Summit junkie!

Mt. Wire this morning with MatthewVB (WARNING Kelli please stop reading here)

I wanted to test out my achilles since it has been feeling a lot better the last few weeks, but I have been staying away from any elevation, so I wanted to see where I am at. I climbed my last peak exactly 4 weeks ago today.

I took it slow the whole way. The weather was perfect and I just got a nice steady pace and kept it. I only ran the flatter sections and hiked everything that was steep. Just before the summit ridge Matt passed me and pushed hard to the top summitting in exactly 51 minutes. I was a little more than a minute behind. We decided that we wanted to keep running on the other side of the mountain on the ridge that heads east. The trail is kind of rocky and overgrown, but I was taking it slow.

Matt was out in front just running in his zone and just before we reached the highpoint on the ridge I saw a Great Basin rattle snake right in the middle of the trail. Matt had brushed right by it and didn't even notice and I was able to put the brakes on before I ran right into it. I called to Matt to come back and we checked it out and the snake did not look happy. It was moving its head and Matt's leg was literally inches from it. It sent a chill down my spine and we decided to turn back.

We went back up to the summit of Wire and then ran back down. The run down was fun, but I kept wanting to look off the trail to see if I saw anything move. We definitely dodged a bullet out there, but it was really cool to see. That is the second time I have been with Matt in that area and seen a rattler and he didn't see the last one either. Haha!

My achilles felt a little tight the first mile, but I didn't have any pain and it isn't sore now (two hours later) so I am very happy about that. I'll still take it easy, but now I can start adding some hills again.

I went to the gym with my wife and lifted for 50 minutes (core upper body). She lifted for 30 with me and then ran 2 on the TM while I finished. 

Tomorrow I am going to run the Alpine loop from my house and back. I am estimating that it will be about 43 miles. My legs still had a touch of soreness from my Wire run, so I wanted to stretch and shake them out a bit, so I did 3 easy miles. I ran to the Alpine Hwy and turned around just after 1.5. Total time 26:40.

I did the Alpine Loop run today with Adam Hall from my house, up AF Canyon to the Alpine loop summit, down to Sunance, out Provo Canyon and back to my house in American Fork. It took is 8:41 and was an incredible experience. No achilles or other issues. Details later.

With my wife being out of town for the week I wanted to take the opportunity to get in a long run, but I was nervous about my recent achilles issues, so I wanted something that wasn't technical and wouldn't have too much elevation, but at the same time I did want to test it out to see where I am. After a lot of thought running the Alpine Loop seemed like a really good idea, but where to start? I figured why not start at my house. It would give me the miles I was looking for and add a little extra spice to the challenge. I asked my FRB and FB friends if anyone wanted to run with me and luckily Adam Hall was in.

We met at my house a little after 3:00 am and were running in perfect temps. There were very few cars out on the roads and it was a lot of fun. We didn't want to burn ourselves out, so we ran at an easy 9:00 pace and had some really good conversation and the miles were just clicking by. It took about 50 minutes to get to the canyon and we both turned on our headlamps. The river was running high and it was really cool to run up in the dark. We didn't see the first car for a few miles and we didn't see many cars at all until we were almost to the top of the loop.

I stopped at the Timpanogos cave parking lot (mile 7.6) to refill my water and take a gel while Adam hiked up and had a snack. It took me a few minutes to catch back up to him and then we got back into a nice comfortable run. We were not pushing the pace at all and when I would check my watch we were anywhere from 10-11:30 on the uphill climb. Eventually the climb starts to get steeper and we decided to hike the steepest parts to save our legs. I did feel some slight tightness in my achilles, but it didn't last long.

The sun started coming up as we hiked the steeper sections and about a mile from the top we had a moose on the side of the road that didn't want to move. As we got closer we made some noise, but it didn't seem to want to budge until a car drove by and spooked it. The mosquitoes were a slight pain, but we had applied deet, so they never became much of an issue. The views on this run were absolutely incredible and the last few miles climbing to the top of the loop are about as good as it gets with some stunning vistas, including some really great views of Timpanogos. I showed Adam some of the climbing routes on the mountain and we stopped a few times just to take in the sights.

