Slowly Getting Faster

First I want to say that I did this run at the last minute.  I had planned on doing a run on the road up city creek but the weather was so nice I decided to hit a trail. Because I planned on running the road I only had road shoes, which made me sort of nervous.  I tried to run a trial in my Altra Instincts a while back and didn't really like the experience very much.  Apparently, that was due to my inexperience both with running in general and running trails in particular.  In the last month or so I have logged a lot more trail miles and today the instincts were great, even on the dirt and mud.  The only real difference I noticed is that there is slightly less protection underfoot and the traction on the snow isn't nearly as good as it is with the Lone Peaks.

I started at the trail head on 18th ave and Hilltop rd. with the goal of reaching what I assume are the twin peaks up sort of behind the U.  I have never taken this trail before and I knew that at most intersections I had to go up, if there was a directional choice.  Turns out I didn't need to do this the whole way but now I will know for next time. The up portion of the run had some mud, snow and ice on it still, not to mention the occasional small stream comming out of the snow, which I had to get around.  It was pretty fun and technical. I made it to the top of the first twin then the second, then I dropped off the top of the second comando style and hit the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and followed that back to the car.  Without the snow, ice and mud, and without the steep hills to climb, I was able to move pretty quickly even for a trail.  I managed at a couple of places to get my pace below a 7 minute mile, and sustained a 7 minute mile pace in a couple of places. 

This was supposed to be an easy run so I only went that fast when it felt good to run that fast but the rest of the time I moved at a comfortable pace.  I'm sure I could get my average pace down in the future.

AP: 12:20, Vert: 1,483' 

This was a tough run.  I did Flag Rock again but I should have probably waited another day.  I think that the trail run yesterday, my lack of nutrition this morning, the wind at my face, and my lack of sleep last night made my legs feel like lead weights.  I managed to run up the part of the trail that starts to get steep just off the fire break road then it was slow going to the top.  

At the outset I had decided that I was going to see what the trial off the north side was like.  It was still snowy and mostly just a pain in the butt. I will have to wait another month to try it again I think. That said, I finally know what that trail looks like and where it goes.  In the places that I could actually see the trail it looked really nice, although those places were few and far between. This route was initially dubbed, by the city of Farmington, as a 10k, but as it turns out it is 7.25 miles with 1,900 feet of elevation gain.  The rock isn't even the highest point. It took me a long time to navigate the back side of the mountain due to snow, my 4th mile clocked in at just over a 35 minute pace, but once I got back on dry ground it was a nice trail to the bottom. Over all, not as much fun as yesterday. 

What I learned: I need to eat before I go, even if it is just a peanut butter sandwich and I need to space out my trail runs by a day or so in order to keep my legs fresh.  That said, I'm glad I know where that trial is and what it looks like.  Now I can prepare for July. For those interested here is the course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/157625902

I did two runs today, although the second one was a slow jog for about half of it. The first run was a lunch-time run on the BST starting at hilltop and 18th ave again.  This time I just stuck to the BST instead of trying to summit any peaks.  My original plan was to go all the way to the U, but that was cut short in favor of finding a bathroom and keeping my pants relatively clean.  For some reason I've had stomach problems all day today. I tried to keep the pace easy as I wanted this to be a sort of recovery jog and at the end I felt really good, which is why I did the second run today. 

 First run: 6.19 miles: AP: 10:33; Vert: 1,174'

The second run was with MattVH up Centerville peak.  This is a steep hill and despite starting off feeling good I got my trash kicked by VH all the way up and down this mountain. I did manage to run (or rather slowly jog) almost the entire trail (when it wasn't snow covered) which made me pretty happy.  The trip back down was a brutal quad pounding, much more serious than Flag Rock, that has left my legs feeling a bit jelly-rific. For those interested here is the link to the trail: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/158031264

Second Run: 4.92 miles (if my garmin is to be believed) AP: 14:23; Vert: 1,844 

Flag Rock run with VH. He is still killing me on those up hills. I'm hoping its because of my weekly milage and not just because I'm a wuse. 

AP: 12:32; Vert: 1,700' 

I resisted the urge to run to the track and do speed work today.  I haven't done any in a long time but I'm trying to build my base and don't want to stress the legs or feet out too much until I can comfortably run 50 or more miles a week.  I'm not there yet. 

This was the longest run I have done in several months.  I have run more miles in a single day more than once in the past couple of weeks, but I haven't run this many miles all at once in a long time. It was fairly taxing.  The wind didn't help either. It was in my face for the whole 5.25 miles out, which I think made me slower than I would have been.  I also noticed the extra push going up some of those hills on the way back, which was nice.

My original plan was to take the BST over to Centerville peak trailhead and then, if I felt up to it, run up to the top and back. That would have made the trip just over 15 miles. In retrospect I'm glad I didn't do the peak. My feet were a little sore by the time I got over there and I didn't want to push it an end up hurt.  Since the plan was to get at least 10 miles in I just turned around and came back.  One day I will run over there and conquer the mountain but not today.

The "trail" over there is pretty much a road and there were plenty of jerky motorcross bikers out kicking up dust, which pisses me off.  I flipped a couple of them off but they didn't seem to notice or care. I probably shouldn't pick fights when I'm already tired but is it really to much to ask for some common courtesy? 

AP: 10:40; Vert: 1,649'