I was seriously beat up and sore after Baer Canyon. Extreme DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness. So much in fact that I I didn’t run again for 2 weeks. And, after that, I only did bike rides for the next 3 weeks, here, here, and here. I think part of the problem was that I was using OLD trail shoes from years before. In any case – I did see some pretty sites out in the Farmington Bay Waterfowl…
Enthused by that first trail run, I planned my next attack. Now living in Utah, I get July 24th off – Pioneer Day. I convinced a coworker to join me and we made an attack of Baer Canyon. Unbeknownst to me, this is a notoriously steep and difficult trail. They hold a killer race there every year called the Bair Gutsman. Indeed, it was a steep hike. Over 4,000 ft. in elevation over a 5 mile climb. The last face…
On the evening of 8 July 2013 I went up for my first trail run. It was in the 90s, and the evening sun was beating on the exposed face of the Wasatch Range that I decided to ascend. I took the trail closest to home – a set straight up from Farmington to Flag Rock – an outcropping about 1,500 ft up from the valley floor with a large American Flag. I started “running” and quickly realized that my…
Here’s where the rubber really hits the road…or should I say, dirt. Over 2012 and into mid-2013 I had begun to run on occasion. I enjoyed the feeling of satisfaction, and general pleasure in attempting to be healthy, etc… But I did not enjoy running. I almost started to enjoy it in October 2012, but the IT band pain quickly put a stop to my enthusiasm. Then my family and I moved to Utah. Our next door neighbor just happened…
Unbeknownst to me at the time, but my days in Nebraska were numbered. I started the month with the plan to run at least once a week, but by months end was in the throws of flying to Utah for job interviews, accepting a new job, frantically planning the move, etc… I did clock 3 runs over the course of the month. 3milers. No complaints at the time. In all, Nebraska was good to me. Despite its reputation for being…
I’d like to think it was because I was trying to be conscientious about rehabbing my knee…but I was probably just being lazy. Plus, winters in Nebraska can be cold and windy! Maybe 10 miles total over the course of 3-4 months. Oops.
For October I gave my knee time to recover, but didn’t really do much to fix it. I should have stretched it lots, but didn’t. Then we decided to run a Thanksgiving Morning 5 mile turkey trot. I did a run each of the 2 weeks prior (5 miles at 9:02 min/mile, and 4.7 at 9:44 min/mile), and the knee gave me trouble each time. Stretching mid-run helped, but it still hurt. Race day was cold and windy. To make…
The planned 5k race was 29 September 2012, so I decided to give my knees a break and only do bike rides for the month. 7 days out, I went out for a 1 mile jog. Knee felt fine, but I didn’t want to push it. The race was early on a Saturday morning. At the fire of a cannon I took off, adrenalin pumping and pushing me to run faster that I ever had before. I posted a PR…
In late July I got a pair of brand new, real running shoes. Some Mizuno Wave Inspire 8’s. They felt great. Maybe too good. Feeling emboldened with my new foot gear I went out for a run on August 7th, and instead of stopping at 3-4 miles, just kept going. A full 6.3 (10k!) by the end. The problem was that with each mile I felt better and better. It was exhilarating. A full 10k and it felt great. Even…
Sometime in July 2012, my wife and I decided to run a Breast Cancer benefit 5k to be held in September. This meant we needed to figure out how to run. I put in a few 3 mile runs over the course of a couple weeks, pace at 9:18 min/mile, 9:38 min/mile, 9:56 min/mile, and 9:43 min/mile. I was pleased as punch. These runs were a mix of running/walking. I was lucky to go a straight mile w/ no breaks….