Alpine Loop Winter Run

I began the week with spinning and yoga on Monday, then a 6.2 mile run on Tuesday and 8 mile run on Thursday, both on the treadmill. The Tivo is set to record re-runs of Stargate SG-1, giving me something to pass the time indoors. I have been building my speed a little, finishing the 8 miles at an 8:13 min/mile pace.

[Right: ]This week I returned to the Alpine Loop for my Winter snowshoe training. It had snowed a few feet during the week and the road hadn't been grated yet, so it was still fairly powdery. Many snowmobiles helped to pack the road, but 3 miles above Aspen Grove, nobody had broken the new snow, so I decided it was time to turn around. I had started out thinking I would do 16 miles (Pine Hollow to Aspen Grove and back), but ended up doing just under 10 miles in just under 3 hours. The snow was fresh enough to still be challenging and this was my first outing with snowshoes this season.

[Left: video running downhill to the turnaround] As is always a challenge in the Winter, I varied between too hot and too cold. I started about 1pm, so it was beginning to get chilly as the sun hid behind the mountains on the return trip. My left gaiter creeped up and some snow got into my shoe, bringing back concerns of getting frostbite from last season. Overall I did well, and only started to get really cold a couple times.

Indoor Training

I continued this week with running on the treadmill for Tuesday and Thursday. Recovering from a cold for most the week, I didn't want to worsen it by running outside. I also took Monday, Wednesday and Friday off from training to get additional sleep.

[Left: chart from Saturday's run] Saturday I was faced with a difficult choice: where to run. My goal was to get 15 miles done, and I had originally planned on going up the Alpine Loop. However, the forecast said the lows would be around 6 Friday night up there, with it getting only into the low 20's for a high. And there was a chance of snow. I weighed going up there and staying home, and staying home won out. I ran the entire distance on the treadmill. I took it at a casual 6mph pace and did really well the first couple hours. That is when fatigue began to hit me. I could feel it in my legs and my heart rate began to rise. Overall, I was able to have a average heart rate around 139bpm, and a cadence around 80rpm. The breaks in the graph represent two bathroom stops, once when the treadmill's timer stopped at 99:59 (reset to zero), and when I slowed to 4mph to eat a Gu. Next week, I definitely want to be outdoors again.

Snow and Mud and Snow

This week I decided to train on the treadmill during the week to avoid the outside cold. I was surrounded by sickness at home and work and figured running outside wouldn't help me. Turns out I couldn't avoid it and I started getting a cold Saturday evening.

[Left: snow on Grove Creek trail] For running, I did 6.2 miles both Tuesday and Thursday, with spinning and yoga on Monday and Friday (only spinning on Wednesday). Friday and Saturday a moist pacific storm hit the Wasatch Front, so it made determining where to run on Saturday challenging.

Starting around noon at Grove Creek, it had been snowing for a bit so the trail was well covered. Nobody had been up since this storm, so I was breaking trail. I got 1.3 miles up and decided to turn around (was getting a little dicey), and add some mileage along the Bonneville Shoreline trail. Starting on the Bonneville, it was mostly muddy, with occasional snow. [Right: mud along the Bonneville] I got about 2.8 miles out and came into a construction area that had chewed up the road, and the mud was thick and getting difficult, so I decided to turn around. Getting back to Grove Creek, it had begun to snow thick again. Parts of the trail that had not been snow covered earlier had begun to pave white. I got a mile up and decided to turn back. A group on horseback had started up Grove Creek and turned onto a different trail about .8 miles up, so I thought I'd explore a new trail a little. The snow was getting quite heavy and I was beginning to lose their trail, so I decided to turn back.
[Left: snowy finish] Getting back to the trailhead, I added a short quarter mile out and back to make it an even 12 miles. Due to unfavorable conditions (snow and mud), it took me longer (3:12), and I was probably suffering from the cold that had yet to hit me full force.

Running in the snow

This week was tough. I started on Tuesday with my usual 4 mile route and struggled with side aches. I felt like I had no strength in my legs. Then on Thursday I increased my distance to 6.2 miles, and did OK until the last couple miles. I have been adjusting my diet, with an aim of losing weight instead of slowly gaining. I'm going to make some additional adjustments next week and see if that helps.

[Left: at the turn around] Saturday was something totally different. It started snowing Friday, so I was expecting to deal with snow Saturday morning, but I didn't know how bad the traffic was going to be getting to the run. With the Antelope Island Buffalo Run, they offer a group training run on different parts of the course on the first Saturday starting in November until the race. I missed November's run (hadn't got my mileage back up yet following the Bear), so I planned on going on December's run. I had left home with plenty of time to get to the entrance (8am meeting place) of Antelope Island, but the traffic was snarled in snow, averaging around 50mph the entire way. I got there at 08:07 just as they were leaving the parking to go onto the island. The most dangerous part of the run was the drive there.

[Right: return trip] There was hardly any snow on the ground when we arrived, but it was starting to snow and would increase while we ran. There was around 16 that had shown up for the training run, an out-n-back of just under 15 miles. A couple of runners even wore shorts. As is typical with a group run, I started out much faster than I normally would have and covered 6.2 miles in the first hour. I was feeling like I had pushed a little too hard, so I allowed myself to slow down a little, and arrived at the turn around, took a short break, