Week of August 12 - Added bonus, Waldo race report

 Sunday - Ran the Wheeler/Green Pond loop with Curtis.  Nice easy Sunday morning run.  Miles 8.7

Monday - Did my usual five miles at lunch.  Kinda warm, but not bad.  Pushed it a bit and managed to average an 8:27 pace.  Started out wkind of slow at around 8:30-9:00 but managed to get it under 8:00 for the last couple of miles.  Miles - 5.0

Tuesday - Went on a run from 22nd street that I like.  I head from there south to above Weber State for 3.5, then turn around.  On the way back I came across Forrest, Breein, Misti, and Deb.  Figured I'd turn around and get a couple more miles in while chatting.  Much more fun to run with friends.  Miles 9.2

Wednesday - Went for the usual lunch run but was I ever sluggish.  My average pace was 9:58 vs. 8:27 for the same run on Monday.  Don't know what was wrong, just tired and slow.  Couldn't get into the run at all.  Miles - 5.0

Thursday - Didn't do squat except sit in a truck and drive to Oregon.  14 hours.  Ugh!  Britta went with Karen and I and got entertained by the "Jim and Karen show" as she called it.  The air the entire way was murky from all of the fires in the west.  Miles - 0.0

Friday - Spent the day visiting with my siblings.  Great fun to just sit around, drink beer, and visit.  Found out that there was the possibility of the race being cancelled due to a small fire in the middle of the course.  By the afternoon we had been told that the fire was knocked down and the race was on.  Just a slightly altered course that would end up adding around four miles.  I can handle that.  Miles - 0.0 

 

Where the action starts and stops



Saturday - Woke up at 3am to head for the race.  I actually got a decent amount of sleep too.  Usually I toss and turn before this race.  This time I didn't.  The start is at 5am, but since I was staying at my sister's house an hour away, I needed to get up a little early.  I get a little envious of those that camp at the start.  They don't have to get up until 4:45am.  I thought the day was going to be pretty warm.  When I left my sister's house it was 60 degrees (at 750' elevation).  When I got to the ski area, it was still 60 degrees (5500' elevation).  It was cloudy and there was some lightning in the area as well.  Still, I wasn't unhappy about it being warm.

Once I got to the lodge, I got some coffee, filled my bottles and just hung around looking for people I knew.  Saw Pam Everett, said hi and chatted for a few.  Finally saw Breein and Shawn and we chatted a bit too. 

Start to Gold Lake- 58th place



Waiting for the gun to go off



When the gun went off, Shawn left us in the dust while Breein and I went up the first climb together.  This is a 1000' climb in about 1.5 miles, so it's a bit of a grind.  Super dusty this year as well.  When we finally reached the top, we turned left on to the sweet single track this race is known for.  I bolted and left Breein behind.  My race plan was originally to try for a course PR, but with the lengthened course, I figured I'd just go out and have a good time and run as well as I could.  Anyway, this first section of trail is primarily downhill and I really like it.  You can make some time if you try. 



And we're off



Disappearing up the trail



I got to Gold Lake at the 1:25 point.  Not bad, but not my fastest. 

Gold Lake to Fuji- 51st place



I hurried through there and started the climb up to the Fuji aid station and Fuji Peak.  This section is uphill for the entire distance.  Still, I was able to run a lot of it which felt pretty good.  I've been working on my uphill this year since that's my weakness (along with generally not having much running talent).  I got to the Fuji aid at 2:33, so a little over an hour for five miles of uphill running.  Not bad.  I blew through this aid knowing that I would see it again in about three miles.  The remaining miles up to the top of Fuji peak weren't too bad.  I still felt pretty strong and was able to trot a lot of it.  I caught up to Shawn just before we hit the top.  While we were ther, I took her picture, looked at the view (stunning) and headed back down.  Shawn, meanwhile, was pretty much out of sight.  Oh well, so much for hanging with her for a few miles.  I did see Breein heading up about a 1/4 mile down from the top.  She had her usual perpetual smile on.



Shawn on top of Fuji Peak





Waldo Lake from the top of Fuji Peak

 Fuji to Mt. Ray- 52nd place
The run down to Fuji aid and on to Mt. Ray was uneventful.  The field had spread out and I didn't see too many people.  I managed to pass a few, but a couple also passed me.  Still, it was a net gain in placement.

