Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Catherine and I went out for a nice road ride together, as is becoming our Sunday evening routine. My legs feel surprisingly un-sore, but my appetite is out of control.

I went out for an early run with Catherine this morning. We ran to and from Liberty Park, plus one lap, for a total of five miles.

My legs didn't feel too sore, so later in the morning I decided to try the BST for the first time since my injury. I took things easily, but by the time I was up on the ridge I could tell just how tired my legs really were, so I pulled out early and headed straight down Terrace Hills Drive. I had eaten not too long before the run, so in addition to the tired legs I had a sloshy stomach. To be honest, it felt almost exactly like the end of a 50K race. Maybe that's a training idea.

After feeling so tired yesterday, I thought I'd take it easy today. But then my friend Jon asked if I was up for a morning run on the Grandeur Peak loop, and I couldn't resist.

Jon started at his house, so I met him at the trailhead around 6:15. There are two trails to the top--the primary route, and a second trail that joins the main route about a mile from the summit. Neither of us had ever run the latter, so we decided to try it today. The trail is much more mellow at the bottom, but the climb to the main route is extremely steep and loose. In the end, both trails are about the same length, with the secondary route seeming to be only a few hundredths of a mile shorter.

Our pace up the climb was relaxed and conversational, but as the summit came into sight we realized that we could easily break an hour, so we ran the final stretch and topped out in 58:xx. I think it was 58:51, but I wasn't wearing the watch.

From the summit we ran down into Millcreek and onto the Pipeline trail. I decided to let things go and actually run the descent this morning. Seems to have been the right call--I had a blast, and my knee held up nicely.

We ran a few miles on the Pipeline together before Jon headed down Rattlesnake Gulch and back home. I continued along the Pipeline until I hit the game trail that climbs steeply to the ridge. Last time I skipped that section because I was afraid of poison ivy. After being assured that there was nothing to worry about, I decided to climb the ridge today. Unfortunately, I lost the trail for a while and ended up bushwhacking, a recurring theme in my trail runs. Other than plenty of welts from the brush and a brief run-in with what may have been an angry swarm of wood ticks, I made it out onto the ridge, down the treacherous descent on the other side, and back to my car. Not a bad way to start the day.

Once of the things I'll miss most about living in Salt Lake may end up being Grandeur Peak. I love going up mountains--whether running, cycling or skiing--and Grandeur is a doozy. In fact, I doubt there are many trails that offer a greater bang for your buck in terms of climbing. And I the view from the top is just a bonus.

I was sore and tired after yesterday's run, but I was still hoping to break 50 minutes. And I did, posting a 49:25, my fastest time by just over a minute. It's still slower than the leaders at the Fun Run, and about 10 minutes slower than the fastest time I know of. But it's a step in the right direction, and I'm sure I could go faster with fresh legs.

Now back to packing . . .

PM: Went out for a late-night mile or so with Catherine. It felt good to shake the legs out.

Catherine and I went for an easy PM run on the Pipeline trail. We saw a rattlesnake on the side of the trail on our way back. Actually we both heard the snake. I made eye contact, but Catherine never actually saw it. She was a little startled, though. As was I.

I decided to keep with this week's Grandeur Peak theme this morning. I left my car at the mouth of Millcreek Canyon (because I'm cheap and didn't want to pay three bucks to park at the trailhead) and then ran up to the Rattlesnake Gulch trailhead. I was feeling pretty worked on the climb up the gulch, but I feel better about that now knowing that the trail climbs a little over 600 feet in 0.7 miles, which is reasonably stiff. 

At the top of the gulch, I picked up the Pipeline. This was the easiest part of my run, and I felt pretty good as I cruised along in the high 7s and low 8s for a couple of miles until I reached the Grandeur Peak trail.

I've run down this trail many times but I've never run  up it, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Unfortunately, the trail kicked my butt and although I ran most of it, I ended up hiking more than I would have liked. From the back side, the Grandeur Peak trail climbs 2200 feet in 2.7 miles, which is certainly steep, but with the possible exception of the last half mile there isn't anything on it that shouldn't be runable. At least, not if you're feeling good. Which I wasn't.

I'll have to try it again sometime.

I left my car planning to run this as an out and back, but early on I started thinking about running it as a loop. At the top, I decided the loop was the way to go and I set off down the west side of Grandeur. Which, I don't think I need to remind anyone, is steep. Steep enough that even at a quick pace I was only running 11:37 per mile. The descent is tough, but I do like it, and I think it's a great way to prepare the quads for long descents late in a race.

On the fire road a couple of hundred feet from the bottom, I almost stepped on a rattlesnake that was out sunning itself. But it didn't rattle at me, so maybe it was something else, or maybe it was dead. Either way, it startled me. I hate snakes.

From the park at the bottom of the climb it was just under two miserable miles back to the car. Miserable because I was on a busy road, miserable because it was getting hot, miserable because I had rocks in my shoes and miserable because I drank a ton of water at the park and upset my stomach. But the miles went by quick enough and soon I was back at my car. I dunked myself in the stream, which felt great, and then it was back home to pick up the U-Haul and keep packing.

Ah, the packing . . . where did we get so much stuff?

PM: An easy mile with Catherine put me at 50 miles for the first time since my knee injury. Result!

My parents were in town this weekend, and while here they decided to ride the ULCER. (That's "Utah Lake Century Epic Ride." Easily one of the worst event names ever.) I rode the century a couple of times back in the day, but not since I started racing. And has hard as I try, I can't completely suppress my inner elitist at these events. But it was a lot of fun, and I was glad I got to ride with Catherine.

My parents were riding the 111-mile option, but Catherine and I decided to stick to 60, considering that Catherine has only ridden 4 or 5 times this year, with a long ride of 26. In fact, considering that I thought the 60 seemed a little ambitious. But it went great, we finished faster than expected, and Catherine discovered that not only does she like riding in packs, she's good at it, too. She also discovered that, no, she can't knock me of my bike and it's probably best not to try.