We were really happy to reach the top of the loop because we knew it would be all downhill or flat from there. We had well over 3K of climbing so far and my legs were ready for a change. It took about a half mile to get used to the faster downhill running, but eventually we were in a groove and loving it. From the Cascade Springs turn off to Sundance was some of the best running I have ever done. The views on this road are unreal. It was as green as anything I have ever seen in Utah. I love this loop in the fall, but it is also pretty amazing right now as well. After a few miles of running through the lush green aspen forest you start to get the views of Timp again and we were both just giddy. I was smiling and loving every minute. This was probably the best part of the run for me. Our pace kept creeping into the 7's and I kept trying to slow Adam down so we could save our legs. It was tough because that road is the perfect place to open it up. We also passed a few runners coming uphill toward us and we gave them fives and it was fun to see them smile and get excited too.

We stopped at a campground just before Aspen Grove (about mile 21) to refill our water and I took a gel. It was the fourth one I had taken and I also took an S-cap. From Aspen Grove to Sundance we started to see a lot more cars, so we had to really be careful. We cruised at an easy 8:30 pace most of the way out of the canyon, but occasionally Adam would pace us into the 6's or 7's and I would remind him to slow down.

When we reached Provo Canyon we stopped to take another break. I was really hungry, so I downed a Snickers bar and a gel, but it didn't seem like enough. The next few miles I could tell that I needed more energy. I was hoping to make it to the gas station at the mouth of the canyon to refuel, but my energy levels were definitely low for a few miles.

We stopped again at Bridal Veil falls (mile 27) to take a few pictures and I was still craving salty foods. I took another S-cap and over the next few miles kept thinking about what I wanted to eat when we got out of the canyon. About mile 29 we had a guy pass us and I could tell Adam didn't like it at all and then a few minutes later a few girls started to pass us and Adam picked up the speed, so I came along and pretty soon we were running in the 7's. :) It actually was good because before that our pace had slipped into the 10's, so the last few miles going out of the canyon we kept just under a 9 pace.

There is a gas station at the mouth of the canyon and we stopped to refuel. I really wanted some salty potatoes, but my choices were pre-made sandwiches, cold hot dogs or a burrito. I settled on a chimichanga and a Reeses cup with a large Coke. The first few bites of the Chimmy were sooo good and I was moaning with delight, but after about half of it was gone it started to taste like... well, a gas station burrito. I was about 3/4 of the way through it and it started making me sick.  I told Adam that was the best and worst burrito I had ever eaten and that made him laugh.

We walked for a couple of minutes after the rest stop to get our legs going again and it was tough when we started running again, especially with several ounces of Coke and chimmy sloshing around in my tummy. The next 5-6 miles were tough. The perfect weather we had up to that point was gone. It was hot, humid and the sun was now out for the first time beating on us. We would get stopped at red lights at times and we both hated that because that meant we had to stop running and get started again, which was tough on sore legs.

About mile 37 we stopped at a Chevron to refill our water and drink some Gatorade. I noticed that almost everyone was staring at us and we were greasy, salty and I'm pretty sure downright rank. I apologized to one lady that was standing by me and she politely said it's ok. Haha. We stunk!!!

The last 6 miles were hard. I definitely prefer running in the mountains to running on city streets and when you are getting close to 40 miles it is even worse, but we just kept pushing and grinding and the miles just seemed to go by. We both felt relatively good, and my energy was up (thanks to the chimmy). About mile 41 we turned back onto the Alpine Hwy and stated the climb back up to my neighborhood. There is a nice big hill by the cemetery that we had to deal with. Adam ran the steepest part, while I hiked and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The last mile wasn't so bad. We just had a nice and easy pace and ran it all the way to the finish. It took us 8:41 and it was an incredible experience. It is the most miles I have ever run on pavement and I am not sure that I want to repeat that. It would have been nice if there had been some trails mixed in, but I can't complain. It was an amazing run.

