SoJo (South Jordan) Marathon Race Recap / Review

All smiles post race

Official Time: 4:22:50
Placement: 7th out of 10 (in age group) 112th out of 191 finishers
Results: Here
Race Website:Here
Weather: Low 40's at the start, low 70's at finish, sunny, no wind.

Mile	Time	Comments
1	9:01	Start at 5500, going nothing but down!
2	8:27	Still feeling good, rapid decline. Still too fast!
3	8:55	Downhill has stopped, keep it in check Eddie
4	9:04	Yuck, up hills begin
5	10:25	Bathroom break! 500 foot climb
6	10:28	More of a 500 foot climb
7	9:14	Done with the hills for now, back on pace
8	9:47	Another mini hill
9	8:43	Yeah flats and downhills. Latch onto the 4 hour group
10	9:00	More downhill. Easy running at this point
11	8;51	Still hanging with a group
12	9:15	Moving along. Some uphill here
13	9:18	Halfway point, starting to feel it.
14	9:21	Still with the 4 hour group
15	9:34	They are pulling ahead now
16	9:24	Not too bad of a pace
17	10:38	Near the South Jordan Temple, nasty hill.
18	9:45	Trying to recover from the hill. Nothing to look at
19	10:44	Beginning of the end
20	12:05	Only 10K left.
21	11:07	Who attached the anchor to my legs? Luckily downhill
22	11:14	Downhill
23	11:08
24	11:07	Last of the downhill. Felt like I was running in quicksand
25	12:18	No more downhill. On bike trail. Just shuffling along
26	12-something	Watched powered off. no more batteries
Total Miles: 26.20+

Introduction

In 2012, I did the South Jordan half marathon (actually their summer and fall race).  Being that I was new to Utah at the time, I really fell in love with South Jordan.  Clean area, plenty of shopping, a tech area that looked like it had plenty of jobs, etc.  However, it is one of the pricier areas and it also looks fairly homogenized and too well planned.  Also, with it growing as rapidly as it has, it looks like if you live on the west side that it is a battle to the freeway each morning.

Either way, I was looking to do a warm-up marathon of sorts before next month's Vegas.  Knowing that the folks in South Jordan put on a well-organized, small race, I opted to give this one a go.  I had a coupon that got me 10% off, so I wound up paying about $88 for the race, including service charges 2 weeks from the race start. Not a bad deal.

Packet Pickup

Packet pickup was a snap.  I drove about 4 miles from my house, went to the rec center and a few minutes later I had my shirt and bib.  It was actually a pretty nice swag bag for such a small race.  Plenty of little extras in it, including a free gym pass, which I'll definitely use.  There were no exhibitors there, just a room with some volunteers registering people and giving you your stuff.

Race Start

Since this was a local race (attended by mostly locals), I didn't need to travel very far or get a hotel.  I actually slept well and had very little pre-race anxiety.  I am not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing.  

I did get up at 4:30, ate some Life Cereal, banana and an iced tea before heading out the door.  I had to catch a bus at 6AM.  The bus took off about 10 - 15 minutes later and we arrived in Brigham City about 6:40 or so.  Brigham City looks like an old city that is in the middle of nowhere.  No gas stations, no grocery stores, just a cluster of small houses that appear to have been built in the 1950's (or earlier).  I had never been out in this direction before and it is all mining country.  

They do have a beautiful park though called Copperton City Park and that was the starting area.  The race directors had a few porta potties out there as well as some heating lamps.  I was pretty comfortable and the time before the race started went by pretty quick.  I drank a bit of water and ate a Powerbar to top off my energy stores.  The race started promptly at 7:30 just as the sun was coming up.

Milling about before the race start

View to the East from the race start

Copperton City Park

Looking west from the race start

The Race

I really didn't have any objectives for this race.  I figured if I was lucky, I could finish in sub 4:15.  "A" race was 4 hours, "B" race was sub 4:15 and "C" was sub 4:30.  

A good portion of the race is downhill.  The race boasts a net downhill of about 1000 feet.  Sounds good right?  Well, there is also one climb of 500 feet early in the race and in the middle miles there are some hills too.  So this course is NOT flat.  You can see the race profile here. Just click on a mile marker to get the elevation chart to come up.

