Daily Mile: It's cold out there!

It was brutally cold this morning!  The gauge said 28º, but it felt colder than that, even.  Katherine and I met up at the gully.  Despite numerous runs in the gully over the years, we still managed to find new things!  We even ended up on a main road at the turn around point, and a building that we were pretty sure was a bathroom.  Once we hit about mile three we finally started to warm up, the sun starting coming and I was feeling really good.  It was a beautiful run, despite the horrid air conditions.  Plus, frozen fingers spurred a trip to Target for some new insulated mittens.  I see warmer fingers in my future!

Brr!

Popsicle friends.

Look at all that frost! 

Hey!  I've never seen that before!

Here comes the sun!

 

We're frozen, and we're happy about it!

Here comes Speedy K!

No wonder the first half of the run always seems harder.  Dimple Dell is deceiving, because it doesn't really look uphill but it certainly is!

5.4 miles

1:09

12:55 average pace

Walking

I told my husband I was going to go for a walk today and he laughed at me.  True, I'm not much of a walker.  I've always found walking boring.  However, there is a time and place for a nice walk, and today was that time.  After two days of sore muscles, I woke up today finally feeling back to normal.  Katherine kindly agreed to go for a walk with me, so we headed to Dimple Dell gully.  It was cold and pretty and felt nice to stretch my legs.  We walked for an hour, which felt great!  Plus I got to share all the details of my race with my number one running buddy!  I'm still feeling very happy from with my race day performance and ready for a bit of rest and maybe a few weekends of sleeping in!  

Daily Mile

Today, I met up with a group of friends to run Dimple Dell gully.  Michelle, Zach, my neighbor Kristin, Ozzy (my dog) and I met at 6am and headed down into the cold darkness.  I really enjoy running in the gully and with this large group the creepy factor was completely diminished.  It was seriously cold, though.  38º at the start.  Long pants, gloves, the whole she-bang.  It's fun to run with some new folks and mix it up!  Now, to throw the second Harry Potter party this month!  

5.3
1:05
12:16

Daily Slog

I hope I'm out of my running funk for my long run tomorrow! I'll be due for a feel good, energetic run by tomorrow I'm sure!  If not, it could be a long darn day.  Katherine, who has a bit of a sore knee, wasn't bothered by my slow pace since she's feeling less than perfect at the moment.  She's been taking it super easy, so today's short and slow run was just what she needed.  I, on the other hand, need to pick up the pace!  The gully was still nice this morning and the conversation was a riot, as always.  Now for eggs and bacon.  Lots of eggs and bacon.

3.72 miles
52:38
14:08 average pace

Daily Mile

Well, my training plan is now calling for some longer mid week runs, so today I headed out for a 10 miler.  Luckily my wonderful son, Kurtis, is back home from his summer trip and was able to stay home (in bed asleep) with the girls.  They are all actually still asleep as I type this!  I got to actually leave in the daylight at the late hour of 6:30am.  I didn't really have a plan, I just headed out and then I decided that I'd see how far it was to run to the Dimple Dell gully from Highland Drive.  So I ran (just over 5K) to the gully, ran a couple miles there and then came back home.  I had to add a bit of extra mileage in my neighborhood, but it was quite a nice way to mix it up.  Plus, there was about a mile or so of dirt trail leading from 2300 East down to the gully, so I got even more trail miles!

New found "trail."

Lookie lookie!  It's the gully!

There were two huge birds that flew across the path in front of me.  One settled in a tree right on the path.  They looked like falcons or hawks!  Super cool!

The foliage in the gully is a bit over grown from all the rain.  It's just beautiful!  

10 miles

1:54

11:26 pace

Oh, and did I mention I was sore from yesterday?  Yeah, I'm sore.  So all things considered I'm very happy with my overall pace!

Daily Mile

Who doesn't love a little 5am gully run?  Yesterday Katherine and I, armed with pepper spray cans, headed into the Dimple Dell gully.  I really enjoy the mystery and excitement of running in the dark. Plus, it's so quiet and peaceful which as a busy mother, I truly appreciate.  Bonus, Katherine and I found an amphitheater that we didn't even know existed!  I love exploring!

The sun was coming up as we finished. 

I love running with this gal!

