What an adventure! With the temperature around 50 degrees today, and a forecasted high of 30 and snow tomorrow, I decided to run long today. I was up for a little bit of an adventure so I decided to run the Bonneville Shoreline trail over to the base of the trail to the "Y" on Y Mountain. I had the notion to maybe actually run up the Y trail. I've been wanting to do it for a while. One of my most memorable long runs was in 1982 (I was 22) when I ran from my hometown of Springville to Provo, up the trail to the "Y", and then back home. That was my peak marathon year, when I ran St. George in 2:52. Today I started by running the 1.5 miles from work to State St. at about 8:00/mi. I then slowed as I climbed up to the Bonneville Shoreline trail. The trail was in good shape and I moved easily along at an easy long run pace. There were a couple of forks along the way where I wasn't sure which way to go, but I ended up at the parking lot at the base of the Y trail. It turns out it's about 4.6 miles from work, pretty close to what I measured on Google Earth. There are permanent restrooms there so I decided to make a pit stop. The toilet flushed, but the water to the outside fountain had apparently been turned off for the winter. I read the history of the "Y" on a monument, and then decided to go for it. The trail is very steep. There are a series of 6 switch backs of varying length that climb about 1100 feet in just over a mile. I was quickly reminded of the Ragnar and "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" legs of the Wasatch Back Relay, but this was maybe even harder. I soon realized I would not be able to run to the top without stopping. I stopped various times on my way to the top. I didn't walk. I would stop, catch my breath, enjoy the beautiful views of Utah Valley, and then press on. I think the thinner air made it more difficult to catch my breath, but maybe it was simply exhaustion. Nearer the top I ran into a little snow and mud, but it was passable. The last little bit was especially steep, but I finally made it to the top. I stood exultant with arms raised in victory at the top of the "Y". I quickly discovered the trip down wasn't going to be all that easy. I had to step carefully to not slip on the mud, snow, rocks, or steep inclines. My average pace going up was 15:11/mi (not counting the stops), and going down it was 14:26/mi (no stops). It felt good to be back running on the relative flatness of the Bonneville Shoreline trail again, for a couple of miles at least. At that point I apparently took the high road when I should have taken the low road and ended up on a very narrow, and then steep, deer trail. I eventually made it back down to the main trail, but not without some hill sliding and filling my shoes (and one of my socks) with dirt and tiny gravel. After cleaning out my shoes and sock I continued the run back to work. It was hard getting going again. My legs were very heavy. I had to stop at the light at State Street. While waiting, I decided I wanted to finish as strongly as I could. I set my goal at an 8:00/mi pace for the last 1.5 miles, the first half of which involved crossing too railroad overpasses. When the light changed I started off with focus and determination. As I was crossing one of the overpasses I heard a brief honk but I was too tired to look so I pressed on. As I reached the base of the second overpass my average pace was exactly 8:00/mi with 3/4 of a mile of level road to the finish. I decided not to look at my watch again. I would simply try to focus and maintain form to the finish, trying to hang on. When I finished I was pleased to see that I had averaged 7:57/mi for the last 1.5 miles, 3 seconds faster than my goal. It was a minor victory, but a victory nonetheless. One reason we run is because it feels so good when we stop. It sure felt good today! My run lasted 2.5 hours, and I only went about 11.5 miles, but it was still a great run. Who would have thought I would finally achieve my goal of running to the top of the "Y" again in the middle of December during my (rather long) lunch hour. What made it even better, was that the honk I had heard was from Larry, my neighborhood running buddy. He called me just after I got back to my office to say he had seen me, and that it looked like I was running strong. That gave me the opportunity to tell him all about my recent adventure. | 