Running thru Pothole Meadow

Shawn getting chased by a bunch of guys down Mt. Ray trail



Mt. Ray trail



Breein with her game face on coming down Mt. Ray trail

Mt. Ray to Twins- 47th place

Mt. Ray is where the fire detour started.  It's also when the rain started.  Not a lot of rain, but it was a steady light rain.  Kind of nice in that it kept the dust down.  On the other hand, I really don't care to run in the rain and by the time I got to Twins 1 I was kind of cold.  This section also had us run a bit of road for the first time ever at Waldo.  Roughly 3/4 mile worth and uphill.  Very runnable uphill, but still, it was road.  Once we got back on to the trail to Twins, we still had uphill to go for another 1.5 miles. 

Twins to Charlton Lake- 47th place

At Twins I met up with Mike Burke.  He was running his 10th Waldo and every year finishes ahead of me.  The guy is fast.  We also ran a double crossing of the Grand Canyon together several years ago.  We ended up running the next 12 miles together.  The run to Charlton Lake was pretty nice.  I felt pretty good and Mike and I ran a nice steady pace.  Coming into Charlton was nice.  I was expecting to see Britta since she had planned on dropping there anyway, but Pam and Jared were there as well.  Nice to have a little cheering section.  Needless to say, we kind of pushed each other and I'm sure my time would have been slower had we not been together.

 

Shawn coming into Charlton Lake

 

Forrest and Britta coming into Charlton Lake

  

Breein coming into Charlton lake



Coming into Charlton Lake


Charlton Lake to Rd 4290- 45th place

The next five miles to Rd 4290 went by fast, mainly because Mike and I ran the vast majority of it.  I think I ran this section the fastest I ever have.  By now the weather had cleared, it was sunny and starting to get warmer.  Thank goodness.  I still felt pretty good.  Fuel wise I was doing ok, staying hydrated adequately etc. 

Rd 4290 to Twins- 43rd place

I knew that the next section back to Twins was notorious for sucking the life out of you if you aren't prepared.  It's seven miles of continuous uphill, usually in the afternoon when it's warm, plus you gain about 2000' feet in the process.  I tanked up on fluids so much that my stomach sloshed on the way out and it was a little difficult to run.  After a few minutes that feeling went away and I was good to go.  I don't remember this section being particularly difficult this year.  Maybe it was having someone to chat with and take up the time, maybe I was trained better.  Who knows, but this section wasn't too bad and before I knew it we were making the steep descent into Twins again.  Right at the top of the pass I caught up with Forrest and he was looking a bit rough.  We also caught up with Shawn on the descent and ran together into Twins.  Twins the second time always has popsicles and these are always welcome.  It was a lot warmer now than when I went thru in the morning. 

Forrest putting some ice in his cap at Twins

Twins to Maiden Peak- 46th place

I spent a few minutes longer here than I probably should have, but when I finally left, both Shawn and Mike had bolted and were heading back down the hill towards our little road section.  Once again, this was part of the fire detour and instead of heading directly for the Maiden Peak aid, we had to make the trek back to the Gold Lake aid station.  The bonus was to get to run on some new trails.  Running on the hillside above Gold Lake was pretty cool.  I ran past several large springs right next to the trail.  Pretty neat to see. 

I wasn't looking forward to the trek out of Gold Lake.  With the reroute, we were looking at just under 3000' of solid climbing to get to the top of Maiden Peak, with the steepest part at the top.  Not fun at all.  It seemed like the section to the Maiden Peak aid station took awhile, but I'm sure it wasn't as long as I thought it was.  By now the sun was pretty warm.  The ari was probably in the mid 70's but if you got out in the sun, you got warm fast.  During the section to Maiden Peak aid, I did manage to catch and pass a number of people.  Always a good thing in my book.
Maiden Peak to Maiden Lake -
When I got to Maiden Peak aid, Mike was there and just heading out.  He tried to take a different trail (downhill) as a joke but was quickly corrected by the aid station folks.
We started the climb together but Mike eventually pulled away.  The good thing this year is that I was able to climb steady all the way up.  In years past I've had to stop occasionally for a few seconds of rest, then keep going.  Pretty uneventful climb, I was climbing along with a lady and we hit the trail junction just before the summit together.  We had been hearing thunder overhead and hadn't really thought about it, but at the junction, a course marshall stopped us.  We weren't allowed to make the last 1/4 mile climb to the summit, bummer!  We also had to wait until everyone at the summit ahead of us made it back down before we were allowed to continue.  Made for a few minutes rest, which was nice.  Once the last person was off the summit, we were cleared to go and I took off.  This section of trail is called "Leap of Faith" and it is.  Very rocky, steep, loose, and treacherous.  Lots of people ahead of me were taking it easy.  Having run this race many times before, I knew what was in store and could fly down the trail.  I knew that from here to the finish (9.5 miles) it was downhill.  I picked up the pace and passed roughly 6-7 people in the last couple of miles before Maiden Lake aid.  The legs felt good and I took off.



