Running on Twinkies

Happy New Year!!!

I went to Draper this morning and ran with Mary Ann, Craig, and Soren on the Porter Rockwell trail. The trail had some snow on it but was mostly clear. We ran the course of the New Years Day 5k, but I didn't stick around for the race. It was a great way to start the year.

This afternoon we took the kids bowling. They did great and I bowled a 70. Typical for me.

Since it's a new year, it's time for some new goals. My number one goal for this year is to keep my pain level low enough that I can get out of bed and run. This year I also want to qualify for Boston. I plan to do that at the Mesa Falls Marathon in August. I also want to run to the top of Bountiful Peak. This was on my list of things to do last year, but I never made it. Other than that, I just want to discover some new trails and make some more running friends. I will probably go on some wild adventures this year, but I haven't set specific goals for that.

2011 is going to be one exciting year. 

Oct 9: Layton Marathon 6:12:04  

6:30 a.m. 14.2°F

 I ran on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in North Salt Lake. I had to cut it short because my right knee was acting up a bit.  

Poor air quality. Sometimes you have to rise above it. That's what I did today. I went to the trailhead of the Wild Rose Canyon Trail. I was going to run in snowshoes today, but it hasn't snowed for over a week and the trail looked well packed. I decided to run with my inov8's. 

A 1/2 mile into the run I got above 5500 ft and came into clean air. The sky was clear and I could see the whole valley with this ugly grey blanket over it. It was awesome up there. At 3/4 of mile I took a little known detour. The main trail goes down a steep hill and then up a longer steep hill. I refer to this as the 'monster hill'. The route I take is a gradually up hill that is slightly longer but avoids the 'monster hill'.

 At 2 miles I decided to turn around. I had planned to go farther, but the trail was less packed and the snow was getting deeper. The snowshoes would have been great at that point, but I didn't carry them up. I was also getting deeper into cat country and since I was alone, it was probably a good idea to turn around. 

It was a super fun Saturday run. 

I met Jun and Wire (Scott) at Sunnyside trailhead at 5:45 this morning. We headed up towards Mt Wire. The boys were faster than I was and dropped me after about half a mile. The temperature was perfect and the mountain was awesome at that time in the morning. After about a mile and a half I caught up with them again. The must halve slowed down, because didn't pick up my pace. Just before we reached the top, I issued the challenge "First one to the top wins!!" and we and went into a sprint. Jun took the lead and I was close behind, but then I stubbled and Wire snuck past me. So Jun was the winner, followed by Wire, with me right behind. We made it up in 53:34. We rested at the top and took a few pictures. 

We went down the same way we had come up. I had never ran down the North side before. It is steeper than the route I usually and and my right knee complained a bit. Jun flew down and and beat Wire and I by three minutes. The complete run time was 1:17:10.

All this way done before the Sun came up. 

I met up with some friends in Provo today and ran the Provo River Trail.

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. 

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Today was a great success for my running career. Not because of the run, but because I made it back on Burt's Favorite Blogs list.

Thanks Burt. 

Wild Rose Trail. Quick little run with lots of vert. I will have to check, but I think there is 1500 ft vert gain in the first mile and a half.

I ran the Mueller Park Trail for the second Saturday in a row, but this time I saw two moose. The first one surprised me. I was on the switchbacks only a half mile up the trail. I usually don't see moose down that low. It was a young bull. The second one was just before Elephant Rock. It was a calf. I was hoping it mother wasn't nearby. Luckily I never saw it parents.

The trail was nice today. The last mile still has lots of snow. The are stretches of clear trail followed by snow to hike through, then another good stretch. I made it up in 52 minutes, 3 minutes faster than last week. On the way down, after I was past most of the snow, I opened things up a bit. It felt great and my mile 6 time was 7:10. The down time was 33 minutes, 9 minutes faster than last week. 

Late run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was a muddy mess, but that's was what I expected since it has been raining for the last two days. I hope the trails dry out soon.

Ran a mile with my two boys tonight. They are training for a 5k at their school next Friday. Connor finished the mile in 12:14 and Jed finished in 12:19.