It was very hard to maintain a consistent pace in the early miles.  I went with the downhills and just rolled along as best as I could.  Around mile 5 I had the urgent need to pee and I jumped in a porta potta (the weeds along the side of the road were looking pretty good up to that point).  Took forever to empty my bladder.

The early miles of the race

Mining area

Early miles of the race

The first 10 miles or so are actually the best part of the race.  Just a whole lot of nothingness and it is all downhill.  I found it very pretty and enjoyable.  Despite having lived here for over 2 years I haven't explored this part of town.  It was a beautiful stretch of area from Brigham City to the outskirts of Herriman.

Once we got past 10 miles though, it changed to more city street running.  The race officials had done a terrific job of protecting us and having plenty of traffic control.  I never worried about the Saturday traffic.

Surprisingly, I caught up to the 4 hour pace group and managed to latch onto them.  I know that was aggressive but there were over half a dozen of them (this was a small race, only about 200 full marathoners) and I wound up hanging with them until mile 14 or 15.  If I had been with them, I probably would've run the majority of the race solo.

Things started to go sour though when I hit the Jordan River Temple.  There is a ghastly hill that you have to ascend to get by it and it just sucked the energy out of me. It is only about 100 feet of a climb, but it seems to be a lot more.

The remaining 10 miles of the race aren't terribly exciting.  Mostly residential areas and some scattered horse pastures.  

Crowd support is pretty minimal as well, mostly consisting of locals cheering on a family member.  If you are looking for rock bands or huge cheering sections, you won't find it except at the finish line.

The race also had done a fantastic job at organizing the water stops.  There were 3 in the final 3 miles -- much needed.  Most stops had gels so I only had to use one of my own.  

The weather was in the low 40's and near the end I was baking in the sun.  I had run with a Fuel Belt and had gone through 28 ounces of Powerade and was double drinking at each of the water stops after the half way point.  That may have been part of my downfall is that I wasn't getting enough fluids.

The race became a slog to the finish after mile 20.  Blame it on going out too fast or being under trained.  Despite having some fantastic training runs, today wasn't "my" day.  I think I would've done worse had not the last few miles been downhill.

Conclusion

I can't bend my right leg. Everything hurts

I crossed the finish line in 4:22:50.  I wasn't terribly thrilled with my time, but it was my 13th marathon and I good indicator of where my fitness lies and what I need to work on.  Plus a finish is a finish.  

My achilles was sore in the early miles and my right knee was bothersome (I think the downhills but some pressure on it) and my calf would occasionally give me problems too, but overall I was able to finish without significant damage.

The medal was pretty sweet too.  It is pretty heavy and high quality:

I walked around a little and grabbed a water and Doctor Pepper. Since my last two miles had almost been at a walk anyways, I found a place to sit in the shade and just waited for my stomach to settle.  

The post race food was pretty basic and a little disappointing:  Chik-Filet sandwiches, bananas, ice cream sandwiches, oranges and Dr Pepper.  They did have a lot of exhibitors though and activities for kids, including rock climbing.  

When I had finished, there were plenty of post race goodies but most of the people looked like they had already left, so it was a bit anti-climatic.  

The finish line

Afterwards I hit up Cafe Rio and normally I can pound one of their burritos and be hankering for another.  However, my stomach was pretty upset and I only managed to get about a 3/4ths of it down.  I did suck down 3 Vanilla Cokes though, which was heavenly.

I came home and did what the pros do after a marathon: ice bath time!  It seemed to help but to be honest I couldn't get it cold enough.  

I was also treated to some solid calf and foot cramps.  Luckily I had pickle juice on hand and managed to get about a cup of that down and sure enough the cramping subsiding.

Later that night, Shari and I found some Groupon.com coupons for Golden Corral so we hit up that.  My appetite still wasn't 100% but it was good to eat a lot.

Final Thoughts

I would definitely do this race again.  It is local and reasonably priced.  It is only about 15 minutes from my house and it is a high-quality event.  That being said, if you are researching this race and wondering if you should travel to it, I'd probably say no.  There are other races in Utah that offer fantastic views or something to get excited about in terms of scenery and ambiance.  However, if you need to get Utah off your states list and this fits your plans, by all means you won't be disappointed.

Yet Another Wendover Trip -- October 12

Introduction

With visitors in from Illinois, one of the things we talked about doing was going to Wendover.  While my guests weren't super big gamblers, they did want to watch all the NFL games and one of the best places to do that is in Nevada.

