Running on Eddie

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Salt Lake City Run / Fisher Mansion / International Peace Gardens

Today I had to drop the mother in law off at the airport at 8:30. Her plane wasn't expected to leave until 10:15-ish so Shari had the duty of taking care of her at the airport until her flight took off.

I could've dropped her off and went back home (and come back in an hour or so), but I opted to head back out a few miles and check out a section of the bike trail that I had stopped at before. Normally, on my 20 mile runs, I make it to about California Avenue (about a mile east of the 215) before heading back. This time, I parked my car in the area and continued heading north. I always love exploring a new area... the miles go by so quickly.

It wasn't the prettiest section of the bike trail I've been on. It seemed like a lot of the parks in the area had seen better days. Just lots of not-cared-for landscaping -- brown, knee high grass, the occasional homeless person, or what not. The trail was also rough in spots, with broken asphalt. In some ways, it was just sort of "sketchy". I suppose as with any large city, Salt Lake has it's more rustic parts. Still I felt safe and I wonder how many runners utilize this on a more busy day (Sundays are notoriously absent of runners)

Overgrown brush along the Jordan River

I did run about 3 miles north and then back given the amount of time I had. I did find a good bathroom as well as some drinking fountains. It was sort of late in the morning to be running and it was warm (low 80's and blazing sun). I am still stiff from my half marathon on Friday night, so my pace was at a slow plod, if anything.

Also, the bike trail does abruptly stop 200 S at the Fisher Mansion. There are some signs that direct you to the bike trail, which picks back up behind the mansion. However, it was another mile of running. My time was dwindling and the fact that I got stopped by a freight train on the way around prevented me from going further.

Fisher Mansion in Salt Lake City

You can see downtown pretty clearly

Freight Train that stopped me. You can see the capital building in the distant background

Running under I-80

I did manage to hit a park I've been meaning to check out. The International Peace Gardens was just a beautiful area that was similar to a finely kept up botanical garden. I stopped here and took a few pictures. From what I could tell, the several acre garden is divided up into various sections with a country or nationality represented in each lot. The monuments, walls, or structures in the area were representative of each country's culture. Props to the people who maintain this garden as it was a real treat. Best of all, it was free and had drinking fountains!

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens - China

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens - Gandhi Statue

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens - Canada Section

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens - Viet Nam

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens - Africa

The Gardens at the International Peace Gardens

Saturday, July 12, 2014

This week in running 7/6 - 7/12

Day	Mileage / Workout	Comments
Sunday	No running	Did 7 miles of hiking to Lake Blanche
Monday	4 miles	4M: Medium effort throughout
Tuesday	7 miles	1.5 in 11:50, 1M in 7:41, 1/2M in 3:46, 4 * 0.08 sprint, 2:30 rest; Solid workout
Wednesday	Off	Did some walking
Thursday	4 miles	Medium paced run
Friday	13 miles	Legacy Midnight Half Marathon
Saturday	4	4 super easy, sore miles with 7 strides at the end. Positive end to an easy workout
Total miles for the week: 32 - YTD: 962.5

Well, I wrapped up the week with a solid half marathon effort. I was disappointed that my time continues to slip (especially considering the year-to-year comparison). I am on the verge of making a doctor's appointment just to make sure everything is okay. I worry about my iron / ferritin levels. While I don't feel tired, it might explain why I can't run as fast as I used to.

For next weekend I am look at either the Heber Half Marathon or another 10K Night run in South Jordan on Friday night. The night run is appealing because it is close by and only $32. The Heber Half is also appealing because the race sounds very exciting (ride on the Heber Creeper Train and the photos look awesome). For those not familiar with Heber Utah, it is on the other side of the Wasatch Mountains and is pretty area. It would be a very early morning for me and I am not sure I have the power to go through another (semi hilly) half marathon and run it acceptably.

I'll be making a decision in the next 24 hours I suppose as prices / registration freezes soon.

I am still enjoying the race scene. It is nice not to be focusing on a marathon (although I suspect that will change in the next few weeks). Once the temperatures begin to drop I am hoping to boost up my mileage again.