Today I ran the UTVA 5k with my kids. It was a 5k for their school. They are homeschooled, but UTVA is an online program that they use. There were about 50 kids at the race.  Our whole family ran this race. Connor ran by himself. I pushed Evan and Eliza in a double stroller and ran along side Jed. Susie ran with Jaxine. Susie is also carrying one in the oven. 

Connor took off and ran great. He finished in 29:27. I think he finished eight over all. Jed and Jaxine stayed close together for the first half. Jaxine slowed down for the second half. Jed kept a steady pace the whole time and finished in 39:03. After finishing with Jed, I ran back with the stroller and ran in with Jaxine. She finished in 45:07. This was her first 5k.

After we came home, I ran a bit more. I went to the Mueller Park Trail. The trail was incredible today. The rain had made every very green. I made it up to Elephant rock in 43:40. There were only patches of snow up to the rock. I decided to go up further. About 3/4 of a mile above the rock there is a bridge crossing. The bridge had lots of snow, so I decided to turn around. 8.5 miles total on the Mueller Park Trail.

I am thinking of putting together an unofficial half marathon race on the Mueller Park Loop Trail. Anyone interested? 

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. I meant to get out earlier this week, but it just didn't happen. The trail was nice and dry today. 

Snow on Memorial Day? Really?

 Took the boys, Connor and Jed, to a 5k this morning at 7 a.m. The weather did not cooperate. During the race we got rained on, snowed on, and hailed on. We got soaked. I asked them part way through if they wanted to finish, and they both said that they did. So we kept going. Didn't stick around for the pancake breakfast. Came home and had breakfast indoors instead.  

Is there mud on your shoes?

Mine got caked with mud this morning. I ran on the Bonneville Shoreline trail in North Salt Lake. There is a half mile section of the trail that is clay like mud and really sticks to my shoes. It's been three weeks since my last run. It felt great to get out and run again, but two miles into the run, I could tell that I am way out of shape. So it's time to recommit myself to running regularly and start working on some new goals.  

This morning I attempted to run the Holbrook Canyon trail. The small creek that runs down the canyon was roaring fast with the most water that I have ever seen. I only made it up about a half mile before I came to a creek crossing that didn't have a bridge. I looked around for alternate options but didn't find any and headed back down. I was not going to attempt to cross that creek. That would've been suicide.

I finished off the run with a few miles on the roads near the temple. I saw four dear munching grass on the hillside. I invited them to come running with me, but they weren't interested.  

I'll call today's run Giant Switchbacks.

Legacy Parkway Trail. Today's run felt very good. This was the first run in a long time that I ran sub 10 minute miles. That still isn't fast, but it's improvement.

Mueller Park Trail. At the trailhead there were signs that said the trail was closed 1.5 miles up because of the Kern River Gas Project. I headed up anyway and when I got the the pipeline ditch I ignored the signs and headed across. The better part of the trail is above the pipeline. I hope they finish this project soon, because it is making an awful mess.

I started at the Wild Rose Trail and headed all the way up to Three Dudes. Three Dudes is a group of rock formations. This trail has is awesome, but it has some serious vert. It's nearly 3000 ft of gain. 2929 ft according to Garmin Connect. I reached the dudes right at sunrise. I rested for a bit then headed back down the same way.

This week was a progressive week. Each run was further than the day before. This wasn't planned, but I noticed it was the case on Thursday and decided to continue it on Friday and Saturday. 

Here are some pictures from yesterday's run.

 
Heading up

 
Me with Dude #2

Trail Kill! 

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. The trail was dry today. The run felt pretty good. It's nice to be able to run 4 miles again without feeling like I going to die.

I started at Twin Hollow Park and headed up the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to Deuel Creek. I turned and went up the canyon. This trail crosses the creek several times. Bridge #1 was in good condition. Bridge #2 had moved downstream about 5 feet but was still usable. Bridge #3...what happened to Bridge #3. It was no where to be found. I head back down and finished off the run on the Shoreline trail. I ran over to Parrish Creek and then back to the park.

Ran on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Centerville. I headed over to Ricks Creek and went up to an awesome waterfall. On an interesting note, Ricks Creek was named after my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather.

