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.