On the radar are marathons in Denver, Montana, New Mexico or a local one. We'll see how training progresses. In addition, I am still good to go with Vegas in mid-November.

This week's picture was taken Saturday night as I walked home from my run. Around Winchester Park you get a good view of the Wasatch Mountains and Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.

The sun setting on Little Cottonwood Canyon

Legacy Midnight Half Marathon 07-11-2014 Race Review / Write-up

Official Time: 1:52:37
Placement: 17th out of 99 men (~25th overall) 1st out of 9 (40-44)
Results:Website
Race Website: http://www.legacymidnightrun.com/
Course Map: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6001050
Weather: low 80's and semi humid.

On Friday, I ran the Legacy Midnight Half Marathon in Farmington Utah. This is my 3rd year in doing this race as now appears to be a summer tradition. Unfortunately, it is also a reminder that I am getting a bit slower every year. This year's 1:52 was passable and it got me into the hardware, but I was really hoping to at least meet or exceed last year's race. You can read about last year's experience here on my blog, in which I ran a 1:49. In 2012 I ran a blistering 1:39.

The race works like this: You arrive at the Farmington Legacy Events Center around 8pm, pick up your t-shirt (which is exactly the same as the Provo Midnight Half Marathon), board a school bus no later than 9pm and make a 13 mile trip south on the freeway to a "secret" location in North Salt Lake (if you look at the course map it really isn't a secret). Around 10pm you start the race running north along the bike trail. It is a pretty easy route to follow with only a few (and this year well marked) turns. While I carried my headlamp, I rarely used it other than to check my progress on my watch. We had a full moon as well as wearable
neon glowsticks, so as you progressed north you'd see glowing and bobbing lines and circles.

The course had a few mile markers and I did manage to get pretty close to lapping my miles on my Garmin:

Mile	Time	Comments
1-2	17:03	Missing the first mile market. Pretty good splits though, 8:30's which is what I wanted
3	8:45	I was holding back here a little, perhaps too much
4	8:19	Picked it up
5	8:19	Picked it up
6	8:19	Keeping it consistent
7	8:33	Held back a little
8	8:21	Back on target
9	8:30
10	9:33	Stopped and got a rock out of my shoe. Was feeling it here
11	8:31	Back on target
12	9:12	Hurting but managing
13	9:05	Final 1.1
Total Miles: 13:05

Once again, around mile 5 my right hamstring got tight. It would squeeze a bit and then let up. Every few miles it would feel like it needed a good stretch. I've been stretching it and foam rolling but it looks like when I increase the pace it likes to get angry with me. I suspect mentally it affected me more than anything, as I half expected it to cramp up.

While the race appears short, around mile 7 I ran under a .10 mile long bridge and my GPS lost contact in there. I am not sure how my Garmin recalibrates itself after reconnecting with the satellites, but it might be lost distance. I suspect the course was very accurate.

My goal was to start the first 3 miles with the 1:50 pace group in my sights and then after mile 3 start to increase my pace until I caught and eventually passed him. I was making good ground on him until about mile 7 (I think I could still see him in the distance until mile 10 or so). The humidity (as far as Utah goes it was a semi humid night) and my bothersome hamstring made me realize tonight wasn't my night.

Either way, what I like about this race is I again maintained for the most part pretty even splits (although I faded in the last 2 miles). Normally I start out fast and have to drag myself to the finish. This time around, I held on pretty well and managed to move up the leader board a bit in that I passed about 3 - 4 runners near the end of the race

Afterwards, I picked up my award and headed home. While I chatted with a few people at the race, I didn't really know anyone. If the finisher's medal and the age group award look familiar, it is because they are: they are the same as the sister race that was two weeks ago in Provo (as well as the t-shirt). Sort of a disappointment in a way but I am sure it helps keep costs down.

Posing before the race

Finish line

Finish line around midnight

Posing with my age group award

Age group and finisher's medal

Semi-official runner's card

Map / pace from Garmin

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Power Hike up to Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon + Moose Sighting

Today I was up for a challenge. I wanted to see how quickly I could hike up to Lake Blanche. A few weeks ago I did this hike in about 80 minutes and I started to ask myself, how fast could I climb just under 3000 feet in 3 miles in? Well, today I got my answer.

