Kerry's Running Blog

Left the house about 5:15 am. There was a nearly full moon low in the west, but it was mostly obscured by clouds. Temperature was in the low 70's with fairly high humidity. Warm breeze coming out of the canyon. With the cloud cover it was kind of dark heading up the canyon, but I had my headlight and could still see where I was going. For some reason there was a lot of cars heading up the canyon this morning (around 15 or so). My quads were a little sore on the way up, but not enough to really affect my pace. I turned around at the 9 mile marker and pushed it pretty hard on the way down. Felt a little more tired than usual as I hit the uphill section before the pumping station. Was hot and a little dehydrated when I finished, but felt pretty good over all. No aches or pains to speak of. Average pace was 9:02. 

One of the prettiest mornings in recent memory. There was a full moon in the southwest and Mars and Saturn were just brilliant above Mt. Mahogany. I didn't check the temperature before leaving, but I'd guess it was in the lower 60's. Didn't feel as humid. Kind of started off slow, but got in the groove after a mile or so. Just enjoyed the quiet. Outside of the occasional car, didn't see anyone or anything moving about until I was about a half mile from. home.

Beautiful early morning run with Laureen. With the full moon we were able to leave early and not need a headlamp. Amelia didn't join us as she's been having problems with her knee, but she ended up doing 11 or so while we were gone. We all went out for muffins and smoothies afterwards. All in all, a great start to the day.

Nice warm morning. With the days getting shorter, there's no hint of the coming sunrise at 5:15 am. Saturn and Mars continue to separate above the eastern horizon. No moon this morning, but there's always enough ambient light along the Cedar Hills trails that you can run without a headlamp. I switched it on, however, as I started up AF canyon. Pretty stiff breeze for the half mile or so and just enough to keep you cool after that. A lot of cars heading up this morning, along with quite a few bikers as I was heading down. Passed a young woman on the way back that looked at me like I'd just jumped from behind a bush. She said I scared her and I almost said it was no wonder since she had her ear buds in. I think it's a little dangerous to be so completely unaware of your surroundings. Anyway, a good run all in all. I felt like I pushed a good pace on the way back.

Ran Alpine Days 5K with Amelia (at least I think I ran it with her...she was well out of sight after the first turn). There was a nice turnout for a local race (only cost $5). I was a bit slower than I expected, but I still managed to place first in age group. 

Felt great running in the dark this morning. A sliver of moon came up over Mt. Mahogany just after I left. I nearly fell on my face when I ran into some unexpected construction activity just west of the high school. I had my headlamp on, but it was hard to tell how uneven the ground was. Didn't see another runner, walker or even someone out to get their paper during the whole run. It's now even kind of dark when I get back.

Nice run up AF canyon. It was dark this morning without the moon. I don't usually turn on my headlamp while I'm still on the path, but I nearly ran into a couple of women out for an early walk. At first, all I saw was something dark coming towards me. I thought it might be a big dog, but it didn't bark or make any sound. I was startled enough that I stopped until I could see who or what was coming towards me. I said hi and headed up the canyon. It was quite windy for the first half mile, but it eventually died down. There were probably only a half dozen cars this morning (plus a couple of bikes and one other runner). Felt pretty good over all, but felt a little more wobbly than expected during the last mile.

Quite warm this morning. Mostly cloudy which made it extra dark at 5:15. Didn't feel especially energetic this morning, but I wasn't hurting either. As I came into Highland Glen Park this morning I noticed a white car that was backed into a parking space north of the playground. It's very unusual to see any cars there in the morning. As I was circling the pond I thought I heard some voices, but couldn't see anyone in the darkness. There appeared to be a couple of small lights in the water on the south end of the pond. It was kind of strange, but I just figured that somebody was up early to fish. I was tempted to stop and investigate further, but I couldn't really see that anybody was doing anything wrong. Didn't see anybody the rest of the run. I used to see at least a half dozen people on any given morning. I kind of like having the roads to myself though.

Early morning run with Laureen. The sun didn't catch us until about the last three or four miles. Legs were a little tired on finishing, but quickly recovered. 

There are some mornings where I don't see one other person out and about, but not this morning. I was startled when another runner was coming up the path just east of the pond. I had my headlamp on and pretty much blinded him when I jerked my head up and then when I was about to turn off to the south, he came around again and I almost ran into him. It reminded me of that story from the early 20th Century when the only two cars in a particular mid-western state ran into each other. As I got back into Cedar Hills there were a half dozen others that I passed on the streets and path. I wonder if everyone was just adjusting to their back-to-school schedule. I figure that I'm going to have to get up closer to 4:30 am to finish in time to take Amelia to school at 6:00 am.

I had to drag myself out of the house this morning for some unknown reason. I woke up as usual a little before five and got ready, but I wasn't really feeling anxious to run up the canyon. After the first five or six steps, however, whatever negative feelings I was having disappeared and I could just enjoy pounding along the path in the dark. With the cloud cover I could barely make out the path in places, but I know it so well that I could probably run it with my eyes closed. It was warm and humid as I expected, but was a little disappointed to find that there was essentially no wind coming out of AF canyon. There was a little more traffic than I expected going up the canyon, but I only had to step off the road three or four times on the way down. I was surprised to see another runner coming down the canyon as I was heading up. He must have been up pretty early. I also saw a biker coming up the canyon as I was heading down. There were also a few more people out along the golf course path. All in all I felt pretty good. A few twinges in my left ankle, but my legs didn't really complain.

A few minor aches and pains starting out, but felt pretty good once I got going. Beautiful morning with the stars brighter than I've seen for some time. Temperature in the low 60's. In addition to Saturn and Mars in the east, Orion was lying on his side just above Mt. Mahogany. Sirius came up just as I was heading into Highland Glen Park. I was kind of annoyed that there were more rocks in the road by the bend. I spent several mornings clearing that path. I started pushing the pace on my way back out of the park and felt pretty good. There was a nice breeze coming out of the canyon. 

Early morning run with Laureen. We had to cut it short in order to get back for Amelia's XC meet at AFHS.

Dark, warm and beautiful morning. Stars and planets were extra bright. Left the house a little before 5:00 a.m. My left ankle was just a little sore starting out, but I took it easy for the first half mile or so and it seemed to be OK. Turned my other ankle on the east side of the Highland Glen pond so I decided to turn on my headlamp at that point. Saw two other runners and a couple walking.

Ran up to the Timpanogos Cave sign in AF canyon. There was a nearly full moon in the west, but it was completely obscured by clouds. Very warm morning, but with a nice breeze out of the canyon. Saw a lot of bikers out this morning. Coming down the canyon I mistook several pairs of them for cars as they had very bright headlights. Saw one other runner going up the canyon as I was heading down. Raced a mother and her son on bikes when I got back on the creek trail. A bit dehydrated this morning and suffering a little GI distress.