Legacy Parkway Trail. I slept in this morning and only had time for a short run.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail - North Salt Lake. Today's run turned out to be the exact same distance as yesterday's run. The Shoreline trail has more elevation, yet I finished 10 seconds faster than yesterday. It was a good run.

At parents house for the holiday weekend. Did a eleven mile loop with my Mom and Dad. They are training for a half marathon in August. I recently signed up for my first official race of the year. I will be running the Bairgutsman on August 6th. 

I met up with Rye today. Not only is he a good runner, but he is also a really cool guy. We ran around the Idaho Falls green belt and also around Freeman Park. It didn't cool off much last night, so it's going to be a hot 4th of July. 

Happy Independence Day everyone.  

Headed out on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail at dusk. Watched an amazing sunset over Antelope Island. 

I ran the lower portion of the Wild Rose Trail today. I must be one of the few people that knows that this trail exists. It is not being used and is way overgrown. I might have to run it again tomorrow, just to pack the weeds down better.

Wild Rose Trail. 

Sunset run. I started on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Bountiful and headed North. Crossed Deuel Creek, Parrish Creek, and Bernard Creek, After Bernard Creek I headed up the mountain and looped back to Parrish Creek. There is some fun single-track on that hillside.  

I was only planning on running 14 today, but I was having so much fun in the mountains that I did an extra mile. I started at the Bountiful "B". I headed up the Ridgeline Trail, then up the Buckland Ridge Trail. It comes out onto Skyline Drive. I went up Skyline Drive about a mile, then got on the Tuttle Loop Trail. At the end of it I headed on a gravel road around the backside of an unnamed peak. I would have summitted it, but I didn't have anyone with me to take a picture of the peak jump. Maybe next time. While on the gravel road I came across two runners heading the other direction. They asked me if I was training for Wasatch. It was then that I realized I was on part of the Wasatch 100 course. Ultra runners that I have seen running are always friendly. The gravel road came out onto Skyline Drive. I headed down it back to the Ridge Trails and went back down them to the car. It was a good run with a crazy amount of vert. 

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. I was surprised that my legs weren't more sore from Saturday's run. Today's run was a little slow, but I felt quite good.

I am in Pensacola, Florida for a few days for work. I ran along Tippin Ave today. The run was alright but it wasn't as good as running on trails. I wish I knew where some trails were around here.

For those of you who visited my blog earlier today, and thought 'Oh no, Twinkies didn't make it out today.' Your wrong. I just got out a little late and I ran on a full stomach.

I went out to a steak house for dinner tonight. I had a delicious lobster tail, baked potato, and some steamed broccoli. I topped it of with a giant triple layer oreo ice cream desert thingy. After dinner, I went back to the hotel, put on my gear, and cranked out six miles. I didn't pay attention to my pace the entire run. I figured I was doing about eleven minute miles. When I checked afterwards, my average pace was 9:33. Woohoo. I need to eat lobster tail more often.

2.43 miles before bed.

Today I took my family to the Red Hot Pick Chicks (RHPC) race. We made it a family event. Connor, Jed, and Jaxine all wanted to run the 5k. I pushed Evan and Eliza in the a double stroller and ran with Jed and Jaxine. Connor ran ahead of us. The course is an out and back on the Provo River parkway trail. At about .75 mile Jaxine wanted to walk. We only walked for a little bit because Jed really wanted to run. By 1.5 miles Jaxine was about done and walked again. Jed didn't want to stop and ran on ahead. At 1.8 miles, Jed was about 50 yards ahead of us and Jaxine was getting slower. I didn't want Jed to get lost, so I put Jaxine in the stroller with the other two and ran fast to catch up to Jed. He was a trooper and ran the whole rest of the way. We turned the second to last corner and saw Connor coming back towards us. He had gotten lost. We ran together towards the park. As we got close to the park I made Jaxine get out and finish the race. Connor and Jed finished about a minute ahead of us, and we came in at 38 minutes. 

