Trails – She Runs the Wasatch

January 7, 2019January 7, 2019

First Training Week of the New Year

The new year is an opportunity for a fresh start and often, some awesome running. This year has been different. The problems of 2018 have dragged on and are greatly affecting every aspect of my life including my running. In the new year, I should have felt that extra push to train and make 2019 the best, but with only one week in, it’s been hard and messy.

My husband works for a nonprofit that receives funding from the National Science Foundation. With the current government shutdown, we don’t know when his paycheck is going to dry up. We are heading towards uncharted territory and I have never been one to do well with that. Since his insurance is cheaper and better, we are both on his company’s plan making our healthcare one of the many things up in the air right now. And it seems like there is no end in site.

It’s hard to run and exercise when you are exhausted from the stress of a difficult situation such as this. I find myself moving slower, wanting to stay in, and generally allowing any excuse to be the one that has me skip a run. I am no stranger to anxiety and I need running for this very reason, but it is often the first thing to go when my life gets turned upside down.

This was my training last week:

Monday: 9.1 miles along BST trail in snow (~1800 feet of gain)

Tuesday: 6.5 miles up Grandeur Peak (~2500 feet of gain)

Wednesday: 7 miles up Millcreek Road (~1200 feet of gain) + Climbing

Thursday: OFF

Friday: OFF (Should have run)

Saturday: 12.5 miles on Park City trails (~1300 feet of gain) + Climbing

Sunday: Hiking and sledding for 4-6ish miles

Total Mileage: ~38 Miles and ~7500 feet of gain

Overall, I feel deflated this week and I’m hoping for some good news in the next few days with regards to Frank’s job. Sydney (my cat) has been having some health issues but recently seems to have made a few big steps in the right direction. I’m glad to at least have that partially resolved.

My next two races coming up are Running Up for Air (RUFA) 24 hour and Zion 100. I feel like I’m not in the best of shape at the moment, but I’ll get back there, certainly by Zion. RUFA might be a bit of a slog which I’m prepared for. Since it will be mostly walking, I imagine it will be more of a mental battle than a physical one.

My goals for next week are to drink more water (I’m terrible at that) and do some more fast running. I need to feel my legs move.

Training Next Week:

Monday: 10-12 on road + climbing

Tuesday: 10 miles on hilly trail

Wednesday: 16 miles LSD on trail

Thursday: Climbing

Friday: Run/hike up steep terrain

Saturday: 6 miles road + Hiking

Sunday: 6-8 miles + Climbing

Thanks to HoHo Runs and Taking the Long Way Home for hosting the Weekly Wrap Linkup!

weeklywrapnew

How has your new year been?

January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

A Look Back at 2018

Happy New Year Everyone!

We all looked so cute for New Years Eve!

It’s the first day of 2019 and I’ve been logging the miles! It was a cold day out in the mountains, but I got my first peak of the year! As I leap into 2019, I wanted to look back at what I liked most about 2018. Here’s a quick look at my year.

Best Race: Squaw Peak 50

Squaw peak is probably my favorite race I’ve ever run. It’s beautiful, wildly challenging, and you still get a full night of sleep (unlike Javelina Jundred). I also really enjoyed the 50 mile distance. The race itself was particularly well put on and the course was perfect. Although it does give over 10,000 feet of gain, it has a very high finishing rate and I attribute that to the awesome aide stations and volunteers. And although I did lose a few toenails in the weeks following, the race gave me the confidence needed to finish my 100-miler in October.

Best Run: Kings Peak in August

At 13,527 feet, Kings Peak sits as Utah’s crown. It’s a fantastic 28 mile trail through woods, alpine tundra, and skree fields. I met up with the Wasatch Mountain Wranglers to run it on a crisp and cool day in early August. I went alone and wasn’t entirely sure that I should go, but once I got out on the trail, I met people at my pace and stuck with them. It was a wonderful day. The route took me about 8 hours, which is a moderate pace and never felt too difficult (except at the end while I was struggling over loose rock). I did have many fantastic runs throughout the year, but this one certainly stood above the rest.

Favorite Trail: Pfeifferhorn Peak via Red Pine Lake

Red Pine Lake Trail as the fog rolled in

I had seen Pfeifferhorn from afar many times, but this summer was the first time I climbed it. It was a foggy day, unusual for Utah, but the conditions made the trail so much better. At the top, the fog cleared and we were able to see the Wasatch and the Salt Lake Valley. It was a beautiful route and a beautiful day. This is a trail that I’ll definitely do again this summer.

