Running on Twinkies

7 p.m. The weather is perfect. The mountains look awesome. Well . . . I'm tired of waiting for my body to heal, I'm going for a trail run. 

I ran 2 miles on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. My joints felt awfully stiff at the first, but after a mile I was warmed up and felt surprisingly good. Lots of folks out on the trail today. My average pace ended being 10:07. Not bad for not having ran since January.  

I ran about a mile on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Centerville, then detoured onto the Deuel Creek South Trail. The trail follows the creek bed and crosses the creek several times. Each crossing has logs with wire mesh over them. I went up the trail for a mile and crossed the creek 5 times. Then I headed back down crossing the creek 5 more times. There were several people out on the Shorline Trail, but I only saw one guy with three dogs on the Deuel Creek Trail. It is a much more difficult trail, but it is also ten times more scenic. Avg Pace - 15:38. I had to walk some of the uphills. I am out of shape right now, but I'll get there.

Tonight's run wasn't intended to be a 5k distance, it just turned out that way. I went to the Centerville Trailhead of Legacy Parkway. I ran south because I wanted to check out the new trail that links the Legacy Parkway Trail to the Jordan River Trail. The new trail is great. I like it much better than the Legacy Trail. It is actually scenic. 

Avg pace - 9:49 

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was super windy this morning. I felt like I was going to blow off of the trail. I was hoping the ground would be frozen, but it was muddy instead. It should dry out soon through.

Avg pace - 11:47 

Wild Rose Trail. A mile and a half doesn't sound like much, but you'll have to be patient with me as I ease back into things.

Avg pace - 15:20 

Since I was on the injured list this winter, I didn't get much of a chance to run in the snow. Mother Nature must be having pity on me, because the snow is coming down tonight. I headed out to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was covered with a nice white blanket. I don't know why, but I love running on a trail with 2 inches of fresh snow on it. It was 8:30 p.m. but I didn't need my headlamp. The lights in the valley reflected off of the snow and lit up the whole area. The best part was that it continued snowing during the entire run. I can't wait for tomorrow's run.

Avg pace - 12:01 

5:30 a.m. Mueller Park Trail. I made fresh tracks in the snow this morning. There was about six inches at the trailhead. The snow was wet and heavy, so there were a lot of low hanging branches that I had to avoid. The was one tree that looked like it might have fallen down from this storm. At the point where I turned around the snow was about a foot deep. 

Avg pace - 18:10 

I attempted to run/hike to Cave Peak this morning. The lower part of the trail was great, but as I got higher, the snow got deeper. The trail was difficult to follow and I ended heading up the wrong way. I made up to a smaller summit that was just south of Cave Peak. I was sinking past my knees at this point so I decided not to go all the way. It's hard to believe that there is that much snow up there this time of year.

Wild Rose Trail. At the park where I started, the was a little bunny rabbit running around. It must be getting close to Easter. When I came back, he was still there. I think he must have been hiding Easter eggs for tomorrow's hunt. 

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. I started the run at sunset. It sure seems cold for the end of April. The trail was dry except for a few puddles in the usually spots. 

Avg pace - 10:50 

Sometimes I have to set easy goals so that I feel like I am accomplishing something. Today's goal was to get out of bed and go for a run. I nailed it.

I ran the Wild Rose Trail. It was dry the whole way up with only a few patches of snow where I decided to turn around. I didn't turn around because of the snow. I would've enjoyed going higher and running in the snow, but I am not in good enough shape yet for longer runs. 

Mueller Park Trail. There was a fresh layer of snow on the ground this morning. At the trail head there were two other cars. The snow was only and inch deep at the start. I could see three sets of footprints on the trail ahead of me. About a mile up the trail I passed two lady hikers who had just turned around. There was only one sets of tracks ahead of me now. After another mile I passed the other hiker. The snow was getting deeper at the point. There was now four inches of fresh powder. By mile 3 there was 6 to 8 inches of powder on top of about 18 inches of packed snow. I would get into a good groove, then break through the packed stuff and fall down.

I came around a bend and there was a moose about twenty yards ahead of me. I stopped and she turned and stared at me for a minute then headed on up the trail. After going about hundred yards, she turned off the trail and headed up the mountain. I continued on up the trail. Wish I would've brought my camera today.

I made to Elephant Rock in 55 minutes, which is pretty good considering the snow and my current physical condition. I rested for just a moment and took in the view, then headed back down. Going down through the deep snow was challenging. The faster the I would go, the harder I'd fall. Luckily I was falling into fresh powder, so I never got hurt.  Once I got of of the deep snow, I could run without falling. the rest of the run felt great. My down time was 42 minutes. 

This has been my longest run since I started running again a few weeks ago. It felt good and I am looking forward to longer runs in the near future.

6.8 miles + 1200 vert + 5 falls + 1 moose = an awesome run.