Mount Timpanogos with Jun: One of the best runs of the year so far. I met Jun at Kohlers in Alpine at 5:30 am. The Timpanookee trailhead was packed, so we had to park 1/4 of a mile below the TH. We had a nice jog up to the TH where we saw probably 100 people getting ready to hike up the mountain. We were quickly running up the trail and lucky for us there wasn't a lot of people on the lower mountain, but as we got higher we started passing several groups. It was fun picking them off and making good time up the trail. Just before the upper basin we ran into Davy Crockett who was coming down from his first summit of the year and looked pretty good. We said hi and it was good seeing him back in the mountains after recovering from injury. In the upper basin we passed several more groups and Jun kicked it into high gear. I pushed up to the saddle and he was now about 5 minutes ahead of me. We got a ton of comments from hikers on the way up and down. From the saddle I tried to push it hard and I felt really strong on that section. It was fun actually seeing it because the last 3 times I have been up there it was in the dark. On the final push I really picked up my pace and hit the top in 2:02 which is a PR, but I really only pushed the last half, as we took our time on the first few miles chatting and taking pictures, so I know I can do it faster. We chatted with a few people up top that were surprised to see how fast we had made it up and also we talked to a few girls that also ran to the top. After a few pics and signing the register we took off. Jun pushed the pace a lot and I ran with the girls and another guy (who did Wasatch 100 in 2010) back to the saddle where Jun was chatting with some folks. I was feeling really good, so I just cruised down the trail. Again more comments from hikers asking how fast we went up and telling us we were amazing bla bla. It was kind of fun though. My legs felt really fresh, so I pushed the pace a lot more than I ever have on this trail. It helped that we were doing it in the light and I felt a lot more comfortable, but I was just feeling good. We probably passed at least 150 hikers on the mountain and several that we had passed on our way up. That was really the only thing that slowed us down out there. With a few miles to go Jun said I could go under 3:15 so I was pushing for that, but didn't quite make it. 3:15:15 total time. It felt good and we had a blast. I love that mountain.
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