lacked the faith but that's normal on these things.  Managed to very nearly break 24 hours.  Oh so close.  24:13 with a few wrong turns right at the end.

I had a blast hanging out with him.  Good stuff.  I might just have to do this race one of these years.  Maybe as soon as next year.

35.5 miles 10 hours 9k' vert

https://www.strava.com/activities/390505227

Green Canyon with Corey and Nathan - 

Easy pace but fun.  Body feels good after a big last week

1:20 or so

Crimson trail from First Dam with Erik - 

Loved it!

AM: Literally ran an errand (7 miles)

PM: Took Jaxon up to Lower Cottonwood for some trail work.  We made it 2 miles total and spend about 75 mins on the trail.  Fun stuff!  Erik and Keegan went much higher and cleared the link up to Jardine Juniper Trail.

AM: Easy 5 around the neighborhoods.

AM2: Picked up Jaxon and we did another 1.5 miles

AM: Hard Effort up Providence Canyon.  Took my Strava CR's back!

Later: Met up with Victor running the TOU Marathon and ran various parts with him.  His first marathon and he broke 5 hours with very minimal training.  He was stoked.

That's about it. Ready for the Bear100 next weekend.  I will do two easy easy runs Mon/Tues then nothing until Friday Morning.  Excited!

2 Easy with Jax

Joined Todd for an easy 5 mile shakeout.  

Bear 100 - 4th Place - 21:05

3rd time is the charm on this race.  First (2012) ended up as a disaster (4 days in hospital), Second was salvageable (23:37), Third was rough, but solid.  Sometimes, you have to be persistant and keep at it!  Record high temps (93 in SLC).  Hottest Bear yet.  I managed to stay on top of it (barely) and could push harder once it cooled off at night.  

Special Thanks to my amazing crew (Beth and Kids) and pacers Keegan, Corey, and Erik!

Gonna put some thoughts down on the blog this week.

Post is now live 

http://trailsnap.blogspot.com/2015/10/bear-redemption.html

Family Hike

Trail work in Cottonwood.  Gotta heal so I can go back and run it now.

2 Miles with Jax

1 Mile with Lily

4 easy road miles

8 miles on Green + Preston Valley Trail to saddle

Starting to feel human again.

2200' vert

2.5 Miles with the kids on green canyon trail - smiles for everyone

Box Elder Peak (9372') from Narrow Canyon (Wellsville) with Mike.  Starting to feel normal again but I was thrashed by the end of this run.  Was probably the 5k' vert

BST + River Trail

Felt good today.  Nearly broke 8 min pace.  It's sad that that is an acomplishment.

850' vert (8:03)

AM: 7.5 In and around Hyde Park Canyon trails.  Good stuff

1800' vert

PM: 2.5 with Jax

AM: 7 easy miles on Canal Trail with Keegan

PM: 8.5 miles on Card Canyon Loop (West to East) 2650' vert

Saddleback Peak at Sunset.  Family is out of town so I went to play (after work).  

64 min round trip 2500' vert

Cottonwood + Mr Elmer (9676') + 7 sisters loop.  

Sweet loop made possible from South Fork of Cottonwood due to the hard work of many individuals contributing to the trail work necessary to clear a runnable trail.  Job well done.  Only a few more miles of work and its perfect.  Erik and I took advantage of his work and had a great time out there.  Beautiful day.

5500' vert 4.5 hours (moving time)

Green

Jardine Juniper via Lower Cottonwood.  Gonna be a classic loop!

Canal With Keegan - 

3x 7 min miles thrown in by Keegan.  I had to just hang on for dear life.  

Moved all day...

Exploring the new digs

1800' vert

AM: 1.5 easy with Jaxon

PM: Ran with Mike around the WD course.  Took Bear Canyon up and ZZ Trail down to Canal then up Molly's to WD Tree.  Down Coyote Ridge to Dry Canyon and home. 8 miles.  2700' vert

3 miles on canal trail then picked up Nathan for 5 more.  We headed around SV hill to Round hill and back.  Pretty easy pace.