Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 10 miles.

PM - Snow hike up Mt. Wire w/ Andrea and Kevin.

A little inversion smog starting to build, but considering the air was clean for all of December (after a gross December last year), no complaints here!

AM - 11 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

Unlike the past three years, I don't really have a firm race schedule as January begins. This feels like 2011 again. The only race I'm registered for at the moment is the Phoenix 1/2, which will likely end up being something of a litmus test. I'm tentatively planning on USA XC in Boulder... I'll need to decide in the next couple weeks.

I love the methodical, incremental marathon buildups like I did leading up to Chicago, but it's hard to do that in the winter... especially if skiing occupies the majority of weekend time (hopefully it will). I want to spend a lot more time on snow in the mountains this winter and spring.

I'll be very fluid with my running - continue to have fun... do workouts / long runs when the weather is good and I feel like it. Depending on where my fitness is, opportunities will come up, and I'll try to capitalize on them. Obviously taking another stab at the OT standard is in the cards, although I'm not certain that is on the immediate horizon - it will more likely be a summer/fall pursuit.

Don't hold me to any of this, except the always have fun part.

AM - 17 mile long run. First dozen w/ Rob and Kevin. Averaged 7:05/mile.

PM - 4 miles.

AM - 8 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

Went up to LCC for a ski tour in the afternoon and skied a few laps off the Pink Pine ridgeline.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

AM - 14 miles. 8 mile AT Tempo in 44:24 (5:33/mi avg). Tempo loop.

PM - Skinned up to the top of Brighton w/ Andrea and Amiee. We saw a shooting star during the ski down... that sidetracked us off the groomed run and into ice moguls, which are always a blast in the dark!

AM - 10 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

PM2 - Skinned up to the top of Brighton with Andrea and Amiee. Another nice evening skiing under the stars.

AM - 20 mile long run. Avg 7:30/mile. Bumped into Devra and ran 5 miles w/ her... very nice to have some company for a while to break it up.

AM - 8 miles.

PM - Ski Tour. We did three laps off Patsy Marley Peak's shoulder into Grizzly Gulch. Snow conditions weren't too bad (the couple inches that fell overnight softened things up a bit). Definitely a low visibility day, so we stayed in the trees.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - 6 miles. Slush mess!

AM - 13 miles.

PM - Ski Tour. Andrea and I left work just early enough to skin up and ski a few laps off the north side of Twin Lakes Pass before sunset. Incredible conditions - 21 inches of snow in 24 hours! I will gladly run in the slush all winter if we have lots more days like this. I am really loving my new skis and I've figured out the European style transitions, so life is good! [More Photos]

AM - 12 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 13 miles. 9 mile AT Tempo in 49:24 (5:29/mile avg). Tempo loop.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

Finally sacked up and registered for the USA Cross Country Championships. An inevitable move since we already had plane tickets. From a performance standpoint, it could be ugly. But on the plus side I'll get a t-shirt and we will get to spend a fun weekend with all of my old housemates from Vail.

AM - Snow Leopard Dash rando/skimo event. Andrea and I were able to demo some Dynafit racing skis/boots, which made this extra fun. I was in the lead pack 30 minutes into the race and waiting to make a move when I had some equipment (skin) malfunction, and since I was on demo gear I didn't have my typical repair kit with me - I ended up having to DNF. Not really a bummer - I learned about a dozen valuable lessons and enjoyed being in the PDG setup. Andrea had some skin failure as well but still managed to finish, win some cash (which symbolically is nice in a sport that is otherwise a giant black hole for money), and then later on she won the raffle for a pair of new racing skis! So I guess that means we're getting into SkiMo for real. Awesome day. Not to mention a nice little post-race ski tour up to Patsy Marley Peak.

PM - 8 miles. Shorts weather... typical mid-January thaw.

AM - 20 mile long run. Avg 7:05/mile. BCC 7-11 / Wasatch loop.

This winter has been very easy for running so far with a noticeable lack of character building weather. Yes, I'm sort of attempting to jinx us.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - Outdoor Retailer / Gore-Tex "Wasatch vs the World" SkiMo race. Fun but humbling. Four lap semi-technical course. I was able to borrow some demo race skis from the Dynafit guys at the last minute, and used my regular AT boots. I was strong on the portions that were based on pure fitness (I guarantee no one ran up the bootpack as fast as I did), but I lost a ridiculous amount of time on the technical parts and transitions (and 5-10 minutes due to a faulty binding on the demo skis). There's a huge learning curve in this sport. It will take lots of practice to start bridging the gap. I'm looking forward to some longer races (ie. Powderkeg) that theoretically suit me better.

In any case Andrea and I are excited about giving SkiMo a shot. We are definitely diving head first into the shark tank right now - but by next year we think we can be competitive (especially as a co-ed team).

Today's race profile. My ideal ski race is 10,000+ feet of climbing with four transitions - not these sprint criteriums!

PS - I think this kind of training/racing is going to be a great boost for my running. Hard efforts, high altitude, and less pounding on the legs. Just figured that was worth mentioning since this page is rapidly turning into Fast Skiing Blog.

AM - 14 miles. Warmed up 2.5 and then went into 11.5 miles at ~90% AT effort (1:05:49, 5:43/mile avg. Target = 5:45). Tempo loop with finish to home. 

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - Skinned up to the top of the Great Western lift at Brighton (x2) w/ Andrea. About 3500' of climbing. The snowcat driver told us that a mountain lion has been wandering around up there for the past couple days. That's something you don't want to see while hiking in the dark! I'd rather see a snow leopard.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - Outdoor Retailer. Worked at PowerBar's booth for a while, then browsed...

Saucony doesn't bring crazy and gimmicks to the show, instead they consistently make the best footwear and apparel. The new Zealots are really impressive.

I liked some of the colors for the Kinvara 6.

PowerBar has some tasty flavors in beta. Gluten full.

I tried not to linger too long or drool too much at Dynafit...

AM - 18 mile long run w/ 10 mile AT Tempo in 54:30 (5:27/mile avg). Tempo loop. 

AM - 8 miles.

Rest of day - Juneuary ski tour in LCC. Up Flagstaff Mountain from the chapel and skied some very slushy slush back down. Then we went up to Cardiff Pass and did a lap into Cardiff Fork. Back up and over the pass and out the way we came.

Beautiful day.

[More Photos]

AM - 13 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

Gonna need to pick up a copy of this book. And get a plane ticket. But at least I'm registered for another marathon.

AM - 13 miles.

PM - Skinned 2650' at Brighton. Apparently I am a giant.

AM - 10 miles. AT Reps: 3-2-1 mile (4/3 min) in 16:14, 10:39, 5:17. Tempo loop.

PM - Skinned 4400' at Brighton.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

AM - 12 miles.

The benefits of skiing uphill (and really slow recovery runs)...

At least that gives me something to work with over the next couple months.

CROWBAR tomorrow!

AM - CROWBAR Ski Race (3:43, ~10 miles, 6100')

PM - 4 miles along Bear Lake.

I'll write a full recap of the race on Wasatch and Beyond in a couple days. I had a really good time as a participant in the event, but as a competitor I didn't do nearly as well as I thought I would, even considering I'm a total rookie at this. For reference, I finished a full hour behind the top female racer!

It was fun, and even if nothing else, a really good workout on a beautiful day in the Bear River Mountains.

Andrea did well. My new adjusted goal for SkiMo is to be able to keep up with her!