4.69 miles

1:08

14:33 pace

Fortitude

Today I decided to test my fortitude.  First, I went to the gym with Jeff this morning and did legs.  Squats and leg presses until my legs shook.  Calf raises, leg extensions, the whole number.  Jeff kept asking me repeatedly, "Are you sure you're going to go running later?"  YES!  Of course I'm going running.  I had already planned it with Katherine.  There was no way I was skipping.  The last time I did legs I was oh so very sore... for days!  Despite what could have been a horribly painful experience, I laced up and met Katherine for a run at Dimple Dell Gully.  We decided to head west instead of east and mix it up.  The trail was lovely and there was lots of soft sand, wood chips, and fantastic winding single track.

There was also some very colorful graffiti.  Believe it or not, I miss graffiti.  Utah has way less, and way less impressive, graffiti than California.

Hey!  It's me!

Sketchy rape cave?  Smoking cave?  I don't want to know cave.  I'll look at it from a distance, thank you very much.

Friends.

Amazingly, I didn't hurt!  I could tell I had done leg work this morning, but I felt good.  I was a little tired, and walked a bit more than usual, but it worked out as Katherine had just gotten over the stomach flu.  Most importantly, we had a wonderful time.  Of course!

4.15 miles
54:07
13:03 pace

Future Trail Runner

Jeff and I took Clarissa and Ozzy down to the Dimple Dell gully this afternoon for a little hike. Clarissa is a mountain lover. She's always asking, "When can I climb to the top of the mountain?" She loves hiking and getting dirty. Today was no exception. At the turn around point she started complaining that she was tired, so I suggested that we race. I think I have a future trail runner on my hands! She took off running and we ran together nearly the whole way back. She called a few "time outs" where we slowed or stopped to rest, but she ran smiling and giggling as I chased her all the way back to the parking lot! I'll tell you what.  She is pretty quick! Plus, she even ran the uphills with a smile. Amazing the things we can learn from our children. Maybe I need to look at hills with the same child like exuberance. Hopefully Clarissa and I will enjoy more trail runs together in the future.

She saw this downed tree and immediately exclaimed, "I want to climb that!"  She dropped her hiking stick and began climbing.  She did it all by herself!

Fun in the Sun

Having a blast as usual, Katherine and I hit up her neighborhood and part of the Dimple Dell gully we hadn't been in before. The sun was out, it was warm, and I was really enjoying the fabulous spring day. I was feeling particularly great by the end of the run and enjoyed picking up the pace for the last mile.

4.26 miles
53:33
12:34 pace

Don't Stop the Party Run*

Tuesday Katherine and I headed out into another snow storm.  This one wasn't as brutal, or as long, so we managed slowly but surely.  We headed through the neighborhood and did a bit of running in the Dimple Dell gully as well.  It was rough footing in the gully, but very beautiful.

5.2 miles

1:09

13:16 pace

*After Katherine pointed out to me that we are all about the party run, I had to change the title of this post!

The Gully

First, for those that worry, a note about safety.  I always run with a friend and my dog, Ozzy, when I run trails in the dark.  I carry pepper spray, and so do my other runner girlfriends.  I also carry a whistle and a cell phone.  When I run trails during the day I bring Ozzy whenever possible.  Many trails here are watersheds and there are no dogs allowed.  I always tell Jeff where I am going and when I'll be back.  When I run with music I only ever put one ear bud in so I can hear what is going on around me and I don't wear them on trails at all.  Now, on to my story...

Today Katherine and I met at (the absurd time) 5:15am at Dimple Dell Gully.  It was 28° out and even though I had lots of layers on it's still darn cold at that time of day.  It was pitch black out and very slow going.  The ground in the gully is rough with lots of rocks and indentations from horse hooves with lots of ups and downs. Even in daylight I usually run at about a 12-13 minute pace on this trail.  Ozzy loves running with us there because at that time of day I let him run off leash.  He runs up ahead and waits to see our headlamps and flashlights before going on.  At the halfway point I decided to take a drink of water only to discover that the bite valve on my water pack was frozen solid.

Note to self: Sip from water on a regular basis when temps are below freezing.

No biggie really, since we only had 2.5 miles left to go.  Overall, the run was fun.  We even had to cross a stream twice and joked that it was the Rucky Chucky River crossing.  If you haven't read Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes or are not familiar with the Western States Endurance Run, definitely look at that link.  Your mind will be blown!

5 miles
1hr 10 min
14 minute pace