I turned around and started the half marathon. I was currently in last place with the nearest runner at least 3 miles ahead. I was doing about 9 to 9:30 minutes miles. I started calculating things in my head and figured I could catch the tail end of the runners by mile 7. The canyon was nice today. A bit windy going up, but the weather was good. I saw Lily coming back down and gave her a high five. She was five or six miles ahead of me and I knew I had no chance of catching her. After her I passed several of the other pink ladies making there way down, and a few guys. At the waterfall I passed RAD coming down and she told me that here goal was to stay ahead of me. She was currently over two miles ahead of me, but I took the challenge and tried to catch her. Just before the turned around, I saw Jon and Kelli. They were the tail end of the race. I just had to catch them and I wouldn't be in last. About a half mile later I had caught up with them. I chatted with them a bit, then headed on. My downhill pace was between 8 and 8:30, with several of the miles right on 8:15. I was able to maintain that pace through the to the end. I never did catch RAD. I finished with a total time of 2:34:38. Which gave me a time of 1:56:38 for the half. After the race I ate some delicious goodies and visited with a few of the runners. This is a fun race with lot's of fun people.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was still dark when I started my run. I guess I need to get out my headlamp again if I want to run early in the morning. 

Ran on the Deuel Creek Trail before heading off to do some camping with the family.

Camping at reunion flats is Wyoming. Ran with my dad from our campground to Targhee Canyon campground and back.

Ran up the trail towards Table Rock. I made it up to a steam crossing that required me to get my feet wet to continue. Didn't feel like getting wet, so I headed back down. I was planning on running 10 miles, but settled for 8 and made it back in time for breakfast.

I just got caught up on my blog. I am back home after a week of camping at family reunions in Idaho and Wyoming. Got in a few good runs while I was there. 

Tonight I ran the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to the radio towers. This run is becoming my staple run this summer. I seem to do it more than any other run. It is a easy trail that I can run anytime, but has enough difficulty to still challenge me and make me improve.

If anyone is interested in joining me this Saturday, I am planning on doing a 20 mile run on the mountain trails above the Bountiful 'B'. There are some great trails up there and the route will include a peak bag or two. Let me know if you would like to join me.

I started on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail today. After crossing Parrish Creek, I headed up the Parrish Sunset Trail. The trail doesn't get much use and is a bit overgrown. I guess I should run it more often and get it broke in.

Met Scott and Matt VH at the Bountiful 'B' at 5:00 a.m. We drove up to the Bountiful aid station of the Wasatch 100 course. Our plan was to run from there to Francis Peak and back following the course route. Since we started in the dark, we set out on the wrong trail. It led us up the mountain rather than along side it like we were expecting. We decided to continue that direction and run the course on the way back. After summitting Centerville Peak, we bushwacked our way to Skyline Drive. Once on the road, we ran up to Bountiful Peak. The views were great. We ran some good downhill miles on Skyline Drive over to the maintenance shed. We decided that we would not have time to go to Francis Peak, so we hopped on the Wasatch 100 course. We were doing a good job of following the course until we came to a stream crossing. We couldn't see any trails on the other side of the stream and assumed that we had taken a wrong turn somewhere. We spent the next two hours running around and trying several other alternate options. We stopped to talk to a biker, but he wasn't familiar with the course either. While we were up on a ridge, that we had decided wasn't right, Matt called his wife and she read him the route description off the website. It turns out that we were right the first time. We just had to go down stream a little bit. The first part of the trail after the stream was very overgrown. We finally made it back up to the parking area about two hours later than planned. I ran out of water towards the top and got some out of a small creek. Hopefully it was safe to drink. It was an incredible run and we saw some areas that few people ever get to see.

Here is our route using Google Earth. The red is the route that we took and the yellow is the Wasatch 100 course. You can see all our detours.

Ran a mile and a half with my three oldest kiddos on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. This was their first trail run. They loved it.

Evan, who is 4, also wanted to run. I told him that I would run with him when I got back. When I headed out with Evan it was just starting to rain. I asked if he wanted to run in the rain and he said "Yes." We drove to the park. By the time we got there it was pouring. I asked him if he wanted to wait until tomorrow. He said "No, I want to run now." So we got out and ran on the sidewalk around the playground. We got completely soaked. I asked "Should we get in the car?" He responds "That wasn't very long." So we continue to run around the playground. On the third lap it started hailing. I asked again, "Should we get in the car?" He says "Let's do one more." So we ended up with four laps and got drenched. I think Evan is going to be a die hard runner. It makes me so proud.

