Summit junkie!

5 on the track at the gym. Lame.

Summit #100 for 2012- View Benchmark via Coyote Hollow with Jun.

A few years ago I never would have imagined being able to climb 100 peaks in a year, but today I hit #100 doing a sweet run to VB with Jun from Coyote Hollow. I have been very sick all week and today was the first day I felt relatively ok, so I figured I would give it a shot. I didn't feel great, but not too bad either. Thanks to Jun for giving me two gels, that helped me a lot. The weather was just about perfect and we took the long route on the south side of Draper overlooking Utah County and then up to the peak. It was a blast, but I lost my steam a few hundred feet from the top, but felt decent all the way down.

Sick! I haven't been this sick in a long time. One day I feel ok and the next like I got hit by a bus. I was all ready to go run some trails and 5 minutes before I left I fell on the couch and couldn't get up. I did manage 4 on the TM after it got dark outside. I felt ok when I started, but it was all downhill after that.

View Benchmark via Ann's with Jun:

I was feeling decent today, so I decided to get out for our Standard Mondee run up VB with Jun, but from the start I felt like crap and it got worse a few miles in. I tried to keep up a good pace, but by time we hit the connector trail I was out of gas, I had no energy and every step sucked. We hit the summit in 48 minutes and I was panting and could hear my heart beating in my head. The run down was a touch better, but with a mile left I bonked and could barely hold a 9ish pace into the finish. A super large Coke and a Chocodile at the finish made me feel a touch better. As crappy as the run was the weather was absolutely stunning out there today.

Weights at the gym for an hour:

I decided to get away from all the election crap and hit the gym for a nice pounding. Lots of grunting, sweat and testosterone flying around the gym.

View Benchmark night run solo:

I was going to run up Gobblers Knob after work, but MattVH convinced me to do it with him in the am on Thurs, so I didn't want to crush my legs with a lot of vert so VB was the perfect choice for a night run. I had the trail to myself the entire run and I just put in some really good music into the ipod and set it on cruise control. I really enjoyed the views of SL and Utah Counties in the dark while winding my way up to the summit. The stars were really bright and there was a really cool planet (not sure which one) lighting up the eastern sky.

About 5 min from the top I saw a big black blob in the middle of the trail start to move and I put the breaks on just in time so I didn't run into a porcupine. At first I thought it was a skunk and it scared the shite out of me. I let it wobble off the trail and I continued up to the top. Awesome views! On the run down I was thinking about cougars for some reason. I started thinking about a cougar that was hungry and missed all of the deer it stalked during the day and how slow I probably looked... and also tasty. When those thoughts start creeping in every movement and sound makes you jump. Ahhhh a cougar!!! Nah, just another porcupine.

They finally turned off the drinking fountain for the year at the Maple Hollow trailhead, but I really didn't need any anyway. The run down was fun. I picked up the pace and jammed to some old eighties greats on the ipod. At one point I thought someone was calling me from the bush off the trail, but it was just the backup singers for Prince.

Windy. Gym. Track. Abominable.

Highland trail loop solo:

I took two days off from running to give my legs a break. I wanted to hit the mountain trails, but with all of the new snow I opted for the Highland trail that I ran a few weeks ago. I went out about 30 minutes before the sun set and it was pretty cold when I started. I wore my Brooks jacket, short sleeve shirt, shorts and calf sleeves and I was warm the entire run. The first few miles were a bit slow, but I got into a good groove and my legs felt fresh. This time I ran the entire trail. I pick it up on 6000 W. in Highland (about 9500ish N.) and I ran east to the end and then all the way back and crossed 6000 and ran west to the other end.

The west side was just under a mile and it was pretty stinky, so I doubt I'll run that section much. I passed some farms and what I think were chicken coops that smelled nasty. My legs felt great and I opened it up the last 2.5 miles running just over a 7:00 pace until the last mile where I kicked it up to a 6:40 pace and I was feeling strong the whole time. It was probably the most enjoyable road run that I have done in the last few months.