It didn't take much arm twisting to get me to go, despite the last few Wendover trips being somewhat lackluster in terms of luck.

In order to get to the early action (i.e. the 11AM games) we opted to leave at about 9AM.  Everybody was on time and after a quick stop at the bank we hit the road and had smooth sailing.  We arrived just after 10:50.

Montego Bay

Our first stop was to Montego Bay.  I pulled in and grabbed the player's club cards and activated them for the day as well as printing out $10 of free play and a free buffet pass (actually 2-for-1).  It was a long line on account that everyone was activating their cards and preparing for the big drawing; Montego Bay was celebrating its 12th birthday and was giving away $500 to $1000 in free play as well as a brand new truck.  They also had a spin and wheel deal and it awarded Shari and I 50 more tickets each to the drawing that evening.

We all ate at the buffet and I don't think I pigged out as heavily as I normally do.  I am not sure why not -- I came hungry, but it just seemed like I filled up pretty quickly.

Shari played out our $10 in free play at Montego Bay and didn't get anything.  We left our guests at the hotel so they could watch the game at the bar while Shari and I headed on over to the Peppermill.

The Peppermill

The Peppermill was a veritable ghost town compared to Montego Bay (and later the Rainbow).  We pretty much had free reign over all of our favorite machines.  Unfortunately, it seemed like "luck" was absent from the casino as well.  Shari did okay there, while the machines there had a virtual vacuum on my wallet.

Bet high, low, fast or slow, I couldn't win.  I was mildly pissed off when the guy next to me jumped on a Super Hot Phoenix and on his first pull got the red envelope bonus for $140.  He didn't know what he had hit when he had done it.

After about 45 minutes of losing, we jaunted over to the Rainbow.

The Rainbow

For once, my luck was mildly better at the Rainbow.  Although I really wasn't having much success on any of my favorites.  Sometimes I'd put in a $20 and make a meager profit, but more often than not it was a waste of time.

I looked longingly at the poker table.  They weren't offering anything special in terms of comps and poker would've been a solid choice, but the table was full.  At least the poker deal recognized me and gave me a "hello" kind of nod.

I did try some other games, including "Happy Lion" by Aruze Entertainment.  I had watched some people play this last time I was out in Wendover and it looks like you could make a killing on a bonus round; if you managed to get it.  Luckily I did and won a little more than $35 on a 50 cents bet.  On the plus side, the game did allow me to play a long time.

I also hit paydirt a few times on IGT's "Hot Roll" game.  I wound up hitting the bonus round fairly early and usually you don't get much on it, but I managed to make sizable profits on a minimal bet.  I dallied with the video Blackjack machines netting meager profits as well on those.  

Also Mr Cashman was incredibly generous to me.  He seemed to be coming out quite frequently.  While he didn't give me a lot of $, he wasn't a stranger either.

I was again miffed when a lady who was playing 38 cents a spin won nearly $1000 on my Fu Dao Le machine.  I didn't think it was possible that you could win the Major jackpot on so little of a bet, but she did.  

Yeah Mr Cashman!

Not bad for a 20 cent bet on Hot Roll

Nice win on Happy Lion

Killer bonus round on Ultra Stack Happy Lion

Conclusion

We wound up killing most of the afternoon at the Rainbow and after the Bears won, we headed back over to the Montego Bay.  We talked about getting dinner, but everyone (but me) was still full from the morning's buffet.  I was allowed to go get another buffet by my party, but I really wanted to hit the road and I didn't want to feel pressured to rush and eat, so I grabbed a Ho-Ho from the gift shop and hit the road.

Sadly this was another losing trip.  Between Shari and I, we probably lost $120 between the two of us (mostly me, however).  I am not even sure this was a terribly fun trip, but since Shari's birthday is in October, they did give us $20 in restaurant money.  I should get mine in November. At least we ate for cheap.

I think we are done with Wendover until after the Vegas marathon.  There really isn't any "must-see" shows coming up and Vegas is no longer the cheap getaway it used to be so we'll need to budget for that (even though the hotel and marathon at this point are paid for).  I may go for my birthday in November and see Saigon by Night, however.