First off it was warm. I wanted to start fairly early but didn't get to the trail until 11am. By that time it was already in the mid eighties and pretty warm. I put on my running shorts, grabbed my walking staff, fired up my trusty Garmin and started the timer right as I got near the bathrooms.

Luckily those going up the trail have the right away and I was probably a dick in my determination in getting up as quickly as possible. Either way, I blew through the first mile in under 20 minutes. The first mile is definitely the easiest and it seemed like at the start of mile 2 the trail suddenly upped the ante. I was definitely dripping sweat at this point and panting hard. I made the mistake of wearing black but at least it was tech fibers, which made it very breathable.

I stopped my walk briefly to get some water but I pretty much hauled up the mountain in about 74 minutes. The last half mile was grueling but I made it up there.

I took about a 30 minute rest up there and enjoyed the views and sights. I was told that there were a pair of moose frolicking in Lake Lorraine, Blanche's sister, so I headed over there and sure enough 2 males were enjoying a dip in the water. I watched them until they realized they were being watched and they took off. Luckily they were at a very safe distance...

I made it down the mountain just as quickly and played good Samaritan to those who were light on water or who wanted to know how much further it was to the top.

Garmin Report showing my progress going down

Garmin Report showing my progress going up

Two Moose below in Lake Lorraine

Zoomed view of the moose

Sundial peak

Row of wildflowers

Albion Meadows Hike / Sugarloaf Hike in Alta, Utah 07-05-2014

On Saturday I was itching for an easy hike. I had down an easy 7 miles in the morning so I didn't want a marathon of a hike later. I figured that the wild flowers should be up and out up in Alta. The village of Alta is located at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. You basically park at the ski lodge and you can either take a free shuttle to Cecret Lake or make the mile or two walk through the meadows.

I opted for the latter but sadly I was up there about a week or two too early. There were some wildflowers up, but definitely not the massive bouquet that I remembered from last year.

I almost opted to go back and do White Pine or Red Pine, but I only wanted to spend a little bit of time up there and while I had brought plenty of fluids I was a little low on food.

I started to hike and was feeling a little let down. I've been to Cecret Lake before (several times) and on weekends like this it is usually a mob fest of screaming kids. There's little solitude at Cecret Lake unless you go very late in the season.

I made it about half way through the meadow when I saw the turnoff for Cecret Lake, or I could take a zig-ziagging trail up the side of the mountain. I had never taken that trail before, so I opted for that one. I ran into some people who told me the trail I was on would drop me into the backside of Cecret Lake, so I figured I'd make the loop, drop into the lake and come out through the way I had intended. Along the way I spotted about 4 deer eating grass in the valley. Luckily no moose sightings.

Once I got near the lake I ran into some other hikers who were coming from above the lake and I asked them what was up there. They told me it was worth the extra effort and to make the climb and I'd be rewarded with a view of a valley and 2 mini lakes (actually puddles). So I went up there and hung out at a shutdown ski lift and got a birds-eye view of Little Cottonwood Canyon as well as the village of Alta.

After that I ran into another hiker who told me to continue another mile and I'd see an even cooler view. Despite my growing hunger and my lack of food, I hustled over the next ridge and was just shocked at what I saw: a huge panoramic view of the backside of the Wastach Mountains including Mount Timponogus.

My curiosity at this point was definitely piqued and I wound up climbing close to 11000 feet to the Snowbird lift. I figured that my short couple of mile hike turned into an 8 - 10 mile adventure with about 3000 feet of elevation gain.

Luckily I had plenty of water and the food made due (I was ravenous by the time I got home though). I definitely want to continue to explore the backside of that canyon and next time I'll probably pay for the shuttle up there so I can explore a bit further. There was a whole mess of trails that led into valley. I talked to a guide at Alta and he said in another 10 days that canyon will be filled with flowers. Definitely on my todo list.