Most Used Gear: Salomon Pack

I went through multiple pairs of shoes, many different socks, and even switched out my spikes and trekking poles. The one piece of gear that remained constant was my Salomon Skin pack. It never chaffed, never bounced too much or hurt my shoulders. Basically it did everything it needed to do.

Most Used Running Fuel: Run Gum

As anyone who knows me will know, I am a caffeine addict. I love coffee and tea. Unfortunately on a run, it’s not always so easy to get an extra boost when you need it most. While I was training for Javelina, I was looking for ways to take caffeine during the night, but not hurt my stomach. The Wasatch Running Company suggested Run Gum and I loved it! It comes in three different flavors, all of which are great. The little bit of sugar helps too and gives me something to look forward to when the miles get long. At Javelina, I never really felt sleepy and I largely attribute that to Run Gum.

Favorite Cross Training: Climbing

Unless you consider hiking as cross training (my physical therapist does not), I have never really been very good about doing other things besides running. I manage an okay yoga practice, but when the miles get high, my yoga practice tends to suffer. This year I really tried to remain consistent at some sort of cross training and found that climbing really works. It keeps me strong and mildly flexible and helps a lot with the mentality it takes to finish long ultras. I’m still a considerably better runner than I am a climber, but I’ve had a ton of fun going out and sending some routes.

Total Mileage: 2,040 miles

Total Vertical Gain: 285,098 feet

What are some of your favorites from 2018?

December 28, 2018December 28, 2018

Friday Five 2.0: 5 Favorite Trails to Run in the Winter

Today is Friday and I figured I’d give the Friday Five 2.0 Linkup a try. I’ll go ahead and tell you my five favorite trails to run in the winter. Thanks to Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for hosting the linkup.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail – As many miles or vert as I want

View from the top of Wire Peak accessed by the Bonneville Shoreline Trail

This is my go-to trail that’s closest to my house and is probably where I get most of my weekly mileage. I can get in about any kind of run here. Mt Wire is along the trail if I want to cover a lot of vertical gain and plenty of miles in case I need a long run. The trail remains low enough throughout most of it to avoid snow and ice, even after the worst of storms. If it’s too snowy for the Bonneville Shoreline, it’s probably too snowy for any trail in the Wasatch.

Grandeur Peak Loop – 10 miles and 3200 feet of gain

Beautiful views of the valley from the top of Grandeur Peak

The Grandeur loop climbs 3000 feet from a parking lot in the valley and comes back down the Church Fork trail in Mill Creek. If you run down the trail to Wasatch Blvd, you can loop the trail around back to the car. It’s only 10 miles, but it’s long and exhausting. It’s a really great loop if you need a challenging trail and a big climb. It can be done in almost any weather, although I would not want to take it on during a very bad storm.

Little Black Mountain – 8-9 miles and 2000 feet of gain

Little Black rises up above the northern end of Salt Lake City. It’s not the biggest mountain, but when the temperatures drop, it’s a fun one to run. Normally in the spring and fall, I like to run it as a 14 mile loop, but in the winter, I run Little Black as an out and back to the peak. The trail can get a little icy at the top, and if it does, I’ll stop just short of the summit. It’s a great view of the Valley but is a gentle enough trail to allow for a fair amount of running both up and down the mountain.

Heughs Canyon Trail – 4.5 miles and 700 feet of gain

Heughs Canyon is great for a short easy day. The trail starts at the same trailhead as Mt. Olympus, but once Mt. Olympus really starts to climb, the trail splits off and levels a bit as it approaches the canyon and a waterfall. The trail is great in the winter except for the very end where it can get icy. Otherwise, the trail is fun, gives some pretty great views and is almost always fantastic regardless of the weather.

Pipeline Trail – Any Mileage up to 18 and little vert

Every step leads to bigger and better views throughout the Pipeline Trail

The Pipeline is the flattest trail in the Wasatch. It starts in Millcreek Canyon and can be used to get to either Mt. Aire or to the Church Fork Trail up Grandeur Peak. The trail gives some great views of the canyon and can be used to get any mileage up to about 18 (unless you climb a mountain, where you could get much more mileage). Since the trail is so flat, there is almost no weather that will make this trail too snowy.

If you are ever in Salt Lake City or live in the area, check out some of these trails! Each offers awesome views and challenges, but are safe and fun for the crazy winter months. Thanks again to Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for hosting the linkup.

Fairytales and Fitness

What are your favorite trails around you? Where do you go when the weather gets bad?

December 26, 2018

Ultra-Goals for 2019

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I saw Darth Santa on a run in Salt Lake City.

With the end of 2018 quickly approaching, I’ve been looking back on a big year and looking forward to some more ultra-fun in 2019.