Coming down Leap of Faith



Forrest not looking happy



Maiden Lake to the Finish- 44th place

Every year at the Maiden Lake aid, there's a lady that takes a clean wipe and wipes your face and neck down.  It's a tradition there.  Needless to say, I had my hat and glasses off before I got in.  That little wipedown works wonders.  Kind of rejuvenates you for the last 7.5 miles.  I spent about a minute there and took off, I was starting to smell the barn, plus I wanted to get donee before dark.  The trail out of Maiden Lake starts out as a short little uphill, then goes to a downhill.  This is definitely my favorite section of the race.  The scenery is awesome, running past several lakes and through the forest.  The trail is sublime, twisty and rolling but primarily downhill, the trail surface is soft, fir needle covered, a few rocks.  Just some of the best trail you could ask for.  It was through here that I caught back up to and passed Mike.  How did that happen?  The dude is fast.  Must not have been a good day.  I did manage to catch a couple more people through here.  About 3.5 miles from the finish the PCT branches off.  It was here that Karen was originally planning on meeting me and running with me to the finish.  Alas, she wasn't there.  Oh well, keep going.  Now I'm running past the Rosary Lakes.  Beautiful mountain lakes, granite cliffs on the other side, trail right beside the lake.  Very cool.  Once past there, the trail starts down again.  It's here that I start listening for the highway.  I know that once I hear cars on the highway, the finish is close.  As I came around a corner about 1/4 mile from the finish, Karen, Britta, Carmen and Cindy were there cheering me on.  That brought a smile to my face.  As I ran past I asked which one was running with me to the finish, they just laughed.  At that point I could see the finish line and the clock.  I noticed that the time was getting close to 15 hours and I knew I had to get under that.  I managed to finish with a time of 14:59:53.

 

Glad to be done



 

Forrest, done



Crosssing the finish line



 

Aftermath-
So, my 6th Waldo 100K is in the books.  As usual, I had a great time.  This has to be one of my favorite races.  The course is beautiful, the organization impeccable.  Low key, less than 125 runners started, and they keep it that way.  Crai Thornley does an outstainding job every year directing this race.  With him moving on to the Race Director's job at Western States, that race is in very good hands.
By the numbers-
Time - 14:59:53
Place - 41/113
Age group place - 7/20

Fueling - This time I used a combination of 1st Endurance Liquid Shot and what ever the aid stations had.  No stomach issues at all and I stayed fueld pretty good.  Got hungry a couple of times, but it really wasn't an issue.

No blisters on the feet.  Not very sore the next day at all.  I was more sore after Speedgoat, and that was half the distance.
Now that I'm done with Waldo, let the taper for Wasatch begin.

Week of August 5

Sunday - Decided to take the day off and go horsey riding with Karen.  Good call.  We went up Middle Fork on some trails that neither of us had been on before.  Pretty cool.  Had a great time but it did get a little warm.  Miles - 0

Monday - Did my usual lunch time run thing.  It was warm as usual but I think I'm used to it.  After work I headed for Snowbasin.  I tried a trail I hadn't been on before up there.  If you go up the Needles trail, it will intersect the Last Chance trail.  I took that one.  That trail basically traverses the mountainside without any real gain or loss in elevation.  Very runnable and lots of fun.  I didn't have time to do the entire thing so I'll have to go up there again.  Miles - 11.6

Tuesday - Did my lunch time 5 miles.  Sigh.  After work I met Karen at Wheeler and we ran a few together.  It was kind of warm, but there was a nice breeze going on as well.  We were going to do the Wheeler/Art Nord/Ice Box trainagle, but I didn't have time before my Pilates class.  So we did an out and back just past Art Nord.  Miles - 9.0

