Summit junkie!

Lake Mountain double with several Wasatch Mt. Wranglers:

Rad posted this run on the WMW page and it sounded like fun, so I joined the early group at 5:00 AM for round one up to the summit and back. I ran about 95% of the first lap with Jennilyn, Neasts and Zac, with Cherri, Matt, Craig and Brent a little ways behind us. We werent really fast because of the new snow, but the effort was good. We had a nice chat all the way up. Above the saddle the top of the mountain was enveloped in a really cold and wet cloud. The temperature dropped like a rocket and visibility was really bad, so when we got to the summit I was totally turned around.

I ran down pretty fast with Jennilyn and we made really good time until she slipped on the ice and fell with about 50 yards to go. We were the first to get back to the cars where we met about 10 others that were going to go up for their first lap. We waited for the rest of the crew to get down and while I was in my car getting a quick bite to eat the group left, so I hurried and downed two stinger waffles and some Gatorade, so I could get going. I was about two minutes behind the main group and I never caught back up to them. After about 5 minutes I caught up to Rad and the two of us ran/hiked the rest of the way up and back together. We had a really good chat and I enjoyed the climb, except for the rednecks on 4-wheelers that kept going back and forth blowing their exhaust in our faces and turning up the track. UGH! We both threw a few choice words under our breath, but it was also pretty funny too.

We didn't stay long at the top and took it much easier on the way back down, but we still had a decent pace all the way back to the cars. It was a really fun morning.

Weights at the gym for an hour, working my upper body.

Ave Twin Peaks from I Street solo:

It was a lot colder than I thought it would be out there, but wasn't terrible. I had some really good music on the iPod and just had a really fun cruise up the mountain. That is until I got attacked by a couple of huge poodles that were jumping up on my very aggressively. I was about to punch one of them in the face and the owner finally yelled at them, but never said sorry. ??? Up on the ridge there was a cold breeze and I ran as much of it as I could, but this snow recently is so powdery and doesn't pack in at all, so there was a lot of sliding around. I hit the peaks, checked my email and then cruised back down. I went the longer way back to the car to get more distance and really enjoyed it.

Ave Twin Peaks from I Street solo:

The sun wasn't out today and it was a touch cooler than yesterday but otherwise the run was very similar, although I ran a little faster today. The trail conditions aren't great, but passable up high on the ridge and that slowed me some. I think I finished about 15 minutes faster than yesterday because I didn't take as many breaks and I only stayed on the summit for about 20 seconds.

Highland Alpine loop solo:

It was a crazy week and I was busier than ever. I barely had time to run this loop from my house.

Highland Alpine loop from my house:

I took advantage of a small window of good weather on this very wet Sunday. I had to shed my jacket after mile two because it was so warm. Blasted some good ol hits from the eighties on my ipod and got it done.

Ave Twins from I Street with MattW:

This run was weird. We started with sun and warm temps and finished with cold weather, snow and sleet. We both wore shorts and felt great until we popped out onto the ridge. We have been taking a slightly longer route to the Twins from the BST and I really like it because there is more running. The summit ridge and peaks were COLD, so we weren't up there long. The view was great though with no inversion or gunky air. We were both pretty cold when we got off the ridge and then the snow started falling for the last 10 minutes and it was crazy becuse the rest of the valley was pretty clear without clouds. The trail was extremely sloppy today. Slush and mud.

Ave Twins and City Creek Canyon run with Tara, MattW, MVH, Craig and Jennilyn:

This was a very fun group and we had a sweet run up to the Ave Twin Peaks. Oh wait, it was sweet after we made it through the first half mile of really icy conditions on the trail. At one point I had to hang onto Matt Williams as he assisted me over the solid ice. We enjoyed some really good chatting and laughs and hit the peaks where we enjoyed the view and a few more laughs. On the run back down I broke out my spikes and let Tara wear them until we hit the real icy stuff and then she kindly gave me one back and we both made it all the way down without ending up on our butts. I'm not sure how we did it. I was planning on a double with Jennilyn, but she didn't want to go back up the choppy trail, so after changing my shoes and eating some chocolate chip cookies, we took off back up the road.

The run up the canyon road was actually a lot of fun and we held a steady running pace about 5 miles up. The road wasn't plowed beyond that point and the track in the snow was really bad, so we just turned around and ran back down the canyon to the cars. We had some good conversation and had a great time.

#YOLO #Wheelhouse #prostateexam #summitpee #seethroughtights

Weights at the gym for an hour and hit booty bootcamp after.