I was going to run the Bonneville Shoreline Trail this morning, but I when I headed out it was dark and I didn't have my headlight. I ended up running on the roads. I kept it easy this morning because I am running Bairgutsman tomorrow. As I was heading home, two racoons crossed my path. It that a good sign?

I'm back......

This was my first official race since I started running again. I wanted to test my legs out and see where my fitness was at. The course was changed from precious years because of Farmington Canyon being closed. The course usually goes up a mountain trail and comes down the road. This year it went up the trail, then came back down the same trail.

At the startline I ran into fellow blogger Matt (Dorsimus). When we started, he took off at a faster pace than I wanted to do. So I just settled into a comfortable pace and figured I would save energy for what was ahead. The trek up was challenging. It was mostly single track with little room for passing. When we got above the tree line, the trail opened up a bit. I was able to pass people. I was surprised at how much energy I had at this point. I was able to pass about thirty people between there and the top. One of which was Matt. Near the top I had to start stepping aside for the leads runners who were coming back. The nice thing about an out an back race, is that you can count the number of people ahead of you and know what your position is. As I got to the aid station at the top, I could see that I was in about 30th place. I decided to set a goal for coming in the top twenty. Several people at the aid station we taking their time and catching their breath. I was in and out quickly, which moved me up to about 23rd.

The downhill was a blast. Technical downhill is one of my strong points. As I was coming down though, several runners were still coming up. At this point I was paying more attention to my footing than to position. One of the runners coming up told me I was number 18. Wow, I was in the top twenty already. Time for a new goal, Top Ten. I continued to pass people as we got back to the treeline. Runners were more spread out now I would go a ways without seeing anyone. But each time, as I came upon one of my fellow competitors, they stepped aside and let me continue bombing down. One of them commented to me after the race that I was running downhill at crazy speeds. At the end of the trail we hit road. I tried to run fast on the road, but didn't have much left in the tank. About a quarter mile before the finish, Ryan, a friend on mine that I usually beat, appeared from behind. I pushed hard to try to stay ahead, but he outkicked my to the line. 

Not that was fun. I definitely liked the alternate course and hoped they make that the route for next year. This race has the best finishers medals. They also were very organized. The results haven't been posted yet, but I think I finished in 12th to 14th place. If you feel like trying a race that pushes the limits of insanty, I recommend Bairgutsman. After I got home and took off my shoes, I realized that I had bloody toes on both feet. Battle wounds.  

AM - I would like to use the excuse that it took me two weeks to recover from Bairgutsman, but that's not true. I have been busy lately, but I was able to get out this morning and do a few miles on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. My favorite trails are still closed because of the pipeline work. It looks like they are getting close to finishing though, so hopefully they we re-open those trails soon.

PM - I headed out and ran another 5 miles on a different section of the Bonneville Shoreline trail. After two miles my left shoe felt loose. I looked down and it was still tied, so I ignored it. A few minutes later, I had to stop because it was getting worse. When I went to tie it I released that the lace had broken. I tied as best I could and finished the run. I only have about 100 miles on these shoes, guess I am just rough on them. Time to buy some new laces.

I ran the Mueller Park trail while it was still dark this morning. The trail is still closed 1.6 miles up because of the pipeline project. I hope they finish that up soon. I miss running that trail. It's one of my favorites.

Legacy Parkway. Five miles nice and easy.

I ran on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to Ricks Creek. On the north side of the creek, I found a new trail heading up the mountain. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to check it out. I am running a marathon of Saturday so I am trying to keep things easy this week. It's hard to do when I love to run up unknown mountains trails just to see where they go.

Today I ran the Mesa Falls Marathon. I have been waiting for a year to run it. I was registered for it last year, but was unable to run. The race director was nice enough to hold my registration for this year. This was my second time running the course. I ran it back in 2004.

The course is very scenic. It starts in a forested area and the first ten miles are on a gravel road. I really enjoyed this part and settled in at about an 8:35 pace. Everything was feeling great. The next 3 miles are on paved road. The pavement just wasn't that exciting for me, but I kept the pace about the same. At mile 13 we passed all of the half marathoners waiting to start. Their start was 2 hours after ours. I was glad that I made it passed them before the all took off.