This week in Running Oct 5 - 11

Day	Mileage / Workout	Comments
Sunday	Off	Needed a break!
Monday	14	Run out in the desert / hills of West Wendover.
Tuesday	Off	Needed a break
Wednesday	7	Feeling tired, but good run
Thursday	5	Easy run.
Friday	5	Easy on the bike trail
Saturday	11	Solid effort. No more long runs for a bit.
Total miles for the week: 42 - YTD: 1405.5

Week's Summary

This was still a pretty high mileage week, despite being only about 7 days from the South Jordan Marathon, which I am doing next Saturday.  I am looking forward to knocking out this marathon.  It isn't a super exciting destination marathon, but is a certified race and they put on a good show.  As stated before, I did their half marathon in 2012 and I thought they did a stupendous job.

I was really tempted to race this week.  In fact, I was so on the fence on doing a 5K or a 10K this weekend.  I am glad I didn't though.  My legs just felt sort of dead on account of all the high mileage.  Granted, though, this week I am going to cut it WAY back in order to have fresh legs for the marathon.

Normally the longest you run 2 weeks out from a marathon is 8 and 12 miles.  I ran 14 and an 11.  It is hard to resist the cooler weather, the nice colors on the bike trail and being able to really put in some serious miles.

On Friday night I passed by a race that was starting on the bike trail. I thought about going back home, getting some money and jumping in, but my legs just felt tired.  And this morning there was a GIANT 5K going on.  I inquired about it and it sounded like it was a charity event for a child with cancer.  They had a large turnout, although I didn't see a whole lot of serious looking runners.  It was also supposed to start at 9AM and I passed by at 9:05 and didn't see any runners following me, so I imagine there was a lengthy delay.

Pictures of the Week

The first picture is my "home" park.  This is about a 1/3 of a mile from my house.  I love the fall colors, which are just starting to hit the valley.  This is generally where I start my runs and end them.  Sadly they have turned off the drinking fountains in Taylorsville, but the ones in Murray are still going.

Here is the "big" 5K I saw about 45 minutes before the race start.  Looks like they went all out on this one and I am glad it paid off:

Fun Stuff in and Around Salt Lake City

Introduction

I do a lot of other things besides hit up Wendover, go for hikes and talk about my latest running adventures.  I do get out and try to have a bit of a life and try some different things from time to time. 

It is easy to get into a rut and before you know it, you are sitting around watching reruns instead of making life memorable.  I recently did a few things that are noteworthy:

Bingo!

A friend of mine told me that one of the Catholic churches in Cottonwood Heights has a every-other-week bingo game that they hold on Friday nights.  With not a lot to do, I figured why not.  I could sit with a bunch of gray-haired women and gamble -- in Salt Lake City!

Well, I will say this: there weren't just gray-haired women there.  St. Thomas More Catholic Church opened their auditorium for a Friday night bingo game (with the proceeds going to the Church).  I rolled in around 6:15, ponied up about $13 for my sheet of bingo cards, $1 for a special marker and another $5 for some Kaboom! cards.  In addition to the joy of playing bingo, you do get a small dinner (for me it was an appetizer). 

The hosts at the church were extremely generous and helpful in every way.  I would estimate that they had about 75 - 100 players -- probably on the lower end.  The age range ran the gamut, from 20-somethings to senior citizens.  It was mostly women but there were quite a few men in attendance as well.

The game is pretty easy to follow and they don't just do plain old bingo.  They have games were you have to fill in different patterns and even a game with a large jackpot if you fill your entire card within 50 numbers.  

Sadly luck wasn't on my side at all.  I think I came close to winning once.  Each game only pays 25 "points" so if multiple people win, you have to split the pot with them.  So the jackpots aren't that big.  At the end of the night you turn in your "points" for dollars -- at a one to one ratio.  I suppose they have to use the words "points" to get around the anti-gambling laws in Utah.  

The Kaboom game (they had two of them) offers a different type of card.  These games cost additional money to enter and had higher jackpots (I believe around $160 -- depending upon how many people bought into the game). You basically open the card and it had 9 numbers on it.  1 to 3 of them were "free" spaces.  The object was to get a blackout on one of your cards and you'd win the jackpot.  Naturally you wanted the cards with the most free spaces, but most of the ones you bought had only one or two.

Kaboom! Cards

I found the game fairly tedious and semi frustrating.  It was fun but Bingo clearly isn't my game of choice.  It was a night of cheap entertainment though and if you are looking for a social event, this is worth checking out (even if you aren't terribly religious).

