Running on Twinkies

Where were you at 6 a.m.?

I was out on the Wahsatch Steeplechase course. I didn't run the whole course, just some of the fun parts. It should be good training for the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase next Saturday. I started and the Bonneville Shoreline Trailhead in City Creek Canyon and headed up to the base of Black Mountain. I turned around when it got to the nasty steep section and head back down the same way I had come up. It was a great morning for a run.

I haven't been running this week because my knees have been bothering me. I was starting to wonder if I would still be able to race on Saturday at the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase. Today my knees felt good enough that I was able to get a run in on the Mueller Park Trail. 

 I ran the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase in 2006 and came in at a time of 2:30. I think I was in better shape at the time. This year I may have to treat it as more of a training run, but we'll see how it goes. The weather for the weekend is looking great, so regardless it should be a fun run.

Today I ran the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase in Park City. I finished in 2:33:21, 39th overall, and 14 in my age group. I am happy with the results. This was the second time I have run this race, I ran it in 2006. This race has gotten much more competitive since the last time I ran it. In 2006 I finished in 2:30, 15th overall, 7 in my age group, and I didn't get chicked. This year 5 women beat me to the finish line.

I saw Jon Allen before the race and wished him luck. I don't think there were any other bloggers at this race. I did a 1.5 mile warmup before the race started.  After a few announcements we were off at a little after 8 a.m. The course starts out heading up a dirt road straight up the ski hill. After a half mile up the road we turn off onto a beautiful single track trail. My first mile was 12:46, that may sound slow, but I was wondering if I had started out too fast.

Just after mile three, something bit my leg. I quickly bushed it off, but I didn't see what it was. I had a stinging pain in my leg for about a half mile, but after that it was fine.

The course continues up and up. I was able to run most of the uphill until we got to the insane section. The final ascent up to Jupiter Peak is a scramble up a very steep hill. I had to walk this part. I looked at my GPS as we were going up and it wasn't sure if I was moving or not. At the top of the peak I touch the flagpole and started to run again. If you look on the Park City Ski Trail Map, the final ascent to Jupiter is a black diamond run. The downhill felt great, but it was short lived. There was a second peak for us to ascend, Tri-counties Peak. I walked a bit going up that hill but it wasn't as bad as Jupiter. Then the real fun started.

The downhill singletrack was a lot of fun. There was a small log on the trail with dirt over it that looked like a jump to me. So I leaped off of it was pulled a big back scratcher and stuck the landing. To bad there wasn't a camera man near by. The girl just behind said "Whoa, nice form!" I was feeling really good on the downhill and started to pour it on. I passed several people on the way down, too many to count.

Towards the end of the race there were a few rolling hills which are really tough after all that downhill. I am happy to report that I stayed strong on the uphills despite the pain. In the last quarter mile I passed two more guys. One of them had a good kick at the end and I couldn't hold him off. I finished strong and I think this has been one of my best races this year.

Here are my splits:
Mile 1 - 12:46
Mile 2 - 12:01
Mile 3 - 11:33
Mile 4 - 9:21     my fastest uphill mile
Mile 5 - 13:27
Mile 6 - 12:47
Mile 7 - 17:53
Mile 8 - 10:36
Mile 9 - 7:45
Mile 10 - 6:37
Mile 11 - 7:03
Mile 12 - 6:27     flying!!
Mile 13 - 6:49
Mile 14 - 7:26
Mile 15 - 7:24
Mile 16 - 7:35

Two miles at an easy pace today. I am still recovering from my race on Saturday. The bug bite which I got during the race has gotten worse. I think that it may have been a spider that I brushed out of its web as I ran by. On Sunday I had a two inch area around the bite that had turn a pinkish color. Yesterday is was red and today its purple. The strange thing is that it doesn't hurt. I called my doctor and he recommended to take benadryl and watch for infection. Hopefully it will clear up in the next day or so.

First of all, I need to apologize to all my readers for my serious lack of running lately. When I wake up in the morning I have been too sore or too lazy to run. So I plan to run in the evening, but that doesn't seem to happen. I need to get back into the habit of running everyday.

For this run, I was camping at a family reunion in Heise, Idaho. I ran from the campground up the road to Kelly Canyon Ski Resort. That was 3.3 miles, so I decided to run up to the top of the resort. For those who might be familiar with this resort, I ran up a trail on the backside called Moose. This resort is not big and only has 1000 ft of elevation gain from bottom to top. The route I went up was about 1.5 miles. I came down the front side of the mountain which was steep and fast. Then I turn off onto a switch back trail called Rattlesnake. At the bottom, I ran back down the road back to camp. This is now the fourth ski resort that I have ran to the top of. The other three being Grand Targhee, Park City, and Snowbird.

I will be in Maryland all next week for work. Hopefully I can get some runs in while I am there.

I am in Maryland for work this week. I ran along a boardwalk on the coastline and down some of the streets in the town I am staying in. I wish I knew where some trails were to run on around here. Perhaps I will find some before I leave.

I found a trail. I asked some of the guys I was working with out here if they knew of any trails. They told me to go to St Mary's Lake. At the lake there was a 7 mile loop trail around it. The trail was great. It had several foot bridges, some rolling hills and lots of winding single track. Running out here is a bit different than running at home since the average elevation for this run was 87 feet.

Today for my run I decided to check out the exercise gym at the hotel. I got on a large treadmill that had all kinds of bells and whistles, but I couldn't figure out how to get it started. After pushing a few buttons, I got it going. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was playing on the TV. I settled in and watched the show. I was enjoying the show and not paying much attention to my running. When the show ended I had ran over 11 miles, 3.5 of which were at a decent pace. Perhaps I should incorporate watching a Star Wars show into my weekly workout.

Tonight is my last night in Maryland. Tomorrow night I will be sleepling back home in my own bed. I headed out for own last run. After going only a quarter of a mile a nasty little bug flew into my eye. It stopped me in my tracks. I walked for a little bit and was going to just walk back to the hotel to was it out, but after blinkly my eyes several times I was able to keep running. I only did three miles tonight because I am in unfamiliar territory and it was getting dark.

Today's run was a learning experience. There is no such thing as a bad run. Sometimes there our those runs that teahc us lessons. I woke at 4:30 a.m. but went back to sleep. It was getting hot by the time I went out to run. I ran on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to City Creek Canyon and then ran up the canyon. My plan was to run 20 miles, which I did. After running 12.5 miles I started feeling very fatigue. I had not brought any Gu or any other type of fuel with me. I did have water but that was all I had. The night before I had been traveling back from the East Coast and had not eaten any real dinner. I was ready to be done, but the shortest route back to my car was the same way I had come. I kept plugging along. At mile 15.5 I had to go uphill for about 2.5 miles to get out of the canyon. I made up with some walking and running, more walking than running. The last two miles I pushed as best I could to the end. At this point it was about 1 p.m. and was very hot. I completed the distance but not in the time I thought it would take me. 

Lessons Learned:
If I wake up at 4:30 a.m. I should go out for a run while it is still cool.
Take Gu or other types of fuel with me on long runs.
Eat a good dinner the night before a long run. 

Mueller Park Trail. I started my run at 5:30 this morning. It was much cooler than my run on Saturday, but it was still dark so I had to use a head light. My uphill miles were a bit slow today, but the downhill felt great and I was able to really pick things up.