Driven

Rail trail to Kaysville

 I haven't done anything but gorge on junk food for the past  week. In a weak effort to reverse the effects of laziness and poor diet, I ate some fruit today and then went running at night. Didn't help much because I also ate pizza and had a yummy soda today, and it was all sloshing around in my gut tonight as I ran in the darkness to Kaysville and back.

A Quick Run Up Timp

I left work in Bountiful and drove to AF Canyon, arriving at the Timpooneke TH at about 6:30PM. It was raining. I stood under the eve of the restroom, looking up at the peak, reading the sky for any clues to how the weather would progress in the next 3 hours. To the East was blue sky, but that large cloud over Timp gave me pause. Was I really goig to do this? It would have been easy to just get in the car and go home. However, I had driven all that way, paid six bucks for the canyon, so I was not going to just turn around and go home for nothing. I ran the trail at an easy pace. I wanted to be comfortable but consistent. No stopping, no breaks unless there was an unavoidable need.

Only five people-- descending hikers--  passed me  as I ran up. I saw no other persons until I was in upper elevations.

The cloud passed sometime in the next hour and the rain stopped. I had made the right call. 

In fifteen minutes I stepped on the first wood boardwalk. At 19 minutes I was at Scout Falls. I had a goal to reach the rim of the upper basin in 1:10 or less. I crested the rim at 1:12, so I was behind schedule. It was already dusk in the upper basin, so the light was flat. No contrast. Not much to see. I kept going. On the switchback that accesses the upper terrace I saw two hikers moving slowly uphill. When they saw me below they stopped and watched me run every step of the moderately steep shortcut under them. When I caught up they were on the part of the rock trail that makes a long stretch Northeast and I, believing that section to be utterly un-necessary, cut short and re-connected with the trail higher up. I never got close enough to the hikers to say hello. 

My goal to arrive at the saddle was 1:30. Nope. Then 1:35. Nope. I rolled in at 1:37. Too dam slow. Oh well, my legs were sore from a run the day before, and I was not fresh, having spent the day at work at a desk, staring at a computer monitor.

One dude and his dog were at the saddle. It was full sundown. I continued on the trail of jagged rocks to the summit, noticeably slower than the week before.

I arrived at Timpanogos summit in 1:57:10. That was a close one, almost didn't get sub-2 hours. I stayed for a minute then started down. Slow. I remember Craig making short work of the summit trail the week before. He had bombed down so fast that I did not even see him when I had a long line of sight back to the saddle. I don't know how he can move so fast downhill, but I am going to find out.

The dark descent from Timp was going to be slow. I would not be setting any personal bests on this night. In the forest section I stepped carefully over wet rocks. No need to break an ankle--or worse-- for the sake of time.

Back at the trailhead in 3:44, and there weren't even any crowds of BYU students to slow me.  

Farmington to Kaysville: Wasatch 100 Start

I got up at 3:30AM then ran 6 miles to watch the Wasatch 100 runners  begin their epic journey. As expected there were a lot of people and vehicles at the trailhead, and I wondered how I would find Scott Wesemann in the crowd and the dark. I just followed my intuition and walked straight to him and Matt Williams. It was about 5 minutes until the start so I chatted with Scott. Not much sleep for that fellow during the night. By now he is somewhere on the mountain, gaining altitude.

I ran back home, showered and went back to bed.  

The Future: Sooner and Later

I ran 8 on the rail trail to Kaysville and back this evening. Now, I desire to write down future goals and plans. I have elsewere stated my goal to submit an application for the 2012 Wasatch 100. Seeing my friend Scott out there, from the beginning of this year's race, through a couple aid stations and at the finish, has me looking forward with anticipation and anxiety for my chance to experience a hundred mile run through my beloved Wasatch.

To kick-start my ultra career, I have placed my name on the list of runners in the Pony Express 50 Mile Endurance Run, coming October 21st in the Utah West desert. This means that if I am going to be successful, I will be training regulalry and watching what I eat. Also, I had better stop smoking so much weed.

That last one is a joke. I haven't smoked weed since 1993.

