Summit junkie!

I am still a touch sore because of the race on Saturday, so I wanted to give my legs some work without abusing them too much, so I did 30 minutes on the elliptical. My plan was to take it easy, but I eventually found myself on the max setting for the last 5 minutes. everything feels great and I could have kept pushing, but I backed off just to be safe.

I think I might be climbing something after work tomorrow as long as everything feels ok.

Today was pretty busy for me and I didn't get a chance to work out until after my kids were in bed. My legs are completely recovered from Sapper Joe except for some very minor soreness in my right knee. I will probably he in the mountains doing some steep hiking tomorow (today) so I wanted to rest my legs.

I did work my core/abs with the ball for 45 minutes while watching TV and had a really good work out, except my wife told my I was grunting too much. haha. I guess that means I was working hard.

My wife and kids were away visiting family today, so I figured I would take advantage of the time to climb something, and my friend Matt and I were going to climb the Sundial Peak up Big Cottonwood, but he cancelled on me. I was having the hardest time deciding where to go, and after I got off work I changed my clothes and still didn't know where I was going. I ended up driving to the trailhead for Mt. Wire because I feel very comfortable doing it solo.

It was very hot and within 10 minutes I was hiking alone and couldn't see anyone else on the trail at all. I took off my shirt to soak up the rays and it felt great. My knee has been a touch sore, so I didn't want to push at all, and I didn't. I made it to the top in 57:00, which isn't bad at all, especially since I wasn't pushing it hard. There was a guy leaving the summit and he was the first person I saw on the hike. I stayed on top for about 15 minutes checking out the views and I decided to head over to bag Red Butte and pick up some more miles because my knee was feeling good.

I ran the ridge over to Red Butte and felt just a tiny bit of soreness in the knee, but nothing serious. I cruised over the ridge and then stopped at the summit for a few minutes to watch an eagle soaring right over the top.

The hike down is steep, so I took it a little slow and then when I got down the the Living Room, which a bunch of furniture made of rocks, I took the trail that heads left down into drainage. Jun and I had run this the last time we were there and it was fun. I ran the whole way down and made decent time. I passed a few hikers coming up and then once I was down I ran on the BST back to the car. I did stop the last 1/4 mile to walk because I didn't want to push it too hard.

This is just what I needed today. Total time: 2:15

I woke up early this morning to lift at the gym and I had a really fun work out for 45 minutes. Worked upper body.

Crazy day, but fun. Did yard work, but also made it over to the gym with the kids for a few hours at the pool, and also mixed in some TM miles. Yeah for sun!

Took the fam on an afternoon hike today. I had a few peaks in mind, but we didn't have time for much. We were on our way to the Big Baldy trailhead in Pleasant Grove, but the majority of the kids wanted to go to View Benchmark again, so we turned the car around and went up there. It was HOT.

I ran ahead a lot with the dog, and then I would go back and meet up with the kids. Most of the hills I went up 2-3 times while I waited for them, but it was fun, although I totally wore Shyla out. The heat was killing her.

Made it to the summit in about 40 minutes and the kids played for a while. They found some horny toads and had fun catching and letting them go. The only thing that made my son stop talking about them was falling asleep a few minutes ago (5 hours later). He wants me to take him back up there to sleep over with the toads. ha.

The hike back was fun and we were all hot when we got back to the car, and enjoyed the cold Poweraid in the cooler. It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I went to the gym tonight with Kristina after the kids were in bed. We both had a great lifting session and my arms/chest are worked. I did a new tricep exercise that was awesome and I'll be adding it to my routine.

I had a fun trail run with Jun on the Dimple Dell Rec trail (also known as The Gully). We did this during our lunch break and the weather was near perfect when we started the trail across from Bell Canyon.

The first 3 miles were easy and fun running on a really good trail. I forgot my trail runners, so I was in my Asics running shoes, which felt great and were ok for this trail. When we turned around at 13th East the fun began with a bushwhack to avoid the river, which had come over the trail. My right foot got wet, but nothing serious. After a few minutes of 'Whacking' we found our way to the trail. The only problem was the uphill started to hurt my knee as soon as I started going up. The same issue from Sapper Joe. After struggling for a mile we stopped and Jun had me stretch it out, which actually helped a lot.

I was really taking it easy after the knee pain, and it did feel tight the rest of the way. We had some excellent conversation and both had a blast.

