Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 11 miles. Zion Pa'rus trail and some meandering in Springdale (4 w/ Andrea).

Started in Zion and finished the day at Bryce Canyon. The weather was even warmer than yesterday. Certainly a well-timed trip!

AM - 8 miles. Bryce Canyon Rim Trail (4 w/ Andrea) and then back to Ruby's. This is one of my all-time favorite runs.

We did a hike into the amphitheatre... like I said on Saturday, its so cool to see someone's initial reaction when they get immersed in the Bryce Canyon fantasyland.

PM - 4 miles. Had to stretch the legs out after driving back to SLC.

AM - 8 miles.

PM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 8 miles at a quick pace (5:35/mile avg). That's getting down to bold font territory.

PM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 5 miles. Last mile faster (5:14).

AM - 6 miles. Saltair 5K - 15:23 (4:57, 5:07, 5:01, 0:17). 

I was dragging from a (mentally) tiring week at work, so I was thinking I'd shoot for 5:10-5:15 pace. But I ended up feeling alright and I'm pleased that I can run ~5:00 pace on a solo effort. It would be interesting to see what I could do with someone challenging me (Andrea was 2nd place overall)... although on the flip side I'm not really motivated to push myself any harder at this point.

The course was a touch short (start/finish line was moved up a bit compared to the winter series, not sure why) but I would have been in the mid-15:30s, which I feel pretty good about. A few months ago my lungs almost exploded after running a 5:43 mile, so there's been some major improvement in health and fitness this fall!

AM - 10 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 10 miles.

AM - 6 miles w/ 5 x MLH.

PM - 4 miles.

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 6 miles crisp (5:34/mile avg).

PM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 5 miles.

PM - 5 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 4 miles.

PM - 6 miles. USATF XC 5K - 16:22 (4:55, 5:10, 5:15, 1:02). Kiwanis Park, Provo. Standard 2 up / 1 down w/ Andrea.

Ran in second place and just got towed along for pretty much the whole way. A young kid took the first kilometer out fast, and then I ran behind Riley the rest of the way. I halfheartedly made the attempt to pass him with about a mile to go, but quickly realized I don't have the racing grit for that kind of thing and he immediately gapped me again. It was really nice to have a couple guys pull me along at a good pace, though.

I'm happy with (and honestly a bit surprised by) my current fitness level - I should have a shot to finally win the turkey trot in Connecticut if I can get myself to dig a little deeper (easier said than done).

Splits are Garmin-certified.

AM - 10 miles w/ Andrea.

PM - 5 miles.

AM - 8 miles.

AM - 5 miles.

PM - 9 miles w/ 5 x MLH.

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

AM - 8 miles at a robust pace (5:36/mile avg).

PM - 5 miles.

AM - 5 miles.

PM - 5 miles.

AM - 14 miles. Snuck into the girls run w/ Andrea, Allie, Devra, and Nan. My hair is long enough now where I can fit right in.

PM - Just couldn't wait any longer. Went up to Brighton and skinned a lap w/ Andrea and Amiee [1750']. Good to be back on skis... hopefully we'll be on snow until July!

AM - 7 miles w/ Andrea, Allie, Abby, and Rob. 

PM - Skinned 1.5 laps at Brighton w/ Andrea and Amiee [2650']. So warm up there. The mid-afternoon sun at 10K feet is a glorious thing.

PM2 - 5 miles w/ 5 x MLH.

I love running and I love skiing and I especially love the days when we get to do both.

AM - 7 miles.

PM - 7 miles.

AM - 5 miles.

PM - 5 miles w/ Andrea. Fast mile to finish (4:59).

AM - 4 miles w/ Andrea. Wolfe Park rail trail.

Newtown Turkey Trot - 16:01 (5:22, 4:58, 5:05, :36) - 2nd place.

We decided to go back to Newtown this year because it has a one mile walk option which was better for half of the family crew. This is a pretty tough course and typically competitive race. I told Andrea beforehand that I needed to be in the lead at the top of the big hill or else there was no way I'd have a chance to win. I ended up being about 10 seconds back at that point (one mile mark) so my prediction was on the money (winner ran 15:47), but I pulled away from the rest of the pack and managed to hold off another guy by a couple strides in the final kick to finish second. I was only ~10 seconds off my time from 2012 when I was taking this business a bit more seriously - so overall a pretty good effort on a cold (24 degrees!) morning. My toes were numb... that's getting down to ski boot weather.

Andrea won the women's race (easily) and our family (Mary's Gobble Gobblers) actually won the team competition!!! We won lots of pies and gave them all away before heading back to my aunt's house for a full day of hot tub and sauna.

AM - 7 miles w/ Andrea. Wolfe Park trails.

PM - 5 miles.

Cow Chip XC - 16:19 - 1st place

The next town over from my aunt's house has been doing this low-key cross country race on Thanksgivng weekend for 20 years. I stumbled across it on the internet a few weeks ago and decided that I had to check it out since we didn't have to head back to JFK until the afternoon.

The course was typical high school xc - loops around fields, trail through the woods for a while, and even had a stone wall jump. There wasn't any competition (except for a guy on a mountain bike who couldn't really keep up) and I had a good time running. Taking three straight nights of partying into account and the fact that I wore my biggest/cushiest shoes, this may have been my greatest "adjusted" performance of all-time :-) And I finally notched a win in Connecticut!

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AM - 7 miles w/ Andrea.

PM - Skinned 3 x GW at Brighton [5200']. Last weekend felt like summer skiing, but today definitely felt like winter skiing.

AM - 5 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

PM2 - Not allowed to do anything, apparently.

PM3 -  Impromptu 1.5 miler home from the grocery store to get my jeep + jump-starter and rescue Andrea. The jeep wasn't the dead car - a Christmas miracle!