Just after that is my favorite part of the course. It's a rail trail with a gradual downhill grade for 3 miles. My body loves to run trails, so without realizing it, I picked up the pace to 8 minute miles. About 1.5 miles down the trail, the first half marathoner blew past me. It really played with my mental game when these guys with fresh legs passed me. The trail wasn't long enough, and soon we were back on the road. This was the first time I saw my family. My parents, wife, and two of my kids were there to cheer me on. The rest of the course is on roads, and none of the roads are closed to traffic, so I saw them several more times. The support was great.

At mile 17 there is a large hill. I was still feeling pretty good, so I went into one of my lower gears and headed up the hill. On top we came out of the forest and ran alongside grain and potato fields all the way into Ashton. The sun was out and it was getting hot. After that there are a few rollings hills but nothing too bad. Between miles 19 and 20, I could tell that I had reached my max for what I had trained for. My longest run this year was sixteen miles and I only started training in June. My body was tired and the heat wasn't helping. I tried to keep some kind of pace up, but the last few miles were slow. I was able to run the whole thing though and finished at 4:01:22. I came in 6th in my age group. I was surprised that my placing was that high. 

At the end of the race when they give each runner their medal, they also give out a coupon to get a free huckleberry milkshake at the local ice cream/soda fountain shop. It was delicious. It was definitely worth running 26.2 miles. This is one of my favorites races and I highly recommend it. 

I went out for a recovery run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Everything seemed to be functioning properly. My quads are still a bit tender, but running wasn't difficult. The wind was wicked this morning. It was a crosswind for most of the run. Had it been a head wind, I would've been standing still, or perhaps going backwards.

Evening run on the Legacy Parkway Trail. I wasn't planning on running fast tonight, but there was a guy who started just behind me, and my competitive nature took over. I decided not to let him pass me. He stayed about the same distance behind for 3 miles. On the last mile he dropped back a bit. I shouldn't have run that fast, but I enjoyed it.

I ran the Kenney Creek Trail this morning. It's just as rough and overgrown as it always is. 

In Mammoth Creek in southern Utah for a family reunion. Ran 8.5 miles on some jeep trails through the woods. I feel fully recovered from the marathon last weekend. Time to start some serious training. 

I ran up the Wild Rose Trail this morning. The pipeline work is still going on, but the trench is covered, so it is easy go get across. It was a good early morning run. 

I just picked up pacing duties for the Wasatch 100. I will be pacing from Big Mountain to Brighton.  

At the last minute, I became a pacer for the Wasatch 100. Jeff Gleason, from Pennsylvania needed a pacer from Big Mountain to Brighton. I volunteered to help him out.

I got to Big Mountain plenty early. I was there just a few minutes before the top guys came through. It was fun to see them come through running strong. I hung out, visited with some friends and cheered people on for four hours. Then Jeff came in. Jeff was running the Grand Slam of Ultras, which ment that this was his fourth 100 miler in twelve weeks. He was looking strong.

We headed out, with Jeff leading and me pushing from behind. Jeff didn't need me to keep him on pace, he just liked having company along the way. We maintained a pace of about 3.5 miles per hour. walking all the uphills and running everything else. Just before the Lambs Canyon aid station we had to put on our headlamps. The rest of the run was in the dark.

The aid stations were great. Cookies, chips, and soda were what I usually grabbed. At Mill Creek I had some spaghetti that was great. 

About thirty miles in, my legs were feeling stiff. But I couldn't complain because Jeff was at 70 miles. We stayed strong all the way to Brighton. We got there a little before 4 a.m. At Brighton he changed to a different pacer who took him to the finish. He finished in 33:13. It was a fun evening. 

I told my wife I was heading out for a run and she said "Wasn't 35 miles enough?" No way. Ha ha. She thinks I'm crazy. I ran on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and everything felt great. No recovery issues. I saw four deer while out tonight. They probably think I am crazy too. 

Legacy Parkway Trail. Just a couple of easy miles before the sun came up.

