"Great Faith. Great Doubt. Great Effort." The Three Essentials of Training - Zen Proverb After getting married at the end of January, Jess and I knew we would only have one shot at getting in a honeymoon amid her hectic senior year of researching and interning: spring break! There are plenty of items on the bucket … Continue reading Spring Flingin’ (Antelope Island 50K, Maze District Honeymoon, Zane Grey 50M)
Tag: Utah
Red Hot(ish) 55K(ish) race report
"Forget goals. Value the process." - Jim Bouton Race: Moab Red Hot Distance: 55K (~33.5 miles on the GPS) Story: After finishing up work on Friday I drove down with the Burro and camped with Matt and Char along the Colorado River at a site they had secured earlier that morning. I checked in downtown, met … Continue reading Red Hot(ish) 55K(ish) race report
The Grand Circle’s Brutal Gem: The Tushar 93K
The 4k beast began innocently with a nice steady grade along an abandoned road now choked out with grass and lupine, and littered with logged-out deadfalls. Three thousand feet of climbing later I reached a gate and let myself think I was getting close. Turning the next switchback corner the whole world felt like it was falling away as the grade cranked up and I was forced to push on my quad with one hand and use my lone trekking pole for leverage on the other...
Desert Inspiration: Buckskin-Paria FKT
Spring break running report: Monument Valley Half Marathon! Scouting the Zion 100K course! Setting a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Buckskin-Paria route!
Speedgoat 50K – Training and racing the weakness
After spending a week or so training back at home and after a great weekend down in the San Juans with my conservation corps buddy Brad Knipper and Jess it was finally time for my first adventure in the Wasatch Mountains. I have spent months of my life guiding trips in the Uinta Mountains in Utah but had never been to the Wasatch so I wasn't sure what I was in for. The smooth granite cliffs, waterfalls and top-notch wildflowers blew me away and the two days before the race I enjoyed a little shake-out run to Cecret Lake where I found a spot away from the wedding photographers and crowds to just sit for hours enjoying the alpine, and getting a few more moments at altitude. My parents arrived on Friday and I headed to bed early in the hotel room while they went out for dinner. I don't know if it was pre-race jitters or the endless barrage of fireworks that went off until 2 am, but I only managed to get ~3 hours of sleep before I was up, eating oatmeal and donning my race kit. I drove to Snowbird early and checked in right at 5am. The race didn't start until 6:30 so I set up the back of my car and took a quick 45 minute nap to try and make up for the night before. By 6 am my parents were at the starting line, Karl had us chant that we would not trample any meadows and the countdown was on.