Here are some pics:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2111932365438.120768.1459523495

Weights at the gym for an hour. It was a total downpour when got there and I waited in my car for a few minutes but it didn't let up, so I made a run for it and was soaked from head to toe. There was a couple of inched of water in the parking lot and my shoes were completely soaked as well. The gym was really humid, so the conditions were not great in there since I was already wet, but I kind of dried out after about 30 minutes, but with the sweat I never got all the way dry. I had a really good session working my upper body and core.

My legs are barely sore after my run which is very encouraging. In fact I was more sore on Sat after my run up Mt. Wire the day before. My calves are the only thing that really has any soreness. I'll still probably take it easy for a few days though.

I ran the Wasatch Crest trail today with Jun and Dorsimus. Awesome!!! It is probably my favorite trail to run in the Wasatch and it was fun to finally get on it this year.

We had to start a mile before the trailhead because the gate going up the Guardsman Pass road was not open yet. The trail was actually in great shape and we only had to do about 10 snow crossings. On one of them I did a nice face plant, but it wasn't too bad. As always the views were stunning. I loved checking out the snow capped Cottonwood ridges, as well as all of the green trees and wild flowers.

At Desolation Lake I started getting a shin splint on my left leg and it slowed me down a little. I have never had one before and hopefully it doesn't become an issue. The last 4 miles were a touch slower than I would have liked and I finished about 4 minutes behind the other two. My legs felt solid other than the shin and I was happy about that.

On the way home I got rear ended by a dude that took off. Dors and I chased him and got his lic plate and then waited an hour for the fuzz to show up. My car just came out of the shop one week ago from the last rear end incident a month ago. Ya kidding me???

Weights at the gym for 50 minutes. Worked upper bod/core.

I did 4 very easy on the TM to stretch out my legs. To quote the illustrious MattVB- No big woop.

No big woop.

I met MattVB in Millcreek Canyon this morning and we ran the Pipeline trail. The weather was almost perfect. On the way out to the lookout I was feeling sluggish and it was tough to get into a groove. We just chatted the whole time and it went by fast.

At the lookout I took a gel and then Matt lead and pushed the pace all the way back and we were much faster. I got my biscuits sniffed by a dog that wasn't on a leash and it actually followed us for a few minutes. I don't care how good you look in a running skirt, you need to leash your dog!

Total time 1:23

Timp run with Jun, Dorsimus and Jsh. The goal for the day was to run as far as we could and possibly get to the summit if we had time and didn't run into very much snow. Jun told me earlier in the day that as soon as it became mountaineering we would turn around... HAHAHAHA! I should have known better. Actually, I knew there would still be a lot of snow and I figured that Jun would want to go as high as we could. I was right.

 We ran the first few miles and then we were in snow the rest of the way. We slogged, climbed, slipped, ran a little, fell, climbed some more. I fell off a snow bridge and sliced my hand with my ice axe that I had been carrying. Normally my axe would be secured on my pack, but I have a long run I am doing in the Wind Rivers next month and I wanted to see if I could run while carrying it since I don't really want to carry a full pack. Luckily the cut wasn't too deep, so it wasn't a big deal, but I had another close call, so I don't think I'll be doing any more running with the axe.

 We ended up climbing a few semi steep snow slopes up to the basin and it still looks like winter up there. There was close to 5 feet of snow up there and the views were stunning. Unreal. I really wanted to go to the summit, but we just didn't have time. We ended up climbing up a cliff band up to a rock shelf just below the saddle where we decided to turn back. We did get a few sweet gilssades and had a lot of fun on the way down, but I really have a bad case of summit fever. I wanted to go up in a bad way, but it wasn't going to happen. It was still fun to get in some work with the crampons and axe though. This has been the worst spring/summer mountaineering for me for several years because of my achilles issues and now I want to get out for more. Hopefully I'll get out on something this weekend. Check out Jun's blog for some pics.