Wednesday - Had to run an errand to the bank at lunch, so I took the long way in order to get a few miles in.  After work a few of us went up to Middle Fork and ran a trail up there.  This was the same trail that Karen and I went horsey riding on.  Not a bad trail for running.  The uphill is mostly runnable, some technical sections, open meadows, in the trees.  Coming back down the grade is perfect for running pretty fast.  Had a good time other than it was warm and a little buggy with horseflies.  Miles - 9.75

Thursday - Did my usual lunch time run but I think this was the fastest I've done it.  44:22 for 5 miles, or about an 8:50 pace.  This includes waiting to cross the street a couple of times too.  After work I headed up Wheeler for a short few miles before Pilates.  Miles - 9.0

Friday - Opted to not run at lunch.  Instead, I bolted a bit early and headed up for Wheeler again.  I was going to meet Karen up there but she couldn't make it.  Instead I ended up doing a modified Wheeler/Green Pond loop that adds a mile.  That's the fastest I've ever run that route before.  The legs were tired, but felt strong, so I pushed it a bit.  Haven't been able to do that in awhile.  Felt good.  Miles - 9.7

Saturday - As a volunteer on Antelope Island, I needed to log some Trail Patrol time in on the island.  It's a good thing that going for a run qualifies as volunteer time.  Karen and I headed out at about 6am with a plan of about 10 miles.  I figured that by now most of the biting insects would be gone for the summer.  They were.  Instead we were annoyed incessantly by flies.  They didn't bite, but they covered our hats and shirts.  We ended up running out bone road and the Elephant Head trail.  We pretty much had the place to ourselves.  One mountain bike passed us on the way out and a couple more as we were going back.  We also passed a couple of hikers.  It was a nice quiet run.  When we would stop, there was almost  total silence.  Maybe a bird or two.  Saw a coyote howling away and quite a few bull bison just hanging out.  We managed to get back before it warmed up too much.  It was a nice run.  Miles - 9.4

Total miles for the week - 58.45

Restaurant review - The Oaks
So after I got back from my run on Friday we decided to head up the Ogden Canyon to the Oaks Restaurant.  When we go there, it's usually for breakfast as they have great breakfast food.  Dinner, not so much.  I had a sliced turkey/avacado/sprouts sandwich on wheat that wasn't too bad.  Nothing to write home about, but very edible.  Karen ordered the pasta of the day, which was chicken parmesan.  Hers was not good at all.  The noodles were so overcooked that they were slimy, and the sauce was so watery that there was a puddle in the bottom of the plate.  Her garlic bread was soaked.  Needless to say, she didn't eat it.  We did tell our server and he offered to bring out a new one, but Karen declined.  Instead he brought us a piece of their wild berry pie with a lemon crust.  Not too bad.  All in all, not a very good dinner experience.  We'll still go there for breakfast, but it will be awhile before we go back for dinner. 

Week of July 22nd - Speedgoat report

Sunday - Didn't do squat.  We were still in Illinois and just didn't feel like going out and running.  Nothing like a little vacation.

Monday - Managed to get in a few miles in Rock Cut State Park with a friend.  Extremely humid and warm.  Had plans to do around 10 or so and quite when we hit 5.  Miles - 4.9

Tuesday - Another day of nothing.  Instead we spent the day traveling back to Utah.

Wednesday - Well, vacation's over and back to work.  Went out for a lunchtime run down the bike path.  Then headed out from 22nd street south for a run.  All in all not a bad day's work.  Miles - 14.0

Thursday - Went long at lunch today.  The boss is on vacation and I took advantage of that.  Kind of a boring flat run on the bike path, but it's running.  Didn't have time to go out after work but did manage to make it to Pilates class.  Miles - 7.1

Friday - Went out for another lunchtime run.  Kind of wanted to take it a little easy since Speedgoat is tomorrow.  Kind of looking towwards that with fear and trepidation.  Miles - 5.8

Saturday - Speedgoat 50K.  Probably the most difficult 50K trail race in the country if not the world.  This one sucks big time.  So how did I do?  Well, here goes. 
I signed up for this race again because my experience here last year was not good.  I ran it in 2011 after running two 100's in the previous six weeks and two weeks after the second one.  I was tired.  In retrospect, it was not a good idea at all, but I thought I could get some altitude training for Leadville two weeks later.  Yeah, right.  So anyway, last year was not good (10:12 for the time), time to try again this year.
Karl changed the course this year to make it tougher yet.  This is something he does every year.