I'm going to do a fairly technical alpine climb tomorrow, and I am really excited. I'll be climbing the Grunge Couloir on North Timpanogos, which is one of the steepest chutes in the Wasatch. My book "The Chuting Gallery" says it is number 3 on the list. What makes this climb even more fun is the fact that there are portions that are like a funnel, getting really narrow. Normally this wouldn't be too much of a worry, but this chute is also known for it's rotten rock that frequently makes deposits of loose rock down the chute. I really like the way the book puts it "The sides are lined with towering, rotting rock walls that send down a constant barrage of buzzing missles." Yes, I'll be wearing a helmet.

I had an incredible morning climbing the Grunge Couloir on North Timpanogos. This is the chute that goes right up the middle of the two North summits on Timp on the back (East side) of the mountain. The route has about 6K elevation gain, and is definitely one of the most sketchy climbs in the Wasatch, but it was tons of fun. The couloir (chute) is about 1200 feet straight up on steep (up to 62 degrees) snow, and there are plenty of hazards to keep your attention.

 The main concern is rock fall. While we were in the chute we saw at least 200 rocks tumbling down at a high rate of speed. Now most of these were small, but if they hit you it would not be good. There is a main runnel with two smaller runnels that funnel the majority of the rock fall right down the chute, so we had to make sure to stay away from them as much as possible, although at times they were unavoidable. The scariest section by far is where the walls of the chute become very narrow (Probably 5-7 feet) and all of the rock fall goes right through that funnel, so you have to cross your fingers and move fast. It was definitely an adrenaline rush, and luckily we made it through without a single rock coming down on us, which is amazing since we saw several before and after.

At the top of the chute the slope is very steep and you have to work your way out trying to avoid some massive cornices. My heart was pumping hard for sure. It took us just over an hour to get through the couloir and then it was a short easy climb to the summit of North Timp. After that we had a super fun glissade on our butts of almost 3000 feet down the Cold Fusion Couloir.

We had an early morning start, meeting at 4:00 AM, and I got just over 2.5 hours of sleep. I am pretty tired. I will post some pics of the climb in the next day or two.

I won't be running today because I need to give my knees a break. I will be working my abs/core later though.

Here are a few pics from our climb up the Grunge Couloir from yesterday:

Matt and Dustin looking at our route on the way back down. North Timp is the two peaks on the right, and the Grunge goes right up between them.

This is me heading up to the Grunge. You can see our route right through the two peaks.

This is Matt on our way up the couloir

In the Grunge Couloir. Notice all of the rock fall.

Dustin and Matt on the summit of North Timp.

Last night I worked my abs for 30 minutes and then I got up ealry this morning to lift at the gym. I had a really good session for 40 minutes working my upper body. I did lose a pound this week and that means I am down two pounds in the last few weeks. That isn't normal for me at all. Have a great weekend everyone.

I wanted to hit the trails for some miles, but the weather was crappy, so I settled for 4 on the TM instead. Yawn.

My wife had quite a lot of homework this weekend, so I watched the kids a lot and did some house work. Domesticated bliss! I was going to take my dog running up a peak, but the weather was again not great, so I settled for 35 minutes on the elliptical after the kids went to bed.

I posted a trip report for my climb last week if you are interested. The report isn't great, but there are some really good pictures of the route.

The Grunge Couloir

I went to the gym after the kids went to bed and lifted for 40 minutes. I had an excellent workout and I was sweating all over the place when I was done. No running today.

Time 44:30

I wanted to get out on a trail today with Jun at lunch, but both of us had pretty busy days. I had about an hour window, so I cruised over to his office and we got out for a nice 5 miler on the road. We ran into a headwind for a few miles and that wasn't any fun, and it was hot, but other than that it was a lot of fun.

I was only a few minutes late for my lunch appointment after having a shower, changing and driving back to my office, but I was a sweaty mess for the first 10 minutes or so. I thought the cold shower would help, but it wasn't enough.

I had an incredibly busy day today at work and then when I got home our power was out, and it stayed out until 10:00 last night. I did manage to get away for 4 TM miles in 35 minutes. Everything feels really good.