There was a 10k going on today in Bountiful, but unfortunately I had other commitments and could not make it to the race. So instead, I ran the unofficial 5 a.m. version of the race. I was the only participant in the race and therefore took first place. The course is an easy out and back course. It goes 1.25 on a straight flat road, then get on the Legacy Parkway Trail. On the trail, the was one puddle just after two miles. I average 8:10 splits and maintained a steady pace through the whole thing. I finished in 50:57. Not a great 10k time, but I'll take it.

Mueller Park Trail. I got a new pair of shoes. They are Hi-Tec Berkley's. They felt great out on the trail this morning. The weather is getting colder, but the temps are perfect right now. 

Some thoughts on running shoes. Running shoes are and I am cheap. I saw lot's of runner's at the Wasatch 100 wearing Hokas. They are supposed to be a great trail shoe, but come with a price tag of $175. The shoes I just bought cost $28. I think I would be better off with 7 pairs of Hi-Tec's than one pair of Hokas. 

Bonneville Shoreline Trail. I was having a hard time getting going this morning. Just couldn't find any motivation. Then a biker passed me on the trail. It's kind of strange but that got me going. I chased him over the next two hills. I didn't ever catch but had motivation again. Turned out to be a decent run. 

Ran a 5k with my kids for their elementary school. Connor PR'ed at 26:43 and Jaxine PR'ed at 38:30. Jed was doing great, but he twisted his ankle after only half a mile and walked the rest of the way. Evan ran too. It was his first 5k. He and I came in at just over an hour.

Wild Rose Trail. 5:30 a.m. The moon was very bright this morning, which was a good thing because my head lamp died two minutes into the run. I ran on a brand new trail today, that is an off shoot of the Wild Rose Trail. It was just cut last week. In fact it is not quite complete. There is a section about 400 yards long that still needs to be done. The city of North Salt Lake must have gotten some money from the Kern River Gas Project and I really like how they are using it. The new trail is about two miles long and is very runnable.

Ford Canyon Trail. A short little run in a light rain.

Cave Peak Trail. I headed out at 6 a.m. this morning. I forgot that it is hunting season and I didn't put on my orange vest. I usually don't see anybody on the trails in the early hours. But today I passed three different hunters. They probably didn't appreciate the fact the I was the first one to the top of the mountain and scared off all the wildlife. 

This morning I ran Cave Peak Trail. This trail is only 1.8 miles long, but it is very challenging. It has three steep sections. Each one is longer and steeper than the one before. Those sections are considered not runnable, even by my standards. Today I decided to see how much of them I could run. I made it up the first section without stopping, but I only made it a few steps up the second one before being slowed to a power hike. The third one was also power hike. I hit the top at 35:05. That's a new PR for this route. The downhill is challenging as well. I managed to stay upright on the steep sections. Downtime was 19:20.

Today is my wife due date, but no baby yet. Perhaps by the end of the day. 

Wild Rose Trail. I did four miles this morning in the dark. My light broke just before I started. I haven't had much luck with lights lately. I scared a group of hunters who didn't see me coming. The probably thought I was nuts. 

 Two days overdue now. Still no baby. 

It's official. Susanna is now part of our family.

Today I ran the Ridgeline trail which is off the the Wild Rose Trail. There weather was perfect. Felt good to get out.

Here is another picture of my new little angel.

5:30 a.m. I started out on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and headed over to Ricks Creek. On Ricks creek there is an awesome cascaded waterfall. I tried to get a picture today, but is was early and still too dark. Here is a photo of the falls that I took a few weeks ago when I hiked it with my family.

Mueller Park Trail. The trail was soft packed snow all the way up. At Elephant Rock there was more snow than I expected. It was about 8 inches deep. The run down felt great. I love winter trail running.

Started out on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in North Salt Lake. Ran up passed the radio towers and drop into City Creek. The trail was hard packed the whole way. 

It was cold this morning (about 20 degrees Fahrenheit), but that didn't bother me. For those who have a hard time running in the cold, I'll share a little secret with you. Start your run by running uphill. The steeper the hill, the better. Running uphill creates a fire inside and warms up your whole body. Once your body is warm up it stays warm for the rest of the run.