Weights at the gym for an hour. I was feeling really good and had an excellent session working out with good friends.

Grandeur Peak West Ridge with MattVH and Dorsimus:

Up at 4:30 am to meet the fellas at the WR parking lot. Our plan was to do the loop (WR to summit, down Church Fork, Pipeline back to WR). It was windy and COLD at the start. I mean cold!!! It took us a few minutes to get moving and luckily when we got up on the west ridge the wind settled down and we all warmed up. The snow was deep and there were two sets of tracks going up and I was hoping they went all the way to the top, but I knew the chances were low. I had hoped that someone would have already put in a nice track for us all the way to the top because if we had to break trail it was going to be slow.

The tracks petered out about half way up the mountain and from there it was deep powder that we had to break all the way to the top, at times we would sink to our waist. Slow. It was a total slog! About 3/4 of the way up we figured that running the entire loop was probably out because of time, but we would assess that on the summit. We all took turns breaking the trail, but I think Dors did the most. At some point we started noticing blood in the snow and Dors was leaking DNA all over the hill. I think he had a gash in his knee from falling on a rock and he also had a wound on his foot.

Up on the summit ridge the snow was crotch sinking deep and we all took turns breaking through the powder. Finally on the summit we took some pics and all had a gel and it was clear that we were the only dummies to summit since the storm, which surprised me because I thought for sure someone would have come up from Church Fork by now. It took us over 2 hours to get to the top which is about an hour longer than normal. We were all running out of time, so the loop was out. We messed around on the way down shooting a lot of video and goofing off and I started to have a lot of ice buildup on my socks/shoes and tights and it was uncomfortable, but I never stopped to get it all off and when we finally got down I noticed a lot of blood on my socks and I had some pretty big oozing wounds on my heels and ankles. DUMB! I haven't bought new gators since mine were stolen out of my car and now I'll pay for it. We did have a total blast though laughing just about the entire time and enjoying some killer views while getting in a pretty good workout.

Lake Mountain with Jun:

Up at 4:30 am again to run Lake Mountain with Jun. This is one of my favorite peaks to run and when there is snow on the higher peaks this is one of my go to routes because it gets tracked out by a snowcat in order to service the towers on top, so it is always runnable. Our Grandeur Peak climb a few days ago left me with some nasty wounds/blisters on my heels and ankles and I wasn't quite sure I could run today, so I spent about 20 minutes applying bandages, mole-skin and tape and I decided to go with the Altra Lone Peaks because they didn't rub on my heels. I was hoping I could make it all the way without any issues.

The entire run was a blast. We ran in a nice snow track and chatted all the way up, enjoying the warmer temps. We didn't push too hard, but were still on the summit in 1:10 where we were greeted with an incredible sunrise. Awesome! After a few pics we ran back down. The run off the summit hurt my ankle a lot and I was super slow, but that was really the only time it bothered me during the run. I love running back down the 4X4 road and we just talked and laughed the whole way down. The Altra's felt like soft slippers on my feet and I think I am going to slowly transition back into them. Great morning.

Summit jump with Utah Lake/Valley below:

I had a very busy day and had to hit the TM. The sores on my heels and ankle are still open and oozing. I have never had wounds like this ever and it has really been frustrating. My Altra Lone Peaks are the only shoes I can wear that won't rub on them and I can't overdo it in those because I'm not transitioned back into the zero drop yet.

My ankle/heel wounds are still very sore, so as much as I wanted to get out for a run today the smart thing was to hit the elliptical for an hour. MattVH made a video of our climb up Grandeur last week. There was a lot of goofing off.

Grandeur Peak Vid

Weights at the gym for an hour. I was dripping sweat all over the benches, so it must have been a good session.

Lake Mountain with Jun, MattVH, Mr. K and Faceless Ghost-

Up at 4:30 am to meet the boys at the AF park n ride for another really fun run up to Lake Mountain. I was very worried about my ankle because of the large wound that is still there. It was really hurting yesterday, so I put on extra bandages and tape and just planned on ignoring any pain.

It was cool at the start, but not cold, although VH was shivering. There was a bit of mud on the road, but nothing that slowed us down at all. We didn't push too hard and just chatted the whole way up. About 3/4 of the way up a shirtless dude (MattVH) comes running out of nowhere, I think he just wanted to show off his rippling pecs. It was warm, but not that warm. Up to the summit in 1:06 with the most amazing sunrise. Pure awesome.

The run down was pretty sore on my ankle on the steep procky sections, but once we got past them it didn't really bother me at all and I was able to get into a pretty decent pace. I put on my ipod and had a really fun cruise down singing with MattVH and enjoying the sweet views. It was a really fun day with good friends and the perfect way to start my day.

4.5 late night easy miles on the TM. I wanted to get out on the trails, but got too busy.

View Benchmark with Rob:

Black Fridee run to the summit of VB via Ann's with Rob. The sores on my ankles and heels have still not healed up and I didn't have them wrapped as good for this run and i paid for it. On the steep rocky sections it hurt a lot and I was slow, but other than that we had a great time chatting, laughing and goofing off. The views from the top were pretty good too. 

Lake Mountain with Jun, Rad, Nate, Chad, Kelli and Scott:

What a fun run with great friends this morning. Rad wanted to come run with the 'boys club' so we decided to make a run up Lake Mountain smornin'. We had a really fun group and we settled into a nice pace and chatted most of the way up. It was pretty cold at the start, but once we got moving I heated up. There was very little wind and it was a beautiful day out there. Kelli and I ran/hiked the upper mountain together and hit the top in just over an hour. Chad was first and Scott and Nate followed a few minutes later and then Jun and Rad just behind them. The views were of course pretty awesome and it wasn't as cold as it has been the last few times.

The run down really hurt my ankle on the steep stuff, but once we got below that it was ok the rest of the way down and we all just had a nice relaxing pace and a good chat going back to the cars. It was a really fun morning and hopefully we can get the group together to do some more peaks.

Weights at the gym for an hour. This was the best session for me in about 6 months. I added weight to all of my sets and felt really good. I'm thinking of adding another day of weights to the rotation.

5 on the mill after the kids went to bed. I was going to go to the gym and run on the track, but by time I got everything settled at home it was too late.

Avenue Twin Peaks with MattVH:

I met MVH at the Capitol building at 5:30 am and it was windy and cold, so it was tough to get going, but once we started running it wasn't bad. We ran the first mile up the canyon to the trailhead. Matt wasn't feeling it at all this morning and who can blame him, he just ran a tough ultra adventure run 3 days ago. As we made our way up the trail he wanted to take a gel, so he slowed and I kept going, so I tried to go a little faster because I knew he would catch up. I kept climbing up and his headlamp never seemed to get closer and the higher I went the further it got, so I knew he was having an off day. When I got up higher on the ridge I saw a person off the trail just standing there in the brush. It was a little freaky because they were wearing dark clothes and I couldn't tell if it was a guy or girl because it was still dark. 'It' was just standing there looking at me.

I power hiked most of the steep section up to the peak, but I love running the last little bit because it is really steep and it was pretty much awesome up there this morning. The sun was just coming up and the views of the city and mountains were as good as they have been all year. Awesome sunrise. I hung out on top of peak #2 playing air guitar to 80s metal and waited for Matt to get up there. Rocky Mountain high. After Matt arrived we made our way back over to the the first summit and then back down to the ridge where we saw the strange dude in the brush again. He was watching us with a spotting scope or some binoculars. Weird.

The run down was slow, but we had a ton of fun and laughed just about the whole way down. It was an incredible start to the day.