Sick of the cold

I have been so sick of the cold lately.  I heard a high pitched gas engine outside my work the other day and it about put me into a comma thinking it was a weed eater.  I used to appreciate the winter more but doing long runs in single digit temperatures sure wears on ya.  I do have to say that running in the snow has its own allure. I usually take my dog with me out on these runs.  He loves the snow and can just go for hours. I have been spending a lot of time in Corner Canyon, AF Canyon, BST in Draper and Orem as well as all over town.

Orem BST

Ann's Trail heading toward Potato Hill

Draper BST 

BST Draper (Bear Creek)

If anyone has crossed the bridge in the above picture you have notice the picture that the Forrest Service placed of a large Mountain Lion that was taken by a tree cam in 2009.  I have to admit that the first thing I did was take a good look around before continuing on my way and ever since then its always been in the back of my mind.  Stupid picture.

I have also been learning to run with bottle on my chest as apposed to holding them in my hand. My fingers were just getting too numb from the cold.  I started using my Spry vest to hold a single bottle in the pouch on the front and found that I loved the way that it felt as compared with my Wasp pack.  So I decided that I would make an investment in the AK vest and see how that goes for the next while.

I finally solidified my schedule for this year.  Well at least until June.

• Moab Red Hot 55k
• Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50k 
• Zion's Ragnar Trail Ultra Team (50kish)
• Squaw Peak 50m

I will probably be looking for a 100k in the fall but have not decided to commit to anything as of yet. Right now I am thinking of just having fun in the back country in the awesome spring and summer air.  Besides I have enough to worry about with Red Hot coming up next week.  I am feeling good and even more confident than I was for Antelope Island last year.  My base mileage is a lot more compared with any other year.  I am consistently in the mid 40's and building.  I have been following a training plan in my attempt to get ready for Squaw Peak this spring.  The one thing I still think I am missing is a good pair of gaiters.  I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in Moab.    

BST & Ann's Loop - Night Running

I had never really been night trail running before this year.  I got Chris, Tim to come with me up to Corner Canyon and try a loop up Hogs Hollow, Down Jacob's Ladder and back.  We had a blast.  

I refer to this as Tim's Super Man Shot

Top of Jacobs Ladder

We have had a good time running the Corner Canyon trails this year.  It turned out to be a weekly even for a while with our group getting quite big at times.  Turns out that deer, birds and spiders are quite common on the trails at night.  I even got spooked by a cougar (turned out to be a deer), we all got a good laugh about that one.  

Ann's Loop

We have been running what Chris calls Ann's loop lately.  Starting at Potato Hill heading west along Ann's trail and looping down to the BST and back up to Potato Hill.  Its a fun 6 miles run with some good scenery along the way.

Getting Lost - BST, Grove Creek, Battle Creek

I got it in my head that after running the route for the timp 1/2 marathon that maybe I wanted to see what the other half looked like.  So I woke up early Saturday morning and headed over to Dry Creek Canyon.  This was all new terrain to me so I had no idea what to expect.  I started off on the BST heading north, crossed Battle Creek and headed up Grove Creek.

Indian Springs at the top of Grove Creek Canyon

Once I got to the top of Grove Creek all I remembered was that I was supposed to find the old fire road and take it south till I hit Battle Creek and then cut over on trail #051 back to Dry Creek.  I found the road and headed over till I found some single track and kept going.  I ran into some people on horses (remember this).  I stopped and talked with them for a min and then kept heading south.  I could see Battle Creek below me and kept thinking that I should meet up with the trail soon.

I began climbing Big Baldy and was starting to encounter snow on the trail.  Now I knew I was heading the wrong way.  A quick check on my iPhone confirmed my suspicions and after a few more switchbacks I could see the ridge to head over to the south side.  Instead of doing the sane thing and going over the ridge I turned back with the aim of finding out where I had missed the trail to Battle Creek.  

The sign!

After a bit I came back to the spot where I had met the people on the horses!  There it was in all its glory, the sign for the trail head.  I must have missed it or maybe a horse was hiding it I don't know.  Finally I made it down the mountain and back to the car for a total of 18 miles.  Not too bad since I was only planning on ~13.

Running the Timp Trail Half Marathon route

The steps to Battle Creek Canyon

I decided that I wanted to try the Timp 1/2 trail marathon route out to see if it would be something that I might have wanted to do.  I convinced Dennis to come with me and run the course.  We got up early and headed over to the mouth of Provo canyon and headed up on the bike trails to the BST.  It was nice when we were in the sun but it was sure cold once we got to the mouth of Battle Creek canyon.  I was feeling really good till we headed up.  Dennis stomped me, that guy is an animal.  And to rub it in even a little more he ran 13 miles the night before.