Highland loop solo:

I left the house with the weather calm and the temperature warm. About two miles in the wind picked up and when I hit the Murdock Canal trail a huge limb was ripped from a tree and landed a few feet off of the trail about 20 yards in front of me. I fought the strong wind all the way to 6000 W. and then went south to get out of it.

The Wedge overlook at the San Rafael Swell group run:

This is the third year in a row that we have done this run. Two years ago it was just me, MattW, CraigL and MVH, but today we had 18 awesome folks with us to tackle the Wedge. The trail conditions were nearly perfect and the temps were mild.

We ran in a large group to the aid stop at mile 9 and then Jennilyn and Craig put some distance on everyone else. I ran from that point to mile 27 with Chris Pope, Trent P. and MattW. We had a really good time telling stories and talking about ultra running. I felt great all day. My legs were strong and my energy excellent.

At mile 27 Jennilyn was laying on the side of the trail not feeling well. She has been suffering with some stomach flu for a few days and it caught up with her. She is one tough cookie, so I knew she must be feeling like crap. I gave her a Tylenol which seemed to help and Matt and I walked with her for about a mile until she felt better. We ran it in taking a short cut that ended up cutting off a few miles, but that was ok with all of us. At the finish we had a BBQ and hung out as the rest of the crew came in. It was an excellent adventure.

Booty bootcamp with Kristina:

Kristina was hit with the H1N1 virus and has been knocked out pretty hard for 2-3 weeks and this was her first time back at the gym. She was sluggish, but pushed through like a champ. We worked arms, legs and core and also did several rounds of sprints. My legs were a bit sore, but warmed up nicely.

Draper/Corner Canyon trails with Jennilyn, Craig and Jacob:

Excellent run this morning with a fun crew. The temps were cool at first, but after a few minutes I felt great the rest of the run. The trails were mostly dry (except going up Ghost Falls) and it was fun running on some dirt. That's almost 40 miles of dirt this week. Awesome.

PM: Weights at the gym for 45 minutes working my upper bod/core and booty boot camp with Kristina after working core, arms and sprints.

Ave Twins from the Capitol with CraigL, MattW, LeslieH and ZacM.

We had a really fun run up to the Twins. It was cool and breezy to start, but after a few minutes I felt really good the rest of the way. The sun is definitely coming up earlier and it was the first time this year we weren't using headlamps up to the summits. We held a really good pace on the way down.

PM: Back to City Creek Canyon with MattW and ZacM. We ran 3 miles up the canyon on the trail and then back on the road. It was so nice out and we were all in shorts and t-shirts. I was pretty depleted at the finish.

Slow 4 from home to shake out the legs.

View Benchmark solo:

Shorts, t-shirt, blue sky and some nice vertical smile. The trail was pretty sloppy in places, so the effort was a lot tougher than the miles/vert.

Corner Canyon with CraigL and Jennilyn:

I was up at 4:15 AM to meet the crew at 5:00 AM in Draper for a really fun run on dry trails in Corner Canyon. We started at the equestrian park, went up to the BST and then all the way to Willow Park and back. Up Ghost Falls and then back to Canyon Hollow. The trails were 99% dry and the temps were very warm. It got a touch windy for a mile or two, but not bad. Great morning.

Draper BST with Jennilyn:

Other than taking two diggers on the trail it was a phenomenal day on the trails. Perfect weatrher, good company and a really fun run. We took the BST from Willow Park to the top of Ghost Falls. Down Ghost to the Rattler trail and back over to the BST and back to the park. I'll have a big day on Friday and then I'll slowly dial back my training before the Buffalo 100 in March.

Antelope Island training run with Craig, MattW, MVH, Jennilyn, Cherri, Zac, Aaron:

We had a really fun training run out on the island. With the weather forecast looking iffy we thought we were going to get pounded with wind and rain, but luckily it held off and the first 19 mile loop (Buffalo 100/50) was incredible. The temps were perfect and it wasn't windy at all. We had some really good conversation and only had to mess with the Buffalo on the trail once. I ran with just about everyone for a time and really enjoyed it. With about a mile left it started to rain and by time we made it back to the cars it was coming down pretty hard.

We took a break to eat and get rehydrated and then we went back around Buffalo Point. It was now raining, a little windier and I felt slightly bonky, but it passed quickly. We went around the point and down the road on the east side and then back up to the summit of Buffalo Point. That was a tough climb on tired legs. From the point we ran back down the road and back to the 50/100 mile course next to the fence where we ran in back to the cars. We had planned on doing up to 40 miles, but the rain started coming down really hard and the wind picked up, so we decided to bail. It was just shy of 1:00 AM in the morning, so I was ok with the call.

It was an incredible run with good friends and now I'm really stoked for the Buffalo 100 in 3 weeks.