Cafe Trang

6001 S State St, Murray, UT 84107 (Google Map Image)

Located a few miles from my house, I took the opportunity to visit this restaurant.  To be honest, the exterior doesn't look like much and you might at first consider skipping it figuring it to be yet another generic Asian food place.  

But you'd be wrong.

I am very happy to report that this place was a winner -- and I do intend on going back.  They have a large and extensive menu filled with all kinds of items (including a LOT of vegetarian).  While Chinese may be a bit too broad for the food served here (I sensed a bit of Thai / Vietnamese influence), they offer large portions at fairly reasonable prices (about $10 - $15 per entree).

I got the Szechuan tofu and it was like a party in my mouth.  Just spicy enough to make it entertaining, but not painful by any means.  Service was prompt . I ordered and was expecting a significant wait (it wasn't crowded) but it seemed like the lady disappeared after taking my order and literally a minute or two later came back with a steaming plate of food.  

If you enjoy Asian food, this place should be on your list to check out.

Miller Motorsports Park

2901 Sheep Ln, Tooele, UT 84074

Miller Motorsports Park

On Thursday our company had a team outing and one of the favorite choices of the group is to head out about 30 miles west of Salt Lake and go to the Miller Motorsports Park.  Tooele (pronounced Two-illa) is a growing town that was probably on the edge of civilization years ago.  Now it is a bustling suburb that seems to be growing rapidly.  I saw a ton of new housing developments out there (as well as some agricultural concerns).  It was also offsetting to be out there; normally when I look east I see the Wasatch Mountains -- instead I saw the Oquirrh Mountains and it took a while to get my bearings.

A good portion of the park is set aside for actual race car racing.  They also have another track dedicated for serious go-cart racing, which is what my employer rented out for the afternoon.

After learning the safety rules and getting geared up, we each had 3 races. Each race consisted of about 4 - 6 laps around the course in go-carts which I heard could go up to 50 miles per hour.  I am not 100% sure, but it sure felt fast and these cars had plenty of zip.  Generally each lap around the course took anywhere from 1 minute (for the best of drivers) to probably 90+ seconds (for slower folks like me).  

It took me a while to figure out and get comfortable with the car and by the last race I was taking the corners a lot more aggressively.  I still suck at go-cart racing and I think I just missed the cut-off for the final 4th race to determine the grand champion.

Despite being about 4 - 5 miles from the Great Salt Lake, we could still smell the salt air (not terribly pleasant).  We had perfect weather though (mid 70's and sunny) and it was a very enjoyable 3 hours.  

My heart sank though when we left and I was "only" 80 miles from Wendover.  Sure would've been nice to go there for dinner... 

The race course - Stansbury Island in the distance

Wendover is another 80 miles west -- sigh....

Cars ready to be driven

My coworkers cruising around the track

Loading into my car and getting ready to race.

Preparing for take off

Racing on the track

10/6 West Wendover Gambling Trip

Introduction

The casinos in Wendover sent me some more free goodies this past month: $10 in free play, 2-for-1 buffet, 2 night *free* stay in a hotel (week night) - how could I turn it down.  Also I was itching to do some more exploring in the mountains to the north of Wendover, which I have documented here.

I made the trip, leaving at about 9AM Sunday morning after quickly throwing together a change of clothes, my running gear and of course some cash.

Sunday 10/5

I got there a bit after the 11AM kickoffs, which was fine by me.  I didn't have any inklings on wagers for the 11AM games anyways.  Given that it was 6x comps, I went up to my favorite machine and threw in a $20.  This was consequently the machine that sucked $100 out of my wallet last time I was there.  This time Fu Dao Le was kind to me and soon I was up a few bucks:

$27 win

  

It turns out also that my boss / manager was in Wendover, so we were playing phone tag trying to figure out when and where to meet.  I caught him in the middle of golfing though so I hit up the buffet.  I had a 2-for-1 coupon, so I wound up eating for about $10.

After eating, I gambled a bit more in Montego Bay and soon I was up about $60:

Another bonus win on Super Red Phoenix

Hot bonus round on Rise of Ra

Hot bonus round on Rise of Ra

After an hour or two, I walked over to the Peppermill (once I parked in West Wendover, I never moved my car again until it was time to go).  It is a half mile walk each way and it was just a nice day to stretch my legs:

Montego Bay in the morning.