Since Javelina, my training has been pretty chill. I run when I want, don’t when I don’t. I have not done any substantial long runs in quite some time, but everything is about to change. I have some pretty big goals for 2019 and a lot of races. In 2018, I ran my first 100-mile race and I am hoping to get a couple more under my belt in the coming year. I have most of my races planned out and I’ll go ahead and list out a few goals that I have for each of them.

Running Up for Air (February 9-10)

This is a 24 hour timed race that climbs Grandeur Peak as many times as you can. The trail is about 6 miles long but climbs about 2500 feet each lap. I am not particularly good at climbing, but I wanted to challenge myself on this one. I am just hoping to avoid the mid-night lull that I had around 2:00 am at Javelina. I would love to get through 7-8 laps, but I am more concerned with keeping my mental state good and my food intake right. I’ll mostly be walking this one, so it should not beat up my legs nearly as badly as Javelina or even Squaw 50 did.

Zion 100 (April 21-13)

This is my main goal race for the spring. I need a qualifier for the Western States Lottery again, and although I am running another qualifier in the fall, I don’t want to rely on that one since it will be the toughest race I’ve ever run. Zion has similar elevation profile to Javelina and is not nearly as hot. My main goal is to finish, although I have another goal of PRing my 100 at it, which I think is very doable. This race goes through some of my favorite type of environment and with a bit of training, should be a pretty fun day out in the desert.

Squaw Peak 50 (June 8)

I had such a fun time at Squaw last year that I want to run it again. I’ll use it as kind of a tune up for my goal race in the fall. It has a rough elevation profile, which is something I definitely need to work on. I would love to run this race faster than I did in 2018, however, that definitely depends on how quickly I recover from Zion 100 in April. I’m hoping for a good day with little drama and just a finish with strong legs.

Bear 100 (September 27-28)

The Bear 100 is one of the most famous and most challenging races in Utah. With about 23,000 feet of gain, this race is going to take a lot of training and a good day. I don’t have any specific goals other than to finish the race. Bear is known for it’s tough elevation profile and fickle weather. It’s a pretty local race, so I’ll have tons of support and pacers to help me out. I might run a tune up race leading to it of 50 miles-100K, but heading into the fall, my main goal will be to finish Bear.

My non-racing goal for 2019 is to blog and vlog more often. I’ll try to post on the blog 1-2 times per week and to post on the vlog once every other week. I’ll include training updates, race reports, trails that I run and just thoughts about ultra-running in general.

I hope your year was as fun and exciting as mine. What are some of your goals heading into 2019?

December 10, 2018December 11, 2018

Running in the San Rafael Swell: The Wedge Route

The state of Utah has the highest population per capita of ultrarunners in the country. It’s no surprise why, since many of the best long routes are right in our backyard. We are within driving distance to some of the most well-known ones, including the Trans-Zion trail, Rim-to-Rim of the Grand Canyon, and of course the Wasatch and Bear 100 routes. This weekend I completed an equally awesome one, although much lesser known, The Wedge. It’s a 21-mile loop along a giant canyon called the Little Grand Canyon. But don’t let the name fool you, it’s not very little at all.

It’s not quite the right time of year for the route, and it had about 3 inches of snow throughout making it a little more of an adventure. The Wedge is only about 2 hours and 45 minutes outside of Salt Lake City in an area of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land called the San Rafael Swell. The Swell is more well known for climbing and canyoneering, although it does have a fair amount of awesome running routes.

Trail Stats

Total Mileage: 21 Miles

Vertical Gain: 900 Feet

Time: 3-5 Hours depending on pace and picture taking

Permits or Fees: None

I got a late start, heading out around 10:30 am. It was very cold (17 degrees) and I reluctantly got out of my car to head out on the trail. I knew with the snow the route would take a little longer than usual. I started at the Wedge Overlook (between campsites 9 and 10) and took the road about 5 miles out to the other side of the Wedge. From here, I just winded my way back to my car at the overlook.

Normally, the route is pretty easy with only about 1000 feet of elevation gain throughout, but with snow and icy conditions, it was a little tougher than usual. The route is on a well traveled mountain bike trail, so if you’re ever out there be sure to stay on the lookout for them. I took about 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the entire thing, but I did stop to take a lot of pictures.

It was a pretty awesome day on a pretty awesome route. I’m hoping to get back out here when the weather is a little warmer. The best time of year for this run is in the spring or fall when the snow is gone, but the desert hasn’t gotten too hot. If you’re ever in the area, I’d highly suggest making a short trip out to this gem. There are many variations of the route to either lengthen or shorten the run.