Hit the Dusty Trail

Ran the BST from 22nd street towards Beus Canyon and back.  Felt pretty good.   Was able to run everything, no walking on the hills, even the steep ones.

Ran into work this morning.  Time was a little slow.  I just bought a UTA Ecopass thru work that allows me to ride anything UTA has, trains, Trax, buses.  So going home I tried running to the train station a couple miles from work, taking the train two stops and 15 minutes, then running the 4.5 home.  Actually wasn't too bad.  Figuring that I spend a gallon of gas a day commuting when I drive, the pass will pay for itself in 8 days.  I'm leaving the car at home as much as possible.  We can also take bikes on the train.  Pretty cool deal, saving money while running to work more often.

Ran into work via the train station this morning.  Left the house at about 6:15, caught the 7:08 train and was at my desk well before 8am.  The roads I would normally drive to the station are extremely busy, but I've found some back roads to the station that are very quiet.  The run itself was slow, my legs are dead.  I think it's from trying to ramp up to some decent mileage, so it will get better.

The run home went better, but the legs are still very tired.  All in all, not a bad commute, combining the train and running.

Hiked up to Windy Pass east of Provo to help out at the Windy Pass Aid station at the Squaw Peak 50 mile.  Rain at the bottom, snow at the top.  4" of the stuff with plenty of old snow left over.  We kept a fire going all day long.  The weather did clear off and it was actually quite pleasant by around 2pm.  This is the 4th year I've worked this aid station and it's always a good time.  We end up packing in all our supplies 5 miles uphill.  thank goodness there's a spring near the top for water.  Finally made it down after dark.  Glad I took a headlamp with me.  I bought a new one, a Petzl MYO plus.  Lots and lots of light.  I love it.  Anyway, a good time was had by all, including Grant Holdaway.  This is a guy who's 77 years old and running a very tough 50 mile race, and he wasn't the last one to finish.  What an inspiration.  Windy Pass is at the 40.5 mile point and he was still looking good, tired but doing fine.

Did the run/train/run thing this morning.  Pushed a little harder to the station.  Found a more quiet route than running along Wall Ave. in Ogden.  Legs felt very heavy this morning, like I'm not in shape at all.  Hope that felling goes away.

My daughter and grandson leave for home today.  They've been out visiting for the last week and the training has suffered some.  I'd rather spend time with them than run.  Can you blame me?  My grandson is 1 1/2 years old and way too much fun.  I'll miss him when he's gone.

the run home was uneventful, just a run home.

Didn't get a chance to run during lunch so I hit the dreadmill in the evening.  Just the 4 miles was a chore.

Ran to the train station, took the train, then ran to work.  A little cool this morning, but perfect for a run.  The day is going to be gorgeous.

The run to the train station this afternoon was at a sub 8 pace.  Felt good to push.  The run from the Ogden station home wasn't as fast, but still sub 9. 

Now that holidays are over and family is gone, I hope to get several uninterrupted weeks of good training before Tahoe Rim.  We'll see how that goes.

Tried out a new section of the BST.  Started at the North Ogden trailhead and went along the powerline at the base of Ben Lomond Peak.  The trail started out as some nice single track, but then joined up with the powerline road.  Not too interesting after that.  Tough run though due to the climbs and descents.  Some nice views to the south towards Ogden.

Ran on Antelope Island.  I was fully expecting to get eaten alive by bugs, but they were non-existent.  the day was nice.  A little warm.  Two bottles was not enough as I ran out about 2 miles from the end of the run.  The park has flagged a section of new trail that they're hoping to cut this summer.  I called in to the Ranger and he told me to check it out.  I did and managed to get thousands of cheatgrass seeds stuck in my shoes.  That new section of trail is going to be sweet.  Gradual climbs and descents, single track, it will wind in and out of all sorts of small ravines, traverse across some fairly steep hillsides.  It'll be too much fun to run when it opens next spring.

Nothing special, did the run to the train station thing this morning. 

Really pushed on the run to the train station after work.  Well under an 8 minute pace.  Nice and warm, just the way I like it. 

Really felt sluggish this morning.  I wasn't too much slower than normal, but sure felt like it.  I did notice some restriction in my breathing, like my trachea was narrower.  i did take a hit off of my inhaler before I left the house but my hay fever has been acting up the past couple of days.  Perhaps a touch of asthma this morning.  We'll see how the afternoon run goes.