The Pony Express will be my first ultra. Although the longest distance I have run in a single outing is twenty miles, I am confident I can do the fifty, and turn in a fast time. To train for Pony I have put together a running regime that includes daily miles on trails close to home, combined with my usual peak-bagging and ridge scrambling, and one nice 48 miler that covers the first 24 miles of the Wasatch 100 course and back home. All within sight of my home in Farmington. I also plan to be running Timp several times in the next month, even a multi of two or three in a day.

In December I will send in my application for Wasatch and whether or not I win the lottery I will train for it. If not Wasatch next year, then some other 100 mile race will have my name on the list.

My goal is to become a competent, fast, strong ultra runner. My plan is to train hard and have fun.

A Quick Snack on Scott's Treadmill

Full trail; no shortcuts. 

When my plan to run Timp today fell apart, I searched my memory banks for an alternate run that could be done  in an hour or so. Mt. Wire fit the need nicely. Plus, since I have been gathering my fastest times on my favorite mountains, today would be a good one to see if I could beat Scott's Wire summit time of 39 minutes. (I think that's his best time?) My best time before today was somewhere between 50 and 55 minutes. 

I began running from the car, carrying nothing but moist wipes. Not even water is as important as wipes. After about 15 minutes I wished I had brought water. It was hot up there. I ran most of the way and decided to skip the shortcut and take the full route past Brain's favorite tent spot on the trail. Up at the second flat before the final hill beneath the reflectors I passed one other runner making his descent. He looked like he could have been one of the Wasatch 100 runners, but who knows? Trail runners all start to look the same after I have seen tens of dozens of them lately. 

I reached the reflectors with about a minute and a half left if I was going to go under 40 minutes. It is surprising how much distance a running man can cover in a couple minutes. Time seems to go slowly.  

I reached the summit at 40:20. Dang. a minute or so behind Scott's last run up Wire. I wanted to get under 39 minutes to force him back up there to defend his King of the Wire designation.

No time for love on the summit. I turned around and began the decent. Shaky legs. No water, sweating in the afternoon heat. But I had my wipes! They stayed in the bag the entire way.

I reached the bottom of the trail in 1:09.40. Not bad, but I am certain I can take 5 minutes off that summit time. It would have to be on a morning after a solid night's sleep. You win this time Scott, but I'll be back!

East Mountain Wilderness Park North to Great Western Trail junction (First 5 miles of Wasatch 100)

Did nearly 10 miles on the BST from Kaysville to Layton and back. All in the dark, so the canyon creek crossings were spooky.

No big woop. 

Run to Pfeifferhorn Summit

The first time I hiked to the Pfeifferhorn it took 6 hours. It was a June day and I was an inexperienced hiker. The snow on the steep Red Pine headwall freaked me out. I went back year after year and each time, I reached the summit faster than the last. 

Now I am running to the Pfeifferhorn, and I have cut my best hiking time in half. A few weeks ago I reached the Pfeiff summit in 1:35. I ran most of the way to the lake but hiked the most steep parts of the trail.

 Today I went back to see if I could beat my previous time, and, really I began to wonder if my fastest time was a fluke, or if I had mis-read my stop watch. Approaching Little Cottonwood Canyon I observed that the Alpine ridge, upon which the Pfeifferhorn sits, had dark clouds hovering above. However, the White Pine trailhead was sunshine and lollipops. I was go time. I suited up and began running from the car, carrying only a handheld bottle and wipes (of course). 

I ran the first mile at a comfortable pace and was pleased reach the White Pine junction in just under 10 minutes, a minute faster than my previous run there. I kept going, never stopping. I ran everything, even the steep parts. Walking hills is for pussies! I reached the Maybird bridge in 33:20, then the lower lake in 46:30. I was pleased with my time and I knew I had this one in the bag. I passed a couple that had left the car park about 10 minutes before me. They were fast.

However, on the hike up to the upper basin, I lost the trail under new snow. Freaking snow! I wandered a bit and I'm sure it cost me some time. Back on familiar route I climbed to the Alpine ridge and crested in 1:13. No stopping. The Pfeifferhorn comes into view a half mile or so to the West. Passed a couple dudes as they hiked down. 

At the East ridge I stashed my bottle and scrambled, making one 4th class move. Over the ridge in 3 and a half minutes. Now the final climb: Up fast, less than ten minutes. More like seven. Would I summit in under 1:30?

Summit: 1:29.55.  I yelled a big YEAHHH!