I gambled there and all my good luck -- turned into bad.  Within 15 - 20 minutes I had lost my $60 that I had won at Montego Bay and then some.  I tried all my favorite games and it was a money pit.  Also some guy walked up to the Super Red Phoenix next to me, bet $2.50 and won $143...  ugh.

I did put a bet on the over for the Broncos / Cardinals game, which I won!

I got a call from my manager who was ready to meet me, so I hoofed it over to the Nugget.  I hadn't been in there in a while and sadly little has changed.  They really need a make-over.  I wound up gambling a bit in there but my luck continued to be sour.  I did hang around with my manager and his mother and followed them around gambling and such.

After an hour or so, it was time for me to check in and so I got my room and hit the pool.  I expected the pool to be awful -- as in cold.  But it was actually REALLY nice.  It was warm and despite it only being in the low 70's I was perfectly warm.

I wound up eating for free for dinner, having earned enough comps.  

I also put down $20 on the Bengals / Patriots game.  I figured the Patriots were in a slump and the Bengals were quietly becoming one of the NFL's top teams.  Boy I got that wrong.  It was super hard to watch.

I pretty much used the last of what I was willing to wager on the trip that night and was still having minimal luck.  With a sinking heart, I went to bed fairly early.

Monday 10/6

First thing in the morning was I threw on my running shoes and ran through the Leppy Hills.  You can read about it here  Really a nice run -- I love exploring new areas and this fit the bill.

After cleaning up and sucking down a ton of water, I waddled over to the Montego Bay buffet.  For those keeping score at home, I pretty much ate 3 buffets for $25.  I could've gotten $9 knocked off the price of this one had I used my comps, but I'll save it for next time. 

I ate pretty well, but being this was my 3rd buffet in 24 hours I was pretty full.  I did manage to suck down no less than 5 Pepsi's though.  I couldn't get enough of them:

I was done gambling and it was hard to look at my favorite machines and not dump in the last of my dollars, but I was already feeling pretty crappy about losing the night before (I think I was down about $140).

I wound up lounging by the pool for another hour or so before packing it in.  I left around 3 and was home before 5.  I did see a moron who had taken their truck out in the salt flats out 15 miles outside of Wendover.  He was in the center median and had probably tried to cross it.  With the heavy rains of late, he sank clear up to the top of his wheel wells.  If I wasn't traveling at 83 mph I would've snapped a picture.  He was getting dragged out of the quicksand by a tow truck.

Despite losing, it was a good trip.  I wish I could've come home with a positive cash flow, but it was great to eat and get in a nice run.

West Wendover 14 mile run - Leppy Hills and Pilot Peak

Pilot Peak as I crest a hill.

Introduction

With the cool weather we've been enjoying and the fact that I was comped two nights hotel stay for the West Wendover Casinos, I opted to do another morning run.  Initially my goal was to start heading up Leppy Hills north of West Wendover and hook east around the backside of the mountains and come out on the Utah side along Aria Blvd.  

Unfortunately, before I left for the trip I really hadn't studied the topography as much as I would like to have and there is a very real chance of getting lost out there.  Just a reminder for those not familiar with the area: there is NOTHING out there. No one. No water, no bathrooms, no cell phone connection (except in limited spots, I did manage to get a weak signal at one point) and no people.  You are quite literally on your own out there.

You can also read a bit more about Pilot Peek on Wikipedia. It has some historical importance, which I didn't know at the time I was running.

The Run

First off, if you want to see the first couple of miles I would recommend you look at my previous post, located here. I've captured it plenty of times and I don't need to post redundant pictures.

Secondly, this route is TOUGH.  I took off from Montego Bay and enjoyed the downhill for about .5 mile before the ascent up into to the mountains.  I was running at about 4347 feet and by mile 3.5 I was sitting at 5701.  The next 3 miles drops you down to 5100 and then you have to go all the way back up to 5700.  My legs felt like jello.

My run was about 13 - 14 miles long.  I had paused my Garmin at one point to take a rock out of my shoe and .5 miles later I remembered to restart it, so I definitely went further than 13 miles.  Here is the Garmin capture:

I followed the dirt road out of town and even had a guy from the ATV rental place pass me by on his way to (presumably) work.  I am sure he doesn't get many visitors out there and one would guess even less on foot.

I had loaded up my fuelbelt with 28 ounces of Powerade.  I figured I wouldn't need that much, but brought it anyway.  I am glad I did, because I went through every drop and could've used much more.  While the air temperature wasn't too bad, the sun was blazing.

