Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

I ran up to Slate Canyon, then took the BST over to the Y trailhead. From there I ran down past the law library on my way through campus and back home. My legs are still a little tired from Friday and Saturday, but the weather was nice and it was good to be out. Plus, there were lots of falling stars today.

58:49

Another run on the BST, which isn't nearly as interesting down here as it is up in the Avenues. This morning I ran up past the stadium and the temple to Rock Canyon, and from there I took the trail down to Slate Canyon. I forgot to bring a headlamp, so I was running by braille on the trail. It was probably a good thing, because it forced me to keep the pace relaxed.

1:17:06

AM: Catherine woke up early and we went to the gym together. The movie at Cardio Cinema was Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Seriously? I mean, there's nothing wrong with family movies, but they're not exactly the best choice for treadmill viewing, so I watched TV instead. I ended up watching Angel (which I believe is a Buffy spinoff, but never having seen either I can't say for sure). It was good enough, but it was puzzling at first because I assumed I was watching Law and Order and all the talk of supernatural blind assassins and ancient prophecies and such confused me.

As for the run--three 1-mile repeats, kicking up the pace for the last half, plus a 75-second quarter mile at the end. Although miles and hills are probably enough for me right now, some sort of speedwork every couple of weeks isn't a bad idea. I guess today was the day.

Mile 1: 5:52-5:42

Mile 2: 5:42-5:30

Mile 3: 5:42-5:27

Recovery was a little slower than 9:00 per mile. The 0.3 on the end is because I like whole numbers for my weekly mileage totals.

36:00

PM: Last Friday was the first time in a long time that I wore my NB 100s, and the rocky descent nearly killed my feet. Back in may, it took about 25 miles for the rocks to start causing problems. Two things I did differently back then: 1) I actually wore the 100s a couple of times per week, and 2) I a couple of short barefoot runs on the grass each week. I don't do much of either anymore.

Because I like wearing my light shoes, especially in races, I decided should still be doing both. So this afternoon I got out and ran four miles barefoot around a soccer field. It felt nice.

29:17

Taking it easy today--four miles on the treadmill, followed by a soak in the hot tub.

31:30

I ran the Y Mountain-Slate Canyon loop from last Friday, but I ran it the opposite direction today. The climb up Slate Canyon seems slightly less severe than the climb up Y Mountain, and the view of Utah Valley is incredible on the descent out of Slide Canyon. No matter which way you run it, it's a fantastic loop.

There are wild turkeys up there. If I had a gun maybe I could shoot one for Thanksgiving.

2:00:26

After last week's failed attempt to find the Squaw Peak 50 course, I thought I should bring help. So I recruited Jun. And we failed. But we did hump the buffalo.

We didn't get where we wanted to, but we did run some nice trails. And we eventually found the right trail, although by that point all we could do was follow it back to the car. At least we'll know where to go next time.