I carefully descended the summit. 

As I traversed back over the East ridge, I again saw the couple I had passed earlier on the trail. They were heading toward the peak, just minutes away. Indeed they were fast. No slow hikers, these two. After the ridge I had to empty my shoes of rocks. As I got up to go I was surprised to see the couple coming back. "You turned around?" Maybe it looked too cold up there. If it was me I would have certainly finished with the summit. The young fellow introduced himself and his girlfriend to me. We ran back together to the lip of the Alpine ridge and chatted as we descended the rocky trail. I told him my time to summit, and that I needed to shave off 20 minutes if I was to match the fastest known time to Pfeiff. He corrected me and said I would have to go even faster now that some guy a few weeks ago had run it in 1:06. Holy crap. That is sprinting 4.5 miles and several thousand feet of elevation.

We hiked down from the Alpine ridge together, and before the upper lakes I shouted goodbye and picked up the pace. I knew I had lost some descent time chatting and changing shoes, but the summit time is more important to me than the round trip time. Anyway, I am slow on downhill. The Red Pine trail is rock-strewn and rooty. I would rather be cautious and not take a fall.

I had a pleasant run back to the trailhead, total time from car to car: 2:48.38. That was a minute slower than my last run of Pfeiff.  OK, next time I will have to take off another five minutes.

Kaysville to Layton, Bonneville Shoreline to GWT

From East Mountain Wilderness Park TH to junction with GWT and back.

With two beef tacos, beans and rice in the gut. Slow! Still strong on hills, ran all hills, but downhill needs work.

 No big woop. 

Rail trail to Kaysville and back

I helped a neighbor lay sod this evening and I earned a nice cold Coke for my labor. So I will be up well past midnight watching Kill Bill vol. 2. Just got back from a run to Kaysville and back.

No bog woop. 

By next week I should have my new Garmin Forerunner 205 and I will be able to track my speed, miles, elevation, sperm count, etc.

Uinta Thirteeners Adventure: China Meadows to Wilson Peak, Traverse to Mt. Powell

Wednesday: Dustin suggested a trip to the Uintas to climb Mt. Wilson. Before then I had never heard of Wilson. We could also traverse to Mt. Powell and be back to the car in 12 hours.

Saturday: Awake at 2:45 AM , although I got maybe 2 hours of good sleep. Jacob, Dustin and I left SLC about 3:30AM. China Meadows TH at 6:30AM. dustin and I were dressed to run, but Jacob was more into hiking fast. We ran where we could. Beautiful day, gorgeous natural environment: Blue-green lakes, terraces, water falls, river crossings, horses resting in meadow, solitude.

Red Castle is stunning and stands out among its Uinta peers. It is rugged and cliffy, compared to the smooth-backed 13ers that surround it.

After upper Red Castle lake I began to feel the pounding of my pulse, causing me worry. My legs were strong and energy was good, but step after step the pressure I felt in my pulse became constant. I had the strength to run up the slope as long as I desired, but I was afraid of over-exerting my pulse. Boom, boom, boom. I never felt sick or dizzy, just worried about the pressure. I had to reluctantly slow my pace. It was definitely the altitude. Was I not getting enough oxygen? 

Mt. Wilson is a worthwhile objective. From the summit you get a view of all the well-known 13ers, including the West aspect of King's and South King's. From the summit we descended steeply to the head of a basin, then traversed back up to 13,000 feet to Mt. Powell. The pounding in my head resumed. 

On Mt Powell my energy was good and I still had a lot of strength in my legs. No bonking on this trip. We followed the long wide slope from Powell, North back to the head of China Meadows area. Dustin and I enjoyed running on the high plateau. I imagined we were somewhere in the high steppes of Asia, a thousand miles from anywhere.

We found the trail to connect back to the main trail and we ran back to the trailhead. With my new Garmin I recorded the trip stats. I finished in 11:45, and we did 5,780 feet in vertical over 29.2 miles.

Rail trail to Kaysville and back

Now that I have the Forerunner I wanted to tune up my speed and see how quickly I could run a 5K. I began running at a quick pace then worked to stay under 7.00. However, I blundered and stopped the clock at 3.01 instead of 3.10 miles. 

I ran back at a much slower pace. 

Rail trail to Kaysville

 No big woop.