Weights at the gym for 50 min with my wife. I opened up my ice axe cut, but other than that it was a great workout.

I was supposed to do this run yesterday, but it just didn't workout. I found out that my first best friend passed away yesterday. It was a shock. I spent as much time at his home from age 3-15 as my own. We had many fun adventures together and my thoughts were of him most of the run. I ran from my house up AF canyon to the Timp cave parking lot and back. I stopped at the cave parking area to use the bathroom and take a gel and some salt. The best part of the run was running down the canyon at about a 7:00 pace. The last 5 were hell. I'm not sure if it was the heat or what but I bonked and it was tough. Some of the memories of Ryan that I thought about: Designing and building a massive half pipe skate ramp in his backyard. Spending summers swimming and playing tennis at the Sports Mall. BB gun wars in his backyard and the BB I still have lodged in my jaw. Taking his moms car for joy rides before we had our licenses :) staying up all night playing night games in the neighborhood. Making our first movie together using a Super 8 video camera. Playing Masters of the Universe (He-Man!) Watching movies on HBO all night on sleepovers. Sprinkler under the tramp. Spending a week skating in Cali when we were 15. Skating down Capitol hill together (might be the craziest thing I ever did). All night football games at the church. The games in the snow were the best. Learning how to ski at Alta together. Playing Stompers in the dirt. Catching snakes at the canal behind our elementary school then freaking out our moms. RIP Ryan. I'll miss you bud!

Mondays = Weights at the gym. I worked chest, shoulders and triceps for 45 minutes. It was very hot in there. I just picked up some Hoka Bondi-B's and I took them for a test drive on the track after I lifted. They are amazing. The cushion is fantastic and it feels like you're running on air. I can't wait to get them on the trails to test them out.

Trail run up Big Cottonwood with Jun, MattVD and Lily

We met at the BCC park n ride at 5:45 am. We started at the Mill D trailhead and the clouds were a bit dark and it looked like we might get a sprinkle, but I wasn't too worried. The temps were perfect. The run up to Dog Lake was fun. Everything is so green right now and it was incredible. We all just chatted and the time flew by.

From the Lake we went around and picked up the trail that goes right under Gobblers Knob and that would drop us down into Butler fork. The trail was overgrown and not in the best shape, so it slowed us down some. I inhaled a bug. It sucked. Luckily I was able to cough it up, but I think I swallowed it. Haha. About 5 minutes later one nailed me right in the eye. The views were stunning. I enjoyed checking out the Cottonwood Ridge and can't believe how much snow is still up there.

Once we reached the turn off for Butler the trail really improved and we could go a lot faster. After about a mile Jun took my key and went ahead because he needed to get back. We ran into some old Wasatch vets Super Dave and Michael Hannan. These guys are pushing 70 and can kick just about everyone's butt in the hills. We chatted with them for a minute and then had a sweet run back to the canyon road where we ran about .4 before we ran into Jun coming down to pick us up.

**PM update**

I had some time tonight to get out for another run, so I went up Lake Mountain by myself. There wasn't a cloud anywhere near the mountain when I started and the temperature was really nice. I parked in the neighborhood below the trailhead and ran the .4 to the TH where I started my watch. I ran until I got to the steeper section and then I would hike anything steep and run where I could. It felt nice out and I was really enjoying the run. I was wearing my Hokas and they felt really good on my feet.

A few guys passed me on motorcycles, but other than that I didn't see another person up there. At about mile 3 I noticed some clouds rolling in and I got a little worried. I decided that if I heard or saw any lightning I would just head back. I saw the motorcycle guys coming down when I got to the steepest rocky section and one of them dumped his bike and fell off. He was going really slow so it wasn't serious. When I got up to them we chatted for a few minutes and one guy asked me if I was training for the Salt Lake 100. I asked them how the clouds looked on top and they said they were ok, so I kept going up.

