Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Back in Salt Lake as of this evening. I will miss not going to work, but I won't miss the heat.

It felt good to be away from the oppressive heat in St. George (although Salt Lake seems to be hotter than I left it), and it feels even better to be back on the trails after being (involuntarily) restricted to the bike path for the last few days.

After oversleeping by nearly an hour, I set out to run the BST. I ran east to west at what I'd describe as 50K intensity--not a relaxed pace, but not an all-out effort. Basically, I run moderate tempo on the climbs and just cruise on the flats and descents. I'd like this to replace Liberty Park as my go-to daily run over the next few months.

1:21:54

AM: I went for another trail run this morning, but I decided to get some more vertical this time. I started by running the BST up the west side before hitting the climb to the ridge in 12:01 (I'm getting faster). From the ridge I continued up the series of three consecutive summits (I wasn't doing much running on this section), eventually topping out at the radio towers. From the towers I retraced my steps back to the mouth of the canyon and then ran the BST up the other side to the meadow. Once at the meadow, I took the dirt road back into the Avenues and then ran the steep pavement descent back home. I finished with just over 10.4 miles.  

1:29:01

PM: Catherine and I ran an easy lap together around the grass at Sugarhouse Park.

 Another morning run on the BST, this time starting up Memory Grove and running the trail west to east. I was noticeably tired today, although the limiter was a lack of energy more than fatigue in the legs. I took it easy as a result, and I'll take it easier tomorrow, avoiding the trails and hills altogether. No need to overdo anything and ruin my chance for a good weekend.

1:30:25

AM: I was surprised to wake up to rain this morning, although I probably wouldn't have been if I had bothered to check a weather report. Anyways, my legs are pretty tired after the last few days, so I decided to take it easy. To and from Liberty park plus two laps on the track for a total of 6 miles.

47:13

PM: Easy 3.5 mile loop up Memory Grove and back home through the Avenues.

27:19

My cousin got married this afternoon, so I took the day off work. Since I had the time, I decided to go for a long run. I had planned a route from the Hogle Zoo to Ensign Peak, but I didn't know if I had that much time. Plus, with my decision to run Speedgoat I decided I should spend more time on the steep climbs. So, I chose to run up Black Mountain to preview the Wahsatch Steeplechase course (and help me decide if I even want to race next weekend).

 I ran up via Memory Grove, and it was rough. Actually, it wasn't too bad, and it was all runable (if you allow for a charitable interpretation of the verb run) up until the last mile before the crags. As for that last mile--wow.

Anyways, I made it as far as the crags, where I sat down, ate a gel and realized I had a lot less time than I had imagined. I quickly retraced my steps back doen the mountain and was home just in time to shower, change, pick Catherine up and drive down to the Timpanogos Temple.

2:21:24

We had to get up a little after 3:00 this morning, so Catherine and I didn't get much sleep last night. But the reason we had to get up so early was so she could run the Utah Valley half marathon, so I'm not complaining. I had fun watching her and the other runners, and I'm glad I was there when Catherine PRed by almost 20 minutes. You can read more about it on her blog.

Because my parents are in town, we went up to my Grandma's house in Bountiful for a family dinner. I decided to multitask while getting my run in, so I ran to Grandma's house. Up through Memory Grove, then out to Bountiful via the Bonneville Shoreline trail. From there it was up and down along Bountiful Boulevard until the pounding descent down 400 North. Fortunately, it ended with a hot shower and a tasty dinner.

1:48:04