Summit junkie!

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.