Giddyup

Early morning run with the lifetime group.

Super easy evening run

Squaw peak today - 50 miles is a long way to run, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  

Course was massively re-routed this year due to huge remaining snowpack and also huge runoff.  Result was an out-n-back from Vivian to Nunn's to Hope to Rock Canyon down to Bonneville Shorline around base of mountains to Spring Creek cyn above Springville, up and down into Hobble Creek - then back.  I decided I wanted to run up front this race to see what it was like.  Pushed to the front with one other runner within the first mile and hung right with him.  Eventual winner, Storheim soon caught up and we marched up to Hope Campground where I let them go thinking well that was fun while it lasted.  Heading down into Rock Creek, however, I turned around at some point to see leader Storheim behind me.  He evidently had to pull over for some reason so I was actually in the lead again.  And given that Rock Canyon was 4 miles of pretty steep downhill to the bonneville shoreline trail, I actually hung on to the lead until about mile 12 where he caught me again and after I hung onto his coattails for another mile or two he just motored on down the trail.  Along here we actually caught up to Brian Beckstead marking the trail and he even ran with us for a little bit up to about the Y trailhead.  At this point I already knew I probably went out too hard but I didn't really care as that had been my intention from the beginning, just hoped to have kept some in the tank for the return trip.  

The shoreline was much more heinous than the elevation profile gives it credit for.  It was a rollercoaster.  Big rollers too.  Came into AS 4 still in second place but by the time I got to AS 5 I think I was in 3rd or 4th.  Climb out of AS 5 was dreadful - long and very technical, was even worse running down than climbing up.  After the turnaround at mile 25+ it was really fun to see so many friends on the return trip.  After hitting AS 5 again (mile 30) I was ok but by the time I got to AS 6 (mile 35ish) I was just trying to hang on.  I made it one mile at a time to AS 7 (mile 39) which began the super dreadful 4 mile climb up Rock Canyon, through the campground, over the avalanche covering the road, up the swampy single track section where an early-starter broke his leg way back in the morning and on up to the high point of the modified snowcourse.  It was LONG and HARD!  Finally getting to run downhill was such a relief but I hurt, my quads were mashed potatoes at this point and I was really needing to finish.  Hit the final AS @ Hope Campground and tried to hang on for the finish.  Got passed a few more times and hobbled my way up the 2 miles of Provo Canyon run path to the finish in 10:15:25 for 13th place. 

Huge thanks to Bozung for such a great race.  Have to say this race really feels like his baby - he puts so much time and effort into everything, the course, communications, schwag bags, post-race refreshments, drinks, dinner, drawing everything.  It was a great race. 

Easy treadmill run at the gym

I'll take a 4 tonight.  Took the baby out for her first baby jogger run - she really loved it up until about 5 minutes before I got home.  The wind kicked up and made it a little chilly.

Not certain on the distance today - I'll take a 4

Not much of a race report - super cold swim (38:02), hammered real hard for the 1st half of the bike but didn't have the same power for the 2nd half (2:27:26), had a good run in 1:36:12.  Run was very similar to IMSG for me, took the first 2 or 3 miles super easy then after trying to cool down I got a good pace going that I was able to hold onto for the rest of the race.

Up to Akagi & back

Up to Akagi & back

Up to Akagi & back

Not quite sure on distance

Gym - treadmill

gym - treadmill

Fort Rockwell loop - fast

Morning run club @ the gym

Morning G falls loop