I also got to meet Burt from the blog today. He is in Utah for the Ragnar and is staying at my family condo in Midway, so I met him to give him the key and make sure he wasn't going to throw any wild parties up there. He seemed pretty harmless :) He is a really nice guy though, despite what some of you bloggers have said about him. I hope he figured out how to log onto the Homestead wireless network (we don't have an internet connection up there). haha. I forgot to tell him about that. I will also throw in that he arrived yesterday when that cold front was moving in and he was definitely freezing his butt off. Welcome to Utah Burt.

I had another busy day. My wife had school, so I was running the show at home all night. haha! Then I had a work issue to resolve until almost midnight. WORST! Somehow I did manage 45 minutes of core/ab work with my ball.

Good luck to all the Ragnar runners. Have a great weekend everyone.

Played in a work softball game this afternoon and had a lot of fun, except I was sharing a glove with the fat guy in the office. SWEAT soaked! Ick!

After work I made it to the gym for a nice lifting session. Worked my upper body for 50 minutes.

Today I reached the half way mark on my goal to climb 52 peaks this year. #26 was definitely memorable. Lily joined Jun and I for a run/hike up Lake Mountain. We met at 6:00 AM this morning and started from the dirt road that leads up Israel Canyon.

The run/hike up was a lot of fun and we had a good conversation and Lily was doing awesome for her first trail run/peak. We made really good time and reached the summit in just over an hour. The views were fantastic and the weather was perfect. After a few peak jumps and pics we headed down. We were able to run the entire way and we had a blast cruising down at a fast pace.

I was feeling really good and my legs felt great pushing the pace, so I did for a while and then Jun caught and passed me. Lily also eventually passed me (she is fast) and then we had a fun run back to the cars. Jun kept going for another 10+ miles which is pretty impressive considering the elevation gain/loss on the trip up to Lake Mt.

It was definitely a fun morning and a memorable way to hit the half way point with my crazy goal.

It was fun meeting all you FRB folks at the BBQ tonight. Thanks for the invite and for putting it on Kelli.

After working out for 20 days straight (that might be a record for me) I figured I better give my body a break, so I took yesterday (Sunday) off. Isn't that what Sundays are for?? No Sunday Sinner Club for me yesterday. ha.

We rented The Tooth Fairy for the kids, so while they watched that I went to the gym and had a fantastic session working out with some of the neighborhood guys. I worked upper body/core and everything is feeling really good.

I'll be running in Bryce canyon tomorrow, so I may take today off to rest up.

**Update** I finally downloaded the stats from my Garmin and I was shocked to see 11,500 feet of elevation gain and 12,300 feet of loss for the 37 miles. I know these aren't always accurate, but that would be like climbing Lone Peak twice. I am not as sore as I thought I would be, although my knee still hates stairs. I will lift at the gym tonight and then probably take at least a week off from running. Also, check out this video that Jun put on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG-oqbnvYVc&feature=player_embedded

I will vividly remember yesterday for the rest of my life. Some of the memories will he horrific, while others will make me smile and laugh. I ran my first ultra distance yesterday with Jun in Bryce Canyon National Park. This was an insane idea that Jun had to link up the 3 main trails in the park, which would basically be running from one end of the park to the other. It sounded like an amazing run, and when he first told me about it I was definitely intrigued, although I didn't think I would want to run the whole thing, but after talking more with him about it I really got excited and decided to go for it. Why not?

We traveled down to Panguitch to stay with some of Jun's firends. They were really nice and we spent a few hours hanging out with them and then getting ready for our run. We got the tour of the town, had a lot of laughs and ended with a huge piece of chocolate cake before bed. We got to bed late and I had a hard time sleeping. I finally nodded off about 12:30, but woke up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep until I heard Jun's alarm at 4:30. We got our stuff ready and then Jun's friend drove us to drop off my car at Fairyland Point where we would finish, and then took us all the way to the other end of the park and dropped us off at Rainbow Point.  After a few pictures we were off on the Rigg's Spring Loop.

That first loop was just magical. The air was cool, but not cold and the views entering the canyon were stunning. My body was feeling really good and I was excited for this run. The first 5 miles were just a lot of fun. The sun wasn't on us yet and we were running on a beautiful trail surrounded by pine trees with an occasional glimpse of the red rock canyon above. The views got better and better (with a few exceptions) with each step.

Jun was in the lead and had a little bit quicker pace than I did, but when I reached Yovimpa pass I had to stop to take in the views. Wow! Jun was ahead of me nearly the entire run, and he was nice enough to stop and wait for me to catch up. The first few miles of the loop we descended about 1500 feet into the canyon and then we promptly started to gain all of that elevation back before we hit the under the rim trail. This would be the theme for the rest of the day. Climb a steep hill, descend and then do it all over again. I was expecting some elevation gain and loss, but nothing like what we experienced. It was relentless.

