Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

AM: I'm sticking with the early run plan, even though most days I'd rather stay in bed. I feel like I can squeeze so much more into a day when my run is over by 6:00. Today I ran up Y Mountain for the first time in a couple of weeks. My legs were a little heavy as I started, but they had warmed up nicely by the time I reached the trailhead. Still, I was pretty slow up to the Y today--15:52, and that doesn't include the time I stopped the clock for an unscheduled nature break about halfway up. That's about a minute slower than my fastest time, and my fastest time didn't feel particularly fast. I guess I'd better do this more so my legs don't forget how to go up mountains.

The descent was painfully slow. It was still well before sunrise, so all I had to light the way was a little headlamp. The problem is that there are little irrigation gutters cut across the trail at irregular intervals all the way down, and the headlamp allows for very little depth perception, so the gutters are almost impossible to see. I picked my way down in 10:08, but it only takes a little more than seven minutes in the daylight.

By the time I hit the bottom I was afraid I wouldn't be home in time to see Catherine off, so I decided to finish with a tempo run. I averaged a 6:05 pace and finished the last 3.15 miles in 19:12, arriving home just in time to drive Catherine to the bus stop. Of course, the bus driver decided he wasn't actually going to stop at the stop, so I got to chase him down and make sure Catherine got on at the next stop. Very exciting.

1:11:50

PM: Four more easy miles at the Cardio Cinema. 2012 was on tonight. I didn't pay much much attention, and I don't think I missed much, either.

31:20

AM: I ran an easy three laps around the Towne Centre, 5.2 miles total.

36:08

PM: Another five miles at the gym. Catherine and I timed our workout to coincide with the series premier of Running Wilde. It's not that it wasn't funny, but it's no Arrested Development. I don't think I'll watch the next episode. Of course that's what I said about Community last year. Speaking of which, guess what's on on Thursday . . .

I ran up Y Mountain again, slower than last time (17:05). There was a walk break in there, too. I think a little rest today and tomorrow will do me good.

It's easy to feel slow and out of shape on Y Mountain. I have to keep reminding myself how steep it is.

1:14:55

AM: Went for an easy 3 mile run to help me wake up. My Launches are now past 500 miles.

22:40

PM: Five easy miles at the gym. We misread the schedule and missed the Community season premier, but at least we caught The Office.

While looking for good trail runs closer to home, I came across this route and decided to try it as a loop from our apartment. It was a beautiful run, especially once I got past the Y and into Slide Canyon (if you're anything like me, you had no idea it had a name). The singletrack winds up and down through the trees in the Canyon, and with the leaves changing color it's really something to see. The trail tops out in a meadow near the top of the mountain and then descends down mostly rock-strewn doubletrack through Slate Canyon. It's good to know there's such a nice trail near our house. Even better, tt seems like there are several more trails back there. Of course, my busy schedule and the fact that the weather is about to change means I won't have much time to explore this year.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel great today. My lungs felt shallow, and by the time I reached the Y I had a pounding headache. Naturally, there was a lot more hiking and a lot less running than I would have liked. I think I likely felt as I did because I'm a little behind on my sleep and my eating, but after reviewing my GPS report it's possible that I felt bad because the trail is actually a lot steeper than it looked when I was on it.

2:06:18

I wound up with a longer run than expected this morning.

After yesterday's run, I was feeling good about the possibilities around here. I almost went out to run the same course this morning, but I decided I owed it to myself to explore some new routes. I had just about decided to run from South Fork to Windy Ridge, but then I decided to try a point to point from Vivian Park to Provo. Catherine dropped me off at the park, and my plan was to follow the Squaw 50 course to Rock Canyon Campground, from where I'd descend to the mouth of Rock Canyon and then follow the roads to Gold's Gym, hopefully just in time to meet Catherine as she finished her run. Based on the Squaw 50 course description, I was planning on 11-12 miles tops (although in retrospect, my calculations may have been wrong from the start).

Naturally, I got lost, and I got lost soon. I'm not sure where I went wrong, but it must have been somewhere between miles 2 and 3. From the BST I was supposed to begin climbing a series of trails that would criss-cross the Squaw Peak road and pass through Hope Campground on the way to the Squaw Peak summit. Instead, I ran the BST all the way around the front of the mountain before running up the downhill MTB runs to the lookout and then following the dirt road to Rock Canyon Campground. I ended up reaching Hope somewhere between 7.5 and 8 miles (instead of 5.5 on course) and Rock Canyon at a little over 13 (instead of 10.8 on course). Plus, I missed a lot of singletrack, because once I was off course I didn't want to risk getting lost.

By the time I reached the mouth of Rock Canyon, I was pretty beat. Fortunately, my sister's house was less than a mile away (and almost entirely downhill), so I went there and called Catherine for a bailout. She picked me up and we went to J Dawgs. Sweet.

My Garmin ended up with 17.4 miles in 2:27:32. I accidentally stopped my Garmin for a bit when I first picked up the BST, but I don't think I missed any more than half a mile, if even that.

It's amazing how big and beautiful the mountains behind Provo are, and I plan to spend more time back there. I'd like to get to know the entire Squaw 50 course, but after today I think I may need to find someone who's run it before to guide me.