Afternoon run went fine.  I felt a little better, not as sluggish.  Nice and warm though. 

Ran an easy 6 at lunch.  My right achilles, where it attaches to the heel, is bothering me.  Hope it doesn't get worse.  Guess a little icing is in store this evening.

Got a late start to the train station this morning.  But made it in time, with only a couple minutes to spare.  Nothing like time to give a little incentive to run a little faster.

Had to run pretty quick to catch the train home.  Left work a little late.  Still made it though. 

No running today.  I was one of the drivers for Team Ammo IYAAYAS, one of the ultra teams for the Wasatch Back Relay.  Lots of fun, wish I could have done some running with them.

Ran to the station again today.  this Saturday is the Logan Peak Trail Run.  28 miles.  I'm not planning on tapering at all, so we'll see how that goes.

Pushed hard on the 2 miles to the train station.  7:30 pace, aproximately.  I love beating cars to the intersection.  They get to wait at the light and in the traffic while I go up the road.  Slowed the pace some on the run from the station to home, but still went faster than I usually do.

Felt really old this morning.  The run yesterday left me a little tired.  I've also been pulling hay bales out of a field for the past several days and last night I managed to kick the trailer while boosting a bale and now my big toe is sore.  The right elbow is hurting as well and the last insult was getting a pretty good dog bite on my finger while playing.  Not the dog's fault.  I'm a mess.

The run home wasn't much better.  Just slow.  Hope I can get some decent sleep tonight.

Felt a little better this morning.  Got more sleep, don't have to worry about getting more hay tonight.  Might even get to bed early.  What a thought!

Took it easy going home.  Legs are still alittle tired, but oh well.  It's part of the gig.

Finally got around 8 hours of sleep.  I felt a whole lot better this morning.  Decided to just run at lunch today rather than run in to work.  A little bit warm, but not too bad.

Talk about a tough course.  Even though it's o nly 28 miles, this race runs like a 50K or longer.  the first 4 miles are all uphill and you gain roughly 3000' going up Dry Canyon.  This is followed by a traverse around a mountain until you get to the second aid station at 11 miles.  then it's another 2000' climb in 3 miles to the top of Logan Peak.  Oh, and long the way we ended up covering around a mile on snow, some of it 4'-5' deep, especially near the top of the peak.  Now we had 2000' of downhill, a run along some jeep roads to connect with the Dry Canyojn trail.  for the next several miles this was some sweet single track, rolling, twisting, and very runnable.  Finally you get back to the aid station at the top of the canyon and now you have 3000' of descent in the 4 remaining miles.

My race went great.  I did no taper at all so I wasn't expecting great things out of this.  I was hoping for a sub 5:30 (ideally) and a sub 6:00 (realistically).  I ran a 6:12 adn was happy with it.  I tried pushing where I could, stayed well fueled and hydrated.  I had no issues with altitude like I have had in the past.  9700' at the top of Logan Peak didn't bother me at all.  When I got to the last aid station, there was another runner only 40-50 yards behind and gaining.  Since I love downhill trail running, I figured I'd pour it on and see if I could stay in front of her.  I have no idea what time I ran for the last 4 miles, but I'm thinking it was around 30 minutes.  I knew my quads would pay for those last 4 miles but I figured I'd tough it out.  I did manage to stay in front and even gain some ground as she finished about 5 minutes behind me.  I was hammered when I crossed the finish line though.

Two thumbs up for this race.  Beautiful scenery, great trails and jeep roads to run on, the aid stations were fantastic, lots of food and drink and wonderful people manning them.  Great food at the end, and a really tough course  Kelly and her crew did a great job.

Did the usual run in to the train station this morning. My quads are absolutely hammered from my race on Saturday. Needless to say, it was a slow run in. I haven't been this sore two days after a race in a long time. I also forgot my water bottle, not critical in the morning, but it's going to be a dry run home this afternoon.

The afternoon run was indeed warm. Since I forgot my bottle, I really tanked up on fluids before I left work. the run to the train station (2 miles) was fine. The run from the train station to home got a little dry, but a good thing happened to me. This hot babe in this huge, lifted F250 stopped and asked if I wanted a ride home. Of course I told my wife yes. ( I just bought her a 2005 pickup last weekend to replace her worn out F150.)

The legs felt a little better, especially as the run home went on. Still, I think I'm not going to run in tomorrow, I'll just go running at lunch.