Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

AM: A bit of a mixed workout this morning. I ran to the gym as a warm up and then did a little easy running on the treadmill to even out the miles. Then I ran 20 minutes (two miles) at a ten percent grade, took a quick water and bathroom break, and then ran 20 more minutes on the ten percent grade. I ran the first ten minutes of the second set at 10:00, and picked up the pace slowly over the next ten minutes to finish at 9:00. After that I ran an easy mile before throwing in a 6:00 mile and then cooling down. 

PM: Catherine wanted to run again, so I went to the gym with her for a couple of easy miles in the Cardio Cinema. Twenty minutes of the Incredible Hulk and we didn't even see the Hulk, let alone any smashy-smashy. What a rip off.

I ran to the gym this morning, rounded out my ten miles on the treadmill, then drove home with Catherine. I threw in about four 6-minute miles along the way (I wanted to do my repeats faster, but the old treadmill in the Cardio Cinema wouldn't go any faster). Anyways, I'm now past 2,000 miles for the year, which is at least 1,950 miles more than I ran last year. 

PM:  I went with Catherine to the gym tonight and ran a little more. I also hopped off the treadmill for a second but forgot to turn it off. It was very surprising when I tried to get back on. Now I have an owie on my shin.

It seems like lately all of my runs have been on the trail or on the treadmill, so it was a nice change of pace to get out on the road this evening. I ran my Slate Canyon loop, and I ran it a bit more quickly than usual. I wasn't pushing, I just felt fast--probably because I've been doing most of my running on the trail and on the treadmill.

47:38

Catherine left for Baltimore this morning, so I skipped the morning run so I could be around to see her off. I got out for a good trail run after class this afternoon instead. Little Baldy to Dry Canyon and then back on the BST. It was muddy and sloppy near the top, but the route was great: more than 3,000 feet of climbing, runnable every step of the way; a steep and treacherous descent at the top followed by a fast and scenic descent at the bottom; and a nice rolling singletrack return to the parking lot. Just about perfect.

1:34:35

AM: Easy out and back on the BST. It was pretty cold, even though I got a later start.

When Jun and I ran Squaw Peak a few weeks ago, he said something about how he wasn't interested in the west side of Timp because to him, Timp meant the run to the summit. So I'd like to start this by saying Jun, don't limit yourself. Those hills are full of all kinds of awesome.

This morning I started at the same trailhead in Orem I've been using to access Little Baldy. From there I ran north on the BST into Pleasant Grove and then climbed up the Grove Creek trail, which was absolutely amazing. From the top of the canyon, I traversed a mountain meadow and then ran a gradual descent towards Battle Creek. I started climbing again up to Big Baldy Pass, and then descended Dry Canyon back to the BST, which took me back to the car.

I don't think the weather will allow access to the trails east of Orem for much longer, but I can't wait to explore more of them next year.

My Garmin said just under 16 miles, but according to the website I found the route on it should have been close to 18. I guess that means that either the website was wrong, or I once again stopped my watch and forgot to restart it. I guess I won't find out which until I find my dock and upload the report.

Now, off to the law library.

2:36:37