Hit the Dusty Trail

Ran from North Ogden divide up the trail to the top of Ben Lomond peak (9712').  Roughly 3000' of gain.  My goal was under 2 hours.  My  previous fastest time was 2:10.  This is 8.2 miles of uphill trail.  I did manage is run it in 2:05, so a new best time.  I did run large protions of it, so I wasn't unhappy with the run.  My running at higher elevations is getting better I think, although it amazing what a difference only a few hundred feet make in the abiliity to breathe.  Based on my effort, I'm calling the uphill part a marathon pace even though the pace was closer to a 15 minute pace.  The downhill part was lots of fun and I managed to do that in 1:24 for a roughly 10 minute pace.  Not too bad given that some places are so rocky that you have to walk unless you want to risk a sprained or broken ankle.

I took 70 oz. of water and it was just about the right amount as I ran out about half a mile from the parking lot.  It was quite warm  when I came down, but there was a nice breeze to help keep me cool.  On top, the temp was probably in the high 70's with a nice breeze up there as well.  I did see some mountain goats when I was on top, so that was pretty cool as I've never seen them in the wild before.  Some other people on the top said that they saw over 20 just hanging out on the cliffs.

Ran in to work this morning.  I thought I'd be a little tired from yesterday's effort, but I actually felt pretty good, so that's a good thing.

The run home was even easier.  As I left work and started to run, my daughter called.  I ended up walking the 2 miles to the train station as I talked with her, missed my usual train and had to take a later one.

Pushed the pace a little this morning.  I need to do that more often.

Nothing special about the run home other than the train had some issues with its computer.  We were stopped on the tracks for about 10 minutes while it was reset.

Did some interval work today at lunch. About 1.3 warmup, 4 x .6, 1.3 cooldown. Not much of a cooldown given the heat.

Spent the entire day running from the Lamb's Canyon exit on I-80 to the Homestead resort in Midway. This is the last 47 miles of the Wasatch 100 course. We took one short cut when we realized that we wouldn't finish before dark. None of us had lights. Went with a couple of fellow Wasatch runners. Most runners will see this part of the course at night, so it was nice to see it during the day as I think it's the most scenic part. I had no issues with the altitude at all. I actually felt really good all day long. The only part that was a little difficult was the climb from Brighton ski area up to Sunset Pass (10,450'), the highest point reached during the race. The last 5 miles were the best part, all downhill and my legs felt great, I pushed really hard on this part. We all had big sloppy hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes when we finished, good stuff. What a gorgeous day in the mountains.