Ultra Trail Runner

AM core work plus heavy lifts, 50 minutes (squats, box step ups, hamstring curls, lunges) Back felt crappy after lifts, getting worse as day progressed- left SI joint? Saw chiropractor after work,  then did my workout outside, 2 mile warm-up, 2×1 mile with seven minute rest-half mile jog with a potty break-then the rest easy running home. All on the Greenbelt. Mile one time was 6:38, mile two time was 6:31.  Heart rate was 160 after the 1st mile, 166 after the second. Depressing to be so slow right now-but over time I will get my speed back! 

Easy run, nice to feel the heat (30 degrees outside, woo hoo!) 

Iron core in the morning-in the evening, 2 mile warm-up, 2×1 mile down hill repeats, from the top of Lincoln Road to the bottom. Easy jog back up, trying to take really short, quick strides.  Each downhill repeat was, comfortably hard, 615 per mile. It was dark, slippery, and rainy. Just wanted the chance to give my legs a little bit of pounding. About a 2 mile cooldown, 7 miles total. Saw the chiropractor right before my run, back hurt during the day,  doesn't seem to hurt when I run though. 

eell deserved and planned-for day of rest :)

AM did Circuit training workout. PM had a crazy trail run. Right foot hurts, in the ball of the foot- it hurt yesterday too. Maybe bruised it during iron core or on downhill repeats? Anyway today was slow, through a ton of off-trail stuff with snow and 2200 feet of elevation gain: time was 2:37. See today's run description below: Here's a little Idaho Falls trail-running bedtime story for you all: This afternoon  at about 430, I set out on a little adventure in the Ammon foothills. I parked off of Sunnyside Road, and I had no plan, except that I wanted to go somewhere I had never gone before. Very quickly, I realized that I was going to be breaking my own trail through 4 to 10 inches of snow for much of the route. The going was slow, and I was heading uphill for most of the early stage of the run. I opted to listen to some music-something I almost never do-and just as the sun began to set over the city, the most beautiful instrumental song came on my playlist, and perfectly matched the moment! It was pretty cool to feel like a soundtrack was playing specifically for me. From this point on, however, the run pretty much went downhill. I unfortunately mean that figuratively, not literally, because truly the beautiful series of my run would prove to be over at this point. As the sun went down, it began to get much colder, so much that my belly began to get quite chilled. I quickly improvised a way to warm up my tummy by pulling my running pants up as high as they would go-offering more insulation for my belly, but also not being super comfortable in other places, in addition to looking ridiculous, not that I cared about fashion at the moment. As I reached the crest of a hill, I saw something moving ahead-And I was able to snap a couple of shots of an enormous Porcupine before it scurried away. At that moment, my phone died due to the diminishing temperatures. I kept running through the foothills, finding deeper and deeper snow, and also noticing a lot of animal tracks. After about 5 1/2 miles, I realized I was next to an unknown road, so I opted to run on the road for a little break from the tough trails. After turning around and getting back on the trail, I had not gone far when I heard the most bone chilling sound-The longest and most frightening wolf howl I could ever imagine. Like, straight out of a Discovery Channel or National Geographic documentary! My first instinct was to pick up the pace, but with my heart-rate already spiking due to adrenaline and fear, I soon realized that moving faster was probably not my best option. I elected instead to stay as calm as possible, and begin building up my courage to fight back against anything that might want to mess with me. I also began praying-I know that not everyone believes in God, but I do believe that hearing that sound, in the dark, alone, will make most people want to pray to something or someone!I began telling myself that there been no documented cases of a wolf attacking a human in Idaho-but then there was also a little voice inside of my head saying, "Has there ever been someone stupid enough to do what I am doing right now? Running alone, in the foothills, in the dark, in the dead of winter?" With these thoughts pressing in, and half expecting to be taken down from behind at any moment, I focused all my energy on finding my tracks in the snow, and checking my GPS often to ensure that I didn't get lost. Creating a few more rolling hills brought me closer and closer to civilization- And as I had not heard another howl since the first terrifying instance, I figured I was not being pursued. Arriving at my truck was a relief, to put it mildly! I have learned a valuable lesson or two from this adventure-- Primarily, I probably shouldn't go up there alone, in the night-time. That being said... Anyone up for an adventure in the foothills sometime soon? :)

Strength run in the snow with a great group of 8 idaho falls trail runners, up to the lower palisades lake. I was definitely feeling my long adventure from the previous evening! Including breaks (numerous) and our bouts of walking/trudging up snowy trails, our total time was close to 3 hours. My right foot seems to still be hurting in the same place (ball of foot)