Pre-race meeting with Shawn paying attention

Karen and I decided to spend the weekend at Snowbird as kind of a getaway, even though it's only an hour from home.  There were plenty of Happy Utah Mountain Runners running it too, so it made for a fun weekend with friends.

Still smiling, the race hasn't started yet

Emily and Breein still smiling.  It's early in the race still.

The gun went off at 6:30am and we all started up the long grind to the top of Hidden Peak, 4000' of climb to 11,000' in about 8.5 miles.  The morning was pleasantly cool, but that just meant that the day would be a warm one.  After about a mile, I teamed up with Breein and we spent a good protion of the race running together.  We hit the top of Hidden Peak at around 2:45 into the race.  Saw my lovely wife and a few other friends up there and headed down the service road into Mineral Basin.  We got to run thru an amazing field of wildflowers in this section.  Simply stunning.  Anyway, down we went until we reached the aid station at Larry's Hole.  I have no idea why it's called that. 

Gorgeous flowers

After Larry's Hole, we make the "short" climb up to a saddle above Mary Ellen Gulch.  This is a super rocky 4x4/streambed that can be hard to navigate with any sort of speed.  For some reason, Breein and I flew through here.  We had the best time just bounding down the rocks passing all sorts of people.  Eventually, we got to the turn around at Pacific Mine.  During the short out-and-back section here, we saw some of the other Happy Utah Mountain Runners that we were sharing the trails with.  We were still feeling pretty good, so after a short stop to fill bottles, grab something to eat and get a couple of popsicles for the road, we were out.  On the way back out, we saw Alicia making her wway into the aid station. It was nice to see her in good spirits and feeling good.  Now began the long climb up Miller's Hill.  I had forgotten just how long this climb was, something like 2500' over about  three miles.  Ugh!  The only nice part of this was the rusty water pipe in the middle of the trail.  Cold, clear water was coming out of it.  Good stuff.  The last part of this climb is a steep bushwack that took us back to the saddle above Mary Ellen Gulch.  Now it was back downhill to Larry's Hole again.  Only this year, we instead of taking a direct route, we had to go meander around Mineral Basin for awhile.  During all of this, we could see the aid station just a couple hundred yards away.  We knew the probably the hardest climb lay just ahead, but we didn't know just how hard.  Well, after about a mile of climbing up the Baldy Road we met a guy just sitting in a chair with a boombox playing Britany Spears (he said Karl told him to play it).  He just pointed up the side of the mountain and said "go that way".  Straight up, no trail, just flags.  Karl is one sick bastard.  We started up.  This climb was so steep that it was difficult at times to keep your footing.  Falling down meant you may roll down the hill.  At one point I barely kicked a good sized rock, and it broke loose and went flying down the hill.  Thank goodness the trail below veered away while the rock went straight.  That could have very well ruined someone's day.  Good Lord that was a steep climb.  I later looked at my GPS and it told the sad tale of a 52 minute pace for this section while we went up 700'+ in .5 miles, all at above 10,000'.  Finally, Breein and I made the top of Baldy and began the decent down the ridge.  At the bottom we met Britta and a couple of her friends cheering us on.  They also had popsicles.  I think I ate three here.  They were awesome (both Britta and the popsicles).   A short little run (yep, we ran this section), brought us to the Peruvian Tunnel aid station.  They had beer here (Michelob Ultra of all things).  I had about half a cup while Breein and Curtis drank the rest.  Good stuff.  I knew that we had one last climb and that it wasn't going to be fun at all.  Once we went through the tunnel we began a descent on the service road that eventually took us to the ridge trail.  Last year I ended up walking down this road.  This year I managed to run it.  Things go much better when you can do that.  Finally, we began the trudge up the Cirque Ridge.  This ridge is a spine that takes you back up to the top of Hidden Peak.  It's about a mile and it really, really sucks....bad.  Breein and I would go about 100 feet and have to stop for a few seconds.  My lungs were doing ok, but the legs were weak.  Breein kept talking about how she wanted to just kick someone for doing this to her.  Eventually we made it to to top and the final aid station.  Just below that we were being cheered on by Cody, Hope and their kids.  This was a surprise, and a nice one.  It's always nice to see your friends cheer you on when you're not in a happy place.  At Hidden Peak, Joel, Curtis, and Ryan were all waitng for Breein and I.  We all decided to make the downhill run to the finish together.  Britta met us there too and decided that she was going to come along for the fun.  Down we all went, just chatting and having a good time knowing that four short downhill miles were all that was left.  We wound down through the rocks, along the single track, and came out on the service road with about three iles to go.  When we hit the road, I discovered I still had some downhill legs left and I took off.  I fully expected to have a couple of the others join me for a fast downhill run, but no one bothered.  I knew what this last section was like and how fast I could run it.  Through here I managed to catch a few runners that had passed my on that last climb up the Cirque.  That felt pretty good.  As I ran the last stretch of trail above the finish, I came across Breein's kids cheering everyone on.  They were having a good time and it was fun to see them.  I passed one last runner on the last switchback turn and started down the last 1/4 mile.  As I was about to round the final turn for the finish I heard footsteps behind me.  It was the woman that I had passed just a couple minutes earlier.  needless to say, I sprinted across the finish line and managed to beat her by four seconds.  Karen was at the finish cheering me on as were a bunch of the other Happy Utah Mountain Runners that had come in earlier.  I was done, and glad to be.  I've run 50 mile races faster than this 50K, that's how difficult it is. 
So, will I do it again?  Hmmm, not sure at this point.  If I don't I'll definitely volunteer. 
All in all, it was a fun weekend with Karen and a bunch of friends.  We all stayed at the resort, ate together and generally had a blast.  Thanks to everyone for being there.
Stats -
Miles - 31.87  (30.62 last year)
Vertical - 11,985  (11,055' last year)
 Time - 9:55 (10:12 last year)