About mile 8 I started to feel some tightness in my right knee (ITB). I was worried, but it wasn't hurting yet, so I was still hoping the pain wouldn't get too bad for a while. I actually pushed the pace on some downhill for about a mile and everything was feeling good, but as soon as we started to ascend again, it was hurting. By mile 10 going up or downhill would make my knee hurt. From this point on I had to hike up all of the uphill sections and running up them was just too painful. This is not the place you want to be with ITB pain. It is just not flat at all.

Around mile 11 we finally stopped for our first real break of the day to refill our water at a spring. We treated all of the water we drank with iodine. We used a neutralizer to take away the gross taste, but by the end of the hike I was actually getting used to it. I added some Nuun to my water bottle and then had a gel. Other than my knee I was feeling really good. Jun got ahead of me again on the next section and I didn't see him again for a few miles. There were a lot of downed trees covering the trail and it was pretty clear this area doesn't see a lot of foot traffic. The views were not as good, but I was thankful for the shade. Jun had been waiting for me and I finally caught up to him, and after stopping and taking another gel, I didn't see him again for a few hours.

The next 4-5 miles were really hard for me. My knee was hurting, and each hill that I had to climb and descend added to my misery. Thoughts of bailing early came into my head, but I quickly dismissed them. As long as the pain stayed the same I could make it. I was hiking all of the uphills, and running with a limp on the downhills. I could still run when it was flat, but it just wasn't all that flat. Compounding the difficulty is the beach sand that seemed to be strategically placed by a sadist on all of the uphill climbs. Tough!

At about mile 17 I really hit a low point. I was hot, tired, my Camelbak was bugging my shoulders, my knee hurt and I was alone. The views were impressive, but I was stopping less and less to enjoy them. I just told myself to keep grinding and it would get better. There was a really big hill before Swamp Canyon and at the top the views were just out of this world cool. I stopped to shoot some video and then I ran into jun at Swamp Canyon, which was around the next switchback. I hadn't seen him for about 5 miles and a few hours. He had been waiting there for a while, and seeing him boosted my spirits a lot. I filled up on water, had a gel and Jun gave me an S-cap. Jun stayed with me for about the next 8-9 miles, although he would get ahead of me and then have to wait for me to catch up. I am glad he did. We only saw a few other people on the entire trail and it is remote, rugged, and your mind starts messing with you when you're by yourself. Having him there with me during those breaks really helped a lot. Hills, hills, and more hills. Talk about demoralizing. If you have any hint of ITB pain this trail is a torture chamber. It also started to get really hot now which made things even tougher.

We stopped at yellow creek to fill up our water and it was like an oasis. I was nearly out of water and I knew I was getting dehydrated. I was carrying 70 ounces of water and this would be the fourth time I was filling up. I couldn't get enough water and that was a problem on this trail. I filled up every place that I could and I was drinking it all. It was now really hot and the sun was just beating me up. I didn't know that this would be my last fill up until Bryce Point or I would have had more to drink. I was drinking twice as much now as I had been earlier because of the heat.

I hit my marathon distance a little less than a mile after Yellow Creek and that was the last I would see of Jun until Bryce Point. The next five miles were tough. It was really hot and there wasn't a lot of shade. It seemed like it was all uphill and my knee was really hurting now. I was now hiking everything. I did run a few flat places, but they were not long because it was mostly not flat. I was worried I was going to run out of water because I was drinking so much. I was already dehydrated and hadn't gone pee in about 4 hours. I was sweating a lot and it was incredibly hot. I was looking for a place to take a break and I found a rock to sit on in the shade. After about a minute I realized I was covered in ants that were now biting me and the flies were also swarming and biting too. I ended up just standing up and taking a gel. Another low moment.

With about a mile to go until Bryce Point I was down to the last of my water. I sat down on a rock in the shade and took another gel and swallowed it down with the last drop of warm water in my bottle. I wasn't sure how much further it was to the top. I knew we had at least 5 miles to go, but I wasn't expecting to come up to the top of the rim with 5 miles remaining. I saw an older guy hiking up and from the looks of him I knew that 'civilization' was close. When I saw the cars up there I was confused. I thought we had 5+ miles to go. Jun saw me coming up and met me and then informed me that we did indeed have at least 5 miles to go (I was at mile30.5). I was ok with that though because now I could get some water and the trail actually would be mostly flat from here. Jun had bummed some water off of one of the tourists, and he shared it with me, and I felt much better.

