Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

March 29, 2024

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Location:

Provo,UT,

Member Since:

Apr 07, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K - 17:11 (Cougar Run)

10K - 34:35 (Deseret News)

15K - 57:33 (Utah Running Club)

1/2 - 1:22:26 (Mountain View Trail)

50K - 4:22:31 (Sapper Joe)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub-2:45 at Saint George Marathon

Win the Antelope Island half marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'd like to run the Angeles Crest 100 at some point. And I'd still like to go sub-4 at a trail 50k. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912

Personal:

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<iframe height='454' width='300' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912/latest-rides/184689bbf831149f2053e60709730c07651232d3'></iframe>

I was a competitive cyclist for years. In 2009, after racing in the Tour of Utah, I decided I had plateaued as a cyclist--I could continue to improve, but I wouldn't break through to a new level. So, I started looking for a new challenge.


I thought that challenge would be mountain biking, but I'm a terrible bike handler. I married Catherine in January 2010 and a couple of weeks later I entered the SLTC Winter Training Series with her. A couple of weeks after that I decided I'd like to run ultras, so I signed up for a couple of 50Ks to get started.

Those first races came and went, with varying results. I was looking forward to running more and possibly pushing into the longer distances, but I injured my knee in June 2010 and I've never been consistently healthy since.

I started law school in August 2010, which meant less time for training. In June 2011, Baby Elliott was born, which meant even less time for training. But she's worth it. 

Baby Nora joined us in October 2013, with the same effect on training as Elliott (who, incidentally, is no longer a baby). 

I (finally) finished school in April 2014 and now I'm an evil corporate lawyer in Salt Lake. I have no illusions that I'll ever get back into the shape that I once was, but I'm perfectly at peace with that. I still have many goals to accomplish and many years in which to do it. 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
10.00

I was hoping to ride up Big Mountain with Fritz this morning, but I'm in the process of taking one bike apart and putting another together so I wasn't ready to roll today.

Since I couldn't ride, I decided to run. My knee has been holding up lately, so I thought it might be time to try a trail, so I headed up to Grandeur Peak. The climb, brutal as always, went well. I pretty much hiked the entire thing, steady pace, no stopping. I hit the summit in 61 minutes--almost 10 minutes slower than I did when racing, but not bad all things considered. 

After a breather at the top, I had to decide whether I'd head back down the way I came or run down the back side and continue the loop through Millcreek Canyon, and I chose the latter. The descent into the canyon is more gradual, so I thought it would be easier on my knee. Even so, I was cautious. My run was more of a jog, and I walked down the steep, technical parts to spare my knee. Even though I was running slowly, I missed a step in a rock garden and wiped out hard. First time for everything, I guess.

After the descent, I washed my wounds in the stream and continued along the Pipeline trail. It's dead flat, and I appreciated being able to cruise along without worrying about my knee. I hit the turnoff to the game trail that climbs over the ridge back to the trailhead, but I turned back around after about 100 feet. The trail is very overgrown right now, and since one of Catherine's coworkers has poison ivy, I was afraid to take my chances in the foliage. So I continued along Pipeline thinking I'd simply run out the canyon and back to my car on the roads.

Unfortunately, I missed a turn somewhere and ended up having to bushwhack my way down the mountain and through someone's back yard. It was slow going, but I eventually I made it back to the road and then to my car.

I wasn't wearing a Garmin, so I don't know how far I went, but the race loop is 10 miles, so I assume I did about that. At 2:35, it was very slow, even though I was taking it easy. Of course, it would have been quicker if not for the off-trail adventure near the end. For now, I'm just glad to be back on the trails.

New Balance MT100 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Scott Wesemann on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 11:43:22 from 66.239.250.209

Hey, it is good to see you back out on the trails. That is a really good work out and a good test for the knee.

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