Ran up to Cave Peak this morning. My calves were a bit tight today, but I made it up in a descent time. 

I got in my car and drove to the Wild Rose trailhead. It was raining slightly as I drove. At the trail head it had stopped raining. I headed up the loop trail and then up the ridge. On the ridge there was a strong cross wind. It snow off and on but the snow never got too bad. The wind on the other hand continued to get worse as I went up. I had to lean into the wind in order to stay upright. At one point I was leaning at about a 45 degree. This is the strongest wind I have ever ran in. It nearly blew me off the mountain. I was headed up to Dude Mountain, but turned around about a mile short of the top for safety reasons. After a few miles downhill, the wind was descent again and the rest of the run was great.

Mueller Park Trail. First snowshoe run of the season. It was a ton of fun, but my snowshoe muscles are weak.

I ran on the new trail that connects the Legacy Parkway Trail to the Jordan River Parkway Trail.

Wild Rose Trail. The fresh snow was incredible this morning. I was hoping to run in snowshoes today, but there wasn't enough snow at the start of the trail. Up higher there was plenty, so maybe after one more storm, I can use the snowshoes again.

Treadmill. I was going to run further but running on the hamster wheel drives me crazy.

I was  bit overdressed. Usually, this race is freezing, but today the weather was great. This was the fastest that I have ran in over a year. I was able to maintain a sub 8 pace for the entire race. It felt good to run somewhat fast again. There was a good turnout for the race, about 2000 people.

It's good to be back home and run trails again. I have been out of the country on business travel for the last few weeks. I went to Cairo, Egypt and Masirah, Oman.

This morning I ran on the Wild Rose Trail. There was a thin layer of fresh snow. No one else had been out yet, so I got to make first tracks. The wind was  little cold when I got started, but I warmed up quickly. It was a good run to get things going again. 

Mueller Park Trail. 5:30 a.m. 14 degrees. This was my first time on this trail since the big wind storm that came through. I was a bit surprised by how many trees had fallen down. But I was even more surprised by how many had been cleaned up and cleared off the trail. There were only four threes that still laid across the trail. The snow on the trail this morning was perfect. It made for great traction and a smooth run. These are the kind of conditions one can only experience by running in below freezing temps. I made it up to Elephant Rock in 45:39. I ate a frozen shot blok and then headed back down. Down time was just under 32 minutes. Not real fast this morning but it felt great.

Merry Christmas. I am at my parents house in Newdale, Idaho for the holidays. I have forgotten how cold it can get here. It was frigid this morning. -4 degrees frigid. I ran seven mile by myself and then my brother joined me for the last 4.

I was going to run first thing in the morning, but decided to wait until it was a little warmer. Turned out that I didn't get out until 5:30 p.m. when it was getting cold again. It still warming than on Christmas Eve.

Five easy miles with my brother.

I headed north out of town. I was moving at a good pace and it felt very comfortable. I didn't realize that I had a slight tail wind pushing me along. When I turned around, the tailwind turned into a head wind. My easy pace was no longer comfortable. I stayed strong and pushed through the head wind the entire way back.

Mueller Park Trail. I was supposed to run this with Craig and Matt this morning, but we had some miscommunications.  Ended up running by myself. The trail was icy in spots, which made it challenging. This my sound funny, but it needs more snow. The temperature was perfect and I took off my gloves and headband because I didn't need them. All of the fallen trees have now been cleared out. Thank you to all the workers and volunteers who cleaned up the trail.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail to Ricks Creek waterfall. Decent run in the early morning hours.

Mueller Park Loop. On Thursday, I ran the Mueller Park Trail and noticed that there was not a lot of snow on it. Today I decided to run the full loop. I started at my house which is three miles from the trailhead. I made it up to Elephant Rock in 1:22. Above Elephant Rock the trail was hard pack and very runnable. Near the top the snow got soft and I was post holing. I made it up to Rudy's Flat in 2:10. It was just starting to get light outside. The run down North Canyon was nice hard packed snow. At the end of the trail is a dirt road. The road was extremely icy. Probably the worst I have ever seen it. I was slipping and sliding all over the place, but never fell down. I made it back home in just under three hours. Not a bad time for a winter loop.