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.    

Corner Canyon - Skyline Prerace

I decided to take off up Corner Canyon today and just take it easy.  I headed up Hog Hollow with Bear  (my dog) and we watched the 50k runners from the Corner Canyon 50k head off to Ann's trail.  It reminded me of the challenge ahead for the Skyline Trail Marathon next weekend.  I kept it short around 8 miles and headed back home.  Bear was exhausted so it turned out to be a good time to head back.  I couldn't get him out of the steam at the entrance to Hog Hollow.  I should really get out with him more.

After watching the runners all I could think about was the Skyline Marathon.  I have been through a mix of emotions coming up to this coming week.  Mostly I am just terrified that I chose a trail marathon for my first one.  I don't doubt that I can finish, but it still doesn't stop my mind from playing those constant tricks of did I train hard enough, what else could I have done, what am I going to need? If anyone knows me they know that I love to analyze things till my mind is exhausted, much how I like to run.  Someone else said "If a problem can't be worked out on a long run it's not a problem".  I like that saying.

Back to Skyline.  It starts at the Weber County North Fork Park and heads up the Ben Lomond Peak Trail (2042) to the ridge of Ben Lomond Peak.  From there it heads south on the North Skyline Trail (2001) down to the North Ogden Divide which also happens to be the half way point and starting point for the half marathon.  From there we head back up to the South Skyline Trail up and over the "Ogden" mountain and down to the Pineview Marina.  From there we run along Pineview to finish at the Eden Park.

My biggest worries is hydration.  We have 6 aide stations along the way with the longest stretch being about 8 miles between them.  I worry mostly about hydration since I tend to sweat a lot and by the time I hit the 8 mile stretch  about 9-10 am the sun will be overhead and staring to get hot.  Normally I think I would trust that each aide station would be fully stocked and I would just take my handheld filling up as I go, but that turned out to be a mistake when I did the Utah Half.  The aid stations ran dry and it was very hot for the run.

So my question that I am wrestling with is take my pack or just use bottles?  I would rather use my handheld then take my pack, although I do like the convenience of the pack with the pockets up front.  I wish I had something in-between that sported bottles with the pockets for packing snacks.

I have been wondering what I will be able to complete the course in.  Having no baseline for a marathon let alone a trail marathon.  My guess is that it will be somewhere between the 5-6 hour mark.  Given my time up Timp (4 hours round trip) with roughly the same elevation gain (minus some) and coming in at around 15 miles.  I am not looking to set a PR or anything just trying to see what I can do.  Besides it will be a good reality check for the Antelope Island 50k in October. Hopefully it won't end up like the Echo Tri.

Here's to a good week of over analyzing! 

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 - Corner Canyon

What else can I say?  When your on a roll your on a roll.  I headed out on Saturday morning with the intent of starting at the point of the mountain flight park and running BST to the bottom of Ghost Falls up and over to Ann's trail and back to the point.

Well I did that, and some more.  I took a detour to the left after going through the tunnel at the bottom of Ann's trail and ended up at the Draper pool.  Not exactly where my destination was but I decided to make the best of it and loop back up toward the mountain.  After some hill climbing on the asphalt I eventually made it back to my start at the point.  From there I continued on to the rest of the course.  Small detour added three miles to what I was expecting and ended up with another 18 miles.

I really like the Corner Canyon area, especially when you can get out before all the mountain bikers.  It should be interesting to see how busy the trails get as the summer goes on.