When I got to the saddle I kept going where we normally turn left to the summit because Jun discovered that we haven't been climbing the true high point, but a separate summit where all of the towers are. I found a road after .3 that went right and I knew it was the right way and after a few minutes I was standing on the highest point. It was now dark and the clouds were looking unsettled, so I wanted to get down ASAP. I pulled out my headlamp and discovered that the batteries were almost dead and it was barely working. I had to hold it while I ran and I could only see a few feet in front of me and it really slowed me down.

Just below the saddle it started to rain really hard and I ducked under a tree for a few minutes to wait it out. After a few minutes it was just a sprinkle, so I took off, although I was still running slow because of my light. It seemed to take forever to get off of the mountain and I was really worried my lamp would die. Luckily it didn't. I also saw a few flashes of lighting, but not close enough to scare me too much. It was definitely my slowest time ever up and down the mountain, but I still had a great time

That gives me over 18 miles and almost 5K in elevation for the day.

Today I did my trail work for the Wasatch 100. We did maintenance on the Lake Mary trail above Brighton. It was tough work, but I had a great time on a beautiful day with some really cool people. About 10 other runners were also there and we got a lot of work done. After we finished I was pretty beat, but I still wanted to get in a run, so when I got home I ran on the Alpine Hwy in the heat. The first few miles were tough because I was tired, but the last two I was cruising and feeling great. 

JRP solo in Lehi. I would have liked to run with the FRB group, but I didn't want to get up at 5:00 so I showed up at 7:30. After 1.3 I ran into Smooth, Rad and Toby and said hi. I would have run back with them if it had been over 4 miles in. The run was a lot of fun. I just tried to keep the pace between 8:30 and 8:45.

After Willow park the trail is still closed, so I ran through the neighborhood and got back on. At 5.6 I took a gel and turned around. I stopped again at the park to fill up my water and then had a nice cruise back to the car where Rad and Smooth were hanging out, so we chatted for a few minutes (they are both so nice!) And Rad gave me some orange slices- Thanks!

PM update- weights at the gym for 40 minutes with my wife. We had a great workout. We worked our upper body/core.

Grove Creek trail up to the falls. The first mile was hot, but a lot of the upper slopes were in the shade, so it wasn't as bad. Got water from a spring coming out of the rock which was cold and very good. Great day.

I ran in my hood this morning because I have a work appointment in Utah County, so I got up and ran 6.5 on the Alpine Hwy. Hot and muggy with a lot of sweat. I forgot to put in my heel inserts and I felt my achilles twinge a few times. Nothing serious.

Total time: 55:37

I'll be running the first 10 miles of the Wasatch 100 course tomorrow with Dorsimus and MattVD. We are starting at 4:00 am and will hit Chinscraper and Thurston Peaks. It should be a good time with over 5K in vert.

Wasatch 100 course (first 14 miles)

With Dorsimus and MatthewVD. What an adventure. My alarm went off at two-fitty am this morning. It was tough downing 500 cals that early. I met Dors and Matt at Dors's house and after dropping off my car at the Baer Canyon trailhead Matt drove us over to the start of the Wasatch 100. I want to run as much of the course as I can before the race and this would be my first time on that trail.

The first 5 miles aren't too bad. A few hills, but you can run the whole way. It was light by time we hit mile 5 and from there is gets really steep. A few miles later the trail became really overgrown and it slowed us down a lot. Busting up over 4K in elevation to the Chinscraper was a lot of fun. The views were much better than I thought they would be. What an incredible place. About mile 10 we stopped at a spring to talk with an older guy and fill up our bottles. The water was cold and good.