After about a 20 minute break with Jun, he took off running for the car, and I still wasn't sure what I was going to do yet. I was tempted to catch a ride back to the car and rationalized it by telling myself I had completed an ultra distance, but I soon put those thoughts out of my head. I came here to finish the whole thing, so I started hiking fast. Occasionally I was running, but it was painful and all of the tourists were looking at me like what in the world is this guy doing?

At Sunset Point (mile 33) I stopped to use the bathroom. It was the first facility with running water that we had seen all day, and I couldn't pass up filling my water up and taking a dirtbag shower in the sink. It felt so good to wash all of the salt off of my face. I took a long break in the shade and heard a few people comment about my appearance. I ate a Powerbar and my last gel and drank a lot of water. It felt so good and I was completely refreshed.

The next mile I actually ran a little more and I was feeling good. It was so nice to finally be on a flat trail again. At mile 34 I came to a fork in the trail. There was a sign on the trail going right that said: Fairyland Point 5 miles. My heart sank because I thought I only had about two miles to go. The trail on the left said to Fairyland Lookout, so I was confused, but two girls that were hiking up the trail (on the right) told me to take that trail because it went to Fairyland Point and that the left trail ended, so started down the trail. After about a half a mile I realized that I was just dropping too much and that I was on the wrong trail. Jun had mentioned to me that if I started descending back into the canyon I needed to get back to the rim, and I remembered looking at the map at Sunset Point and I knew I needed to go back. Thank goodness it only cost me a mile total because if I had kept going it would have taken me 4 hilly miles to get back instead of two on the flat rim trail.

The final two miles were hard, but I was feeling better than I had been coming out of the canyon, so I was actually in a good mood. I wasn't hot, I was feeling hydrated and my spirits were high. the only bad thing was I had developed a blister on one of my toes that was now nagging me. Normally I would have stopped to take care of it, but I just wanted to get done, so I didn't stop. I ran about 1/4 of the time, but I was mostly hiking because it hurt less.

When I finally saw my car parked I had an incredible feeling. I had done it. Jun came over to congratulate me and after a few high fives and pictures it was time to sit down. What an experience. It was definitely the most difficult thing I have ever done, a total grind. The only real easy part of the whole day was the first 4 miles running downhill. After that it was brutal. I am sure I would have enjoyed it a lot more without the 27 miles of ITB pain though.

I am disappointed that I didn't get to enjoy this trail more. The views really aren't even explainable. They don't look real, they are that good. It is certainly a good challenge for anyone, and I will never forget this day. There was exhilaration, pain, disappointment, laughs, fresh air, views, blood, a lot of sweat (probably gallons) and almost some tears. When we finished yesterday I told Jun there wasn't even a chance I would ever to that again, but today there is some sick part of me that wants to go back and do it again when my knee is right.

I went to the gym to lift tonight after work. I worked my upper body/core for 45 minutes. My core was actually sore (I think from Bryce) so I didn't push too hard. My knee still hurts and there is no way I can run. I may try the elliptical tomorrow just to see what happens. I was also surprised that I gained 1.5 pounds since the Bryce Canyon run. I thought for sure I would have lost a few pounds.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I was still resting my knee, so I settled for 30 minutes of ab/core work with my ball while watching TV.

Still resting my knee but I wanted to get in some kind of workout, so I did about 15 sets of push-ups. I started with 30 each set, but by time I finished I could only do 11.

This is the first time I have run since Bryce Canyon. I did 3 miles on the TM at my hotel in San Diego. I started with a fast walk, but within 5 minutes I was running. I was slow, but I ran pain free the whole 3. My ITB was a little sore when I finished. I was very happy though that I ran pain free.

Walked at least 5 miles around the San Diego zoo today with my kids. We had a great day and then I lifted for 45 minutes at the hotel fitness center after they were in bed. I am so tired.

I walked at least 5 miles again at Seaworld. We had a really fun day, and ended eating some authentic Mexican down by the beach. So good! I did 3 miles on the TM back at the hotel. My knee was a tiny bit stiff after, but no pain.