After passing the ATV rental spot, I didn't see another sign of anything living for a good hour.

Just about to the summit

Leppy Peak to the left

First glimpse of Pilot Peak

Leppy Peak

About .5 mile past Leppy Peak

The Turn Around Point

After about 6 miles I ran into the Leppy Valley and was treated to some glorious views.  I really wanted to go further but given the rising temperature, my dwindling supply of Powerade and the fact that I told people if I wasn't back in town by noon to call for help, forced me to turn back.  I am glad I did because I used every drop of water I had.  

Granted, I could've refilled at the Leppy Hills Park but that is only a mile from the town itself, so it wouldn't have done any good.

View of Pilot Peak

View of Pilot Peak

View of Pilot Peak with Leppy Reservoir to the left

The salt flats east of Pilot Peak

Volcano Peak in the distance

The Return Back

After taking in the scenery I debated on going to Leppy Reservoir. I felt I could make it, but knowing I have a marathon in 2 weeks and was already hovering around 7 miles, I wisely chose to back off and return back. If I make another trip up here, I may drive to get a bit closer as well as pack more fluids.  I couldn't believe how fast I went through them.

I wound up falling once.  It was sort of a bad one too.  I misstepped into a crevice and went sprawling.  Not good when I have 5 miles to go and at least 3 back to the ATV rental place.  My phone and room key went flying, but luckily no damage done other than a sore shoulder, which went away.

I also had a brief scare.  On the way back the trail forked.  I wondered which was to go.  Luckily, there are telephone wires (or electricity poles) out there that lead back into town, so I knew that so long as those were in site I'd be fine.  I opted for the trail that went left but it thinned down and I saw a wreck of a car in the weeds that I hadn't seen before on the way out, so I knew I had chosen wrong.  I caught across the field and found the right trail that was wide enough for a car to go on and I remembered many of the places I had had to jump before.  

All in all, my trip was close to 2.5 hours.  I know pretty slow, but given that I climbed up to 5700 from 4300 I'll take credit where credit is due.

Finally here is a video I took looking at the entire valley:

This week in running Sept 28 - Oct 4 - New PR!

Day	Mileage / Workout	Comments
Sunday	21.5	Awesome long run, chronicled here
Monday	4	Easy recovery run
Tuesday	7	Nice pace throughout despite still being drained from Sunday's run
Wednesday	7	Easy all the way
Thursday	13	Felt good. Loped through 13 miles to rack up the mileage!
Friday	4	Easy - more of a slog than anything
Saturday	14	Awesome day - sunny, chilly - perfect for an easy 9:25-ish pace per mile long run.
Total miles for the week: 70.5 - YTD: 1363.5

Exciting News

Well, I did take the plunge earlier this week.  Perhaps I was still running off the endorphins I had from Sunday's run, but I did sign up for the South Jordan Marathon, which will be two weeks from today.  So I'll be going 26.2 for what I think will be my 13th marathon.  While I would rather do another destination marathon, I had a coupon for 10% off and this one is about 5 miles down the road, if that. Total cost: $90 (about $3.75 a mile).

Week's Summary

Wow, an incredible week of running to say the least.  I may not be fast anymore, but I can still slug out the miles.  First off, I did PR in terms of distance.  I think my total distance from before was about 64 miles in a 7 day span, with maybe 72 in 8 days.  I nailed 70.5.  I figured I'd have a shot with it being I was doing two long runs in the span of 7 days.

I find that if I really rack up the miles, in about a week or two I get a huge training boost.  This should bode well for my marathon.

Also, at work we have a pedometer challenge.  It is team based, so the more steps you take, the more points you get. Well guess you who's team is first -- by a lot?

Other than my calf occasionally throwing fits, my body has held up nicely.  My right achilles has been flaring up too, but not to the point where it is bad.  Also with the increased mileage, I've noticed that I have a smidge of plantar fascitiis in the morning.  Need to get the orthotics out.

I would love to honestly be able to do 70 miles a week but there's no way my body could do this week and week out.  I think 50 is doable for routine miles, but with each additional mile the chances of injury get larger.

Solid week though.

Picture of the Week

Here is a picture I took near the closing end of Tuesday's run.  You can see the snow up in Little Cottonwood / Alta / Lone Peak if you look at it close enough.  Did I say, I love the bike trail?

Route of my 14 mile run on Saturday