Just below the Chinscraper summit I got into some loose rock and I started to slide, so I reached up to grab a hand hold on a rock and it popped off and hit me right in the knee causing a nasty puncture that was bleeding profusely. It wasn't big, but it was really deep. I put 3 band-aids on it and it didn't help at all. The blood just kept coming. Another band-aid, some moleskin and a bunch of tissue paper and about 20 minutes and it finally stopped. What a pain. The guys had to wait for me and it was cold up there with a lot of wind. The worst part is that I was so slow after that because I was afraid of ripping off the bandage with all of the overgrowth on the trail and after the Chinscraper it only got worse.

After about two miles the bandage got ripped off my a branch and I had to stop and put another band-aid and another piece of moleskin on to cover it up. The next few miles were pretty incredible. The views are amazing. Peaks, meadows and valleys below. Wow! We made it to the summit of another peak (Peak 9,401?) and bypassed a few others. On one we crossed a snowfield that was a pain and I used a rock as an ice axe.

At mile 13.7 we took the Baer Canyon trail back down to the valley. This was by far the worst part of the day. That trail was so overgrown I couldn't believe it. Someone yelled "We've got Bush" and we certainly did. Bushwhack! It was a steep motha too. Busting out of that canyon was slow. Eventually my bandage was ripped off again and I had to take it so slow because I didn't have anything to cover the wound, so I was way over-cautious. We had to make a few stream crossings, but nothing eventful the rest of the way. it was a killer workout. Just about 18 miles with 6K elevation gain. It was really tough, but we all had a lot of fun. I am totally psyched for the race. I'll post up some pics of my bloody knee.

Dorsimus wrote up an excellent report with some pics. Check it out.

Me on the summit of Chinscraper right after I slashed my knee. Notice the blood.

 Bloody mess!

Weights at the gym for an hour. I worked my upper body and core.

Tomorrow Twinkies, MattVD and I will be running some of the W100 course (Bountiful B aid to Francis Peak and back). If anyone is interested let me know. It should be a lot of fun.

The plan: Run part of the Wasatch 100 course (Bountiful B aid to Francis Peak and back) with Twinkies and MattVD. We thought it would be about 14 miles.

What happened: We got to the BB aid station about 5:30 and started our run up toward Centerville Peak. We didn't see the trail we were supposed to be on, but we figured we could eventually get on Skyline Drive and make our way to Francis Peak and then get on the right trail on the way back. Twinkies and I summitted Centerville Peak just as the sun was rising. It was pretty awesome. We then hit a few bumps on the ridge and then bushwhacked over to Skyline where we ran to the summit of Bountiful Peak and we couls see our route. We ran down the road at a quick 6:45 to 7:00 pace for just about 3 miles. The last half mile to the Francis Peak aid station was pretty steep so it slowed us down, but we still ran most of the way up.

We stopped at the aid station for a few minutes and then headed back on the W100 trail. After about 3 miles the trail crosses a stream and then starts the climb back to the BB aid station. Because the trail was so overgrown and since we didn't know where it was we missed it. We thought we made a wrong turn and then we spent the next two hours running every trail and fork in the area. Nothing made sense and we would always start to go in the wrong direction, so we would end up turning back to try something else. It was horrible, but the silver lining is that it might be the most beautiful area in the Wasatch. There were lush green meadows with wild flowers and the view of the mountains to the west. So cool! Eventually, VD called his wife and she read the directions to him from the W100 website and he quickly figured out our mistake. We had been right the first time. We just had to go back and cross the river about 30 yards from where we were and there was the trail. It was totally overgrown and was a bushwhack for about a half mile. Eventually it got better, but it is a steep climb back up to the BB aid station. We were pretty tired when we finished. We had planned on about 14, but ended up with almost 20 and quite an adventure.

I'm very happy that I was able to run most of the first 23 miles of the course this week. It is pretty tough for sure. Those are not easy trails. I am totally psyched though. The views are unreal.