Weekly mileage - 63.7



Joel and Ryan finishing

Curtis and Breein finishing

Forrest getting his finisher's medal from Pam

Alicia looking happy now that she's done and Shane is there

Week of July 29 and Sitara restaurant review

Sunday - Ok, the day after Speedgoat.  Tired and sore, but Karen had 11 miles on her schedule so out we went.  We went up to the Upper Big Water parking lot in Millcreek Canyon and did the loop from there to Dog Lake, to Desolation Lake, up to Red Lover's Ridge and back down to the parking lot.  I've been wanting to take her on this run because it's one of the more scenic runs I do.  But it's a fairly difficult run given the elevation and the amount of vertical involved.  She really enjoyed it but was definitely sore the next day.  The kind of cool thing was that we got to run with Scott Wolfe, one of Patagonia's runners.  He was out for a training run on the Wasatch course and was confused as to which trail to take out of the parking lot.  He asked me and since we were going the same direction I invited him along.  He was very gracious in hanging back with a couple of old slow runners but was glad we knew the way.  We had an enjoyable chat with him until we split at Red Lover's Ridge.  He was headed for Brighton while were headed back down the hill.  My run was fine on the trek up, but once Karen and I started down, my legs were not happy.  My quads were still shot from Speedgoat the day before and they let me know about it.  Still, it was a good to get out and loosen things up a bit.  Miles - 10.6

Monday - Had big plans to go up to Snowbasin and get a run in.  I made it about 100 yards before I decided today would be a rest day.  Good decision.  Miles - 0

Tuesday - Did my usual lunch time run.  Kind of slow, but oh well.  After work I went up to Wheeler and ran the triangle from Wheeler to Art Nord, and back down Ice Box Canyon.  Once again, slow, but I got it done.  Went to Pilates and punished myself a little more after that.  Miles - 9.9

Wednesday - Went up to Wheeler and did a double of the Wheeler/Art Nord/Ice Box triangle.  The first time was by myself, the second time Karen met me and we ran it again.  Still slow, Karen was kicking my butt.  Miles - 9.8

Thursday - Did my usual lunch time run again.  After work I went up Wheeler and was going to just do an out and back to Art Nord.  As I was coming down to the car I saw Forrest, Misti, and Breein.  I was informed that Pilates had been pushed back to 7pm, so I turned around and went a couple more miles with that group.  Miles - 12.7

Friday - went home after work and picked up Karen.  We went out to 27th street and headed up Malan's.  She's never been up there and since she had five miles on her schedule, that was the place to go.  She made it up there, had a good time and thought it was a pretty run.  Mission accomplished.  Miles - 4.6

Saturday - Met a few friends at the Wasatch start at oh dark thirty.  The parking lot was pretty full with cars from other runners out training on the Wasatch course.  The plan was to run the Wasatch course to the radar towers and turn around.  We didn't quite make it that far but we did get to Landis Spring.  Forrest had to turn around early, we managed to catch up to a group in front of us that included Alicia.  They were out for 30 miles.  I was glad to see her getting out on the course.  One of their group, Breein, and I turned around at Landis Spring.  It was taking us longer than we thought and I wanted to get back home.  The weather up there was spectacular, no breeze, cool, clear, quiet.  I love going up there at this time of year, especially by myself.  You feel like you're out in the middle no where.  On the way back we met up with Larry Adams.  He wasn't having a good day and decided to turn around and head back down with us.  By the time we got back down to the trail at the bottom of the mountain, the temps were in the 90's.  I was glad to be done with that run.  Miles - 20.4

Miles for the week - 68.0  Not quite where I wanted to be, but I'll take it.

Resaurant review - Karen and I headed for our favorite Indian resaurant, Sitara.  As usual, we got our usual dishes.  An onion kolcha appitizer, two orders of Paneer Tikka Masala, and rice.  Washing it down with a couple of beers.  The paneer tikka masala is a cottage cheese dish with a mild tomato sauce.  We put it over rice and it's my favorite dish when ever we go there.  Spicy, but not overly so and consistently good.  Service was average as it usually is.  This isn't a fancy restaurant, we went there after our Friday run still dressed in running clothes.  No question about going back, we always do.  If you've never tried Indian food, this is a good place to go.

July stats - So July I hd big plans for a 300 mile month.  Well, here's the results.

Total Miles - 300.2, averaging just under 68 miles/week.
Total vertical - 48,478', averaging 10,946'/week.  Not too bad.

Week of July 15 vacation time

Sunday - Did the Ogden Triple Threat with a bunch of friends.  Started at 22nd street, went up and over Indian Trail to Smokey Bear, then headed back over Indian to the Hidden Valley Trail.  Never have been all the way to the end of that one.  Very cool views of Taylor Canyon. Then back down Hidden Valley to the cars to refuel and rehydrate.  The last section was a run up Malan's.  All in all a ton of vert (7000' worth) in a few miles.  Good Speedgoat training.  Had a great time hanging with some fellow HUMR's.  Miles - 17.7

Monday - Went out at lunch for my usual run.  It was slow.  The legs were dragging, hmmm, probably from the run yesterday.  Had plans to go out after work, but it started raining and that was a good excuse to take some rest time.  Miles - 5.0

Tuesday - Went out for a run before work.  Just ran around the industrial park near the house.  Went out after work for a few more.  On my after work run I was about 100 yards from the trailhead and done when I felt in my pocket for my car key.  Guess what?  Not there.  I immediately turned around and started running back down the trail looking for it.  I have always put my key in my pocket and have never had it fall out.  Apparently this time I thought it did.  Anyway, I got about a mile back down the trail and happened to look at my water bottle.  Then it dawned on me that I had put my key in the little zipper pocket on the bottle holder just so it wouldn't fall out.  Stupid me.  Well, I got a couple of extra miles in and still managed to make it to Pilates.  Miles - 12.1

Wednesday - Didn't do squat.  Had plans to go out in the morning, but that didn't happen.  Instead, we hopped on a plane and flew to see our daughter, her family,and our son back in Illinois.  Good times.  The flight was a mess.  So, we had to change planes in Chicago since we were flying into Madison, WI.  Our flight from Chicago to Madison was cancelled due to storms so we had Jessica drive into Chicago and pick us up.  Yeah, it was a mess.

Thursday - Didn't do squat again.  Slept in then spent the day getting a rental car and figuring out where our luggage was.  Oh, and I spent a fair amount of time playing with my grandson.  Always a fun time.

Friday - Drove to Rock Cut State Park and got a few miles in.  This is where I used to do a lot of trail running when we lived back here.  Kind of nice to hit the trails here again.  Still, I got a whopping 500' of vertical over the miles.  Miles - 11.8

Saturday - Went out from Jessica's house with Karen for a little road run.  We just did an out and back.  Miles - 5.13

Total for the week - 51.73

So not a huge week, but I did manage to get a few miles in even on vacation.

No restaurant review this week.  Sorry