Summit junkie!

My kids all wanted to watch a movie this afternoon, so I decided to go on a trail run with my dog while they enjoyed the movie. We went to the Grove Creek trail, which is on the south flank of Mahogany Mountain, which is a peak in front of Timpanogos and only about 15 minutes from my house.

The trail gains some really good elevation and at two miles you come to an impressive waterfall that has 3-4 smaller falls and one that is quite big. My quads have been sore since doing the West Ridge of Grandeur, so I wanted to loosen them up a bit and this trail was a great choice. I think the total elevation was about 1500 feet, but that is just a guess.

After a mile and a half Shyla was TIRED and I was dragging her up. I could tell she was hot and eventually we came across a pool of water and she promptly laid down in it, so I let her rest for a few minutes and then I had to almost pull her the rest of the way. Geez, they don't make dogs as tough as they used to. Maybe it was the heat.

When we reached the waterfall Shyla got in the river and laid down again, and I let her rest for a few minutes and cool down. I washed off my face and filled my hat with water and then we headed down. We made much better time, but had to take care along the cliffy sections. I was worried about Shyla running into me and knocking me off my feet (It has happened before), but if it happened here it could be deadly, so on all of the cliffs I just took my time. The trail actually gets quite small in places with some pretty big drop-offs.

I let Shyla stop a final time to lay in the river with a half mile to go, and then we pushed it quick to the parking lot. This is a really fun trail with some awesome views. I will be back again for sure.

Monday= Weights. I had a really good session at the gym tonight, but the fan wasn't working, so it was incredibly hot in there. I did manage to lift for 50 minutes (upper body) but I figured I would quit when I started dripping sweat all over the bench. Gotta love summer. Gotta love sweat!!

4 easy miles on the TM. Everything is feeling really good.

I had a really busy day today. After work I did yard work until it was dark and then after the kids went to bed I hit the elliptical for 40 minutes.

Bringing sexy back on the Pipeline this morning:

I met MatthewVH at 5:15 AM for a run on the Pipeline trail in Millcreek Canyon. We had an excellent morning. The temperature was almost perfect and we set a nice 9:00 pace. The conversation was good and we talked about some upcoming trips to the Wind Rivers, and of course we talked about Sister Hutchins (a lady Matt home teaches) HAHA!

At lookout Point we stopped to have a gel and take in the views! WOW! My left hamstring was a little tight so I stretched that out for a few minutes and then we headed back up the trail. About half way back I put on my iPod (because Matt stopped talking) and when Bringing Sexy Back came on I had to sing out loud (mostly because it was fun). I was feeling good and at one point stopped to do a little dancing, and I had just finished when 3 ladies came around the corner- whew!

We had a great time.

I fell asleep last night in my clothes watching the news (must have been really tired) and when I woke up at 1:30 AM to get ready for bed I decided I would get up early to lift at the gym.

I was not feeling it this morning. I was really tired and it took about 15 minutes to get going. I did have a good session, but not a great one. Lifted for 45 minutes.

I had a really fun time running in the Big Springs 8K (Battle at Big Springs) up Provo Canyon yesterday. I had wanted to run in the Gruesome Grizzly as well, but I was still recovering from Bryce Canyon and couldn't make it, but I am glad I didn't miss this one.

I got up there around 7:30 and spent a few minutes getting ready and getting my race packet and I was happy to see fellow FRBer Lily up there. We talked for a bit and it was nice to hang out with someone I knew. I did recognize a lot of people up there, but didn't know a lot of names.

The race was a little late starting, and other than the fact that I had to pee really bad I was feeling pretty good. The first .3 the faster runners separated themselves and and the trail got really steep. I slowed down a lot on the hill and just tired to keep a good pace without burning out. After the initial hill we came into a beautiful meadow and I passed a few runners here, as I picked up my pace.

As soon as we went through the meadow the trail got really steep again and pretty much climbs for the next two miles. I ran most of the hills and I was actually passing some people, so I felt like I was pretty strong, but it was tough. At about mile 2.5 I was really hoping the downhill would come quick because I was really getting tired. The trail flattened out a bit and then there were a few ups and downs before we crossed the stream. I picked off another runner, but I had a guy right on my heels that passed me when I finally had to stop to pee in the bush :)

The last two miles are down hill and I was feeling really good. I was under 7:00 almost the whole way and I actually passed a few more guys. One guy passed me going really fast, but with .5 to go he was doubled over and I passed him again. The finish came a little quicker than expected and I just pushed hard at the end. I was shocked that I came in 2nd place in my age group (30-39) and I feel like I could actually run that course a little faster, so I am excited to go back next year to do it again.

Lily was incredible up there. This was only her second trail run and first trail race and she looked like a pro up there. I only saw her at the start and the finish :) Nice work Lily!

This was a great race and they did an excellent job marking the trail and taking care of the runners. They had a raffle and gave out some of the best gear I have seen for a race. It seemed like about half of the peeps got something. I didn't but that is ok. I had a super-duper time anyway.