Run fast

easy run from Highland with Neal and Evan.

10 x 1 min hill repeats with Noah, Dan and Neal. Good, short workout.

AM: stationary bike at the gym

PM: bootcamp. Circuit training with 300 squat jumps and 60 stairs mixed in.

Easy 8 with Albert and Neal through the U. Weights at the gym afterwards.

10 miles around Millcreek

Millcreek Canyon on the bike. It's very green up there. I doubt there are many other large cities with accessible rides like this that take less than 2 hours.

6 miles with Evan on the BST then met Adam to run up Wire. I think Evan hated it so much that he will go back and get the CR.

12 total and 3k ft up

weights at the gym. I was the guy moving the peg up on all of the machines.

10 miles around Millcreek with Evan, Neal and Dan. No students in sight at Highland High!  Enjoy it while it lasts.

Weights at the gym aftrrwards.

TM: 6:40 pace for 1.5 mi at 3% then 1 miat 4%, then 1 mi at 6:30 and 5%

Quick run around the neighborhood with one fast downhill mile. Steeplechase tomorrow!

Wahsatch Steeplechase! This was my 5th time running the race and first time since 2012. A week ago I was having second thoughts about running the race because I haven't felt great and this race really hurts, Those weren't good excuses and since this is my all time favorite race, I had to give it a go. I picked up Noah just before 5 am and we got our bibs at 5:15, well before most people showed up. I had forgotten that for races like this it is ok and probably expected to show up less than 30 minutes before gun time. We chatted with some folks who you won't find at road races then did a short warm up. The director waited for everyone to get through the potty line so the race didn't start until 6:15. That was nice of him, for those in the line.

A good size pack of around 10 got out to a quick start led by a couple of skimo guys. As we entered the BST trail I let them take the lead and settled into a semi conversative pace with Noah on my heels. We went through the meadow then started climbing again. My legs were already sucking wind so I knew I had to back it off or else it would be a long hike to the top. I just looked at the ground and kept moving. Noah and a couple of other guys passed me with about two miles to the summit. At that point I was probably in 7th or 8th place. I started hiking a bit earlier than usual which was just another sign that I didn't have it. The hike up black mountain was as fun and slow usual and Nate Blouin passed me about 3/4s into the climb. He is a super fast hiker. As we crested the top I started running/jogging again until we came upon the rocky section of the crags. A couple of guys had caught up to me by then and I had to let them pass about half way through the crags. My body or maybe my mind just didn't feel like hustling like I have on that section in years past. After the crags is where the fun begins because you descend about 2,000 feet in two miles. I tried my best to pick it up but my quads were shot and I couldn't let it loose. After that extreme downhill stretch we came out on the road at the top of City Creek. In the two miles on the road I caught two of the guys who had passed me on the crags and one of the skimo guys. After we entered the trail that parallels the road I passed another two guys, the last being Nate, with about 1.5 miles to go. I coasted down Memory Grove and finished in just over 2:22. I was glad to be done. After I finished I immediately jumped in the freezing river. Today I don't feel quite as sore as I usually do after this race, probably because I didn't hammer the downhills as much as usual. I am relatively happy with the race considering how I felt early in the race and my general fitness and motivation levels.

After finishing I quickly learned that Noah had reeled in the skimo guy on the road and ended up winning by a whopping four minutes, narrowly missing the CR, set by Nathan Peters, by 1 minute. If he had run the course before I am sure he could have made up that minute on the crags. Hopefully we will see them duke it out next year.

In what seemed to be minutes after I finished Amiee came cruising through the finish line in ~3:00. That's a pretty awesome performance considering the lingering injuries and getting stuck behind slow pokes on the crags. Adam amazingly also ran well (finishing in ~2:30) despite cutting his arm on the crags. He later had to get 5 stitches.

The post race company, festivities and snacks were great as usual, highlighted by a big cooler of Otter Pops, Red Vines and Coke. Trail Race directors really have it figured out.

As long as I live here I hope to run this race every year. It has it all: uphill sufferfest, amazing views, hurdling boulders, mad dash downhill, smooth and fast single track and a few miles on the road.

4 mile super easy hangover run, as JP describes it, around the grass field at Evergreen Jr. with Dan and JP. I thought it was a terrible idea to run after yesterday's race but I think it will help speed up the recovery

It was great to catch up with JP who set a 21 minute PR yesterday at UVM! 2:39 and 7th place. He will have accept never setting a PR of that magnitude again.

easy run around Millcreek with Evan. We found Imperial Park, which is on Atkin Ave, not Imperial.  The park looks nice and it appears it has a permnanent super sized porta potty. Now we won't have luck out and find one at a construction site.

RAGNAR!  Wasatch Running Ultra Team: JP, Nate K., Scott K., Fritz, Evan and Noah

We finished in 21:42. We only started two hours ahead of BYU this year and fortunately they didn't catch us. They finished in 19:57. Last year we started four hours ahead of them and we barely beat them. It will be interesting to see if we finish in the top three despite only having 6 runners. American Fork and Davis appeared to be the other teams towards the front. 

1st leg: ~7 pm 12 miles on basically the middle section of the Ogden Marathon in reverse. Averaged 5:58

2nd leg: ~3 am 6.5 miles in the middle of who knows where. +450 ft. Averaged 6:20. Lost some time because I had to tip toe down a super steep dirt section in the dark and I didn't want to fall on my face.

3rd leg: "The Ragnar" + 4 miles down the backside. 10 miles from Park City High School to the top of Guardsman then 4 miles down the backside. +2,800 then -2,000 ft. My legs will probably hate me tomorrow. Averaged 7:36 for the entire run and ~8:12 (1:22) for the 10 mile first leg. I don't think the new 10 mile leg is quite as hard and the 8 miles (two legs combined) coming up from Heber because there are some flat and downhill sections mixed in.

All and all it was a fun time, despite only sleeping for a total of 20 minutes. Our team was made up of a great bunch of guys, and they are all good runners too. Special thanks to JP for flying in from PHX for the second week in a row. Last week he was here to run UVM where he ran a 21 minute PR (2:39) and placed 7th overall. He ended running more miles than anyone on the team, ~35. Also thanks to Wasatch Running for providing the entry, jerseys, hoodie, snacks and gas.

Best discovery: Cup of Noodles are great for breakfast

Ran a couple of miles around the snowbird lodge then hiked to the top of Hidden Peak. Barely made in time for the 8 pm tram ride down. +3,400 ft.

Ran hill repeats (10 x 2 minutes) in Sugar House with Dan and Neal

16 mile single track loop on the Flying Dog trail in Park City with Nate, Adam and Pete. About 2,400 ft. so it was all runnable. Super nice trail.

76 mile bike ride up LCC and then BCC with Elliot. About +9,100 feet of climbing. I didn't bonk too hard and my butt held up ok considering it was only my third bike ride of the year. 5:05 ride time.

Ran 4 x 1k on the Highland track with Dan, Evan and Neal. It probably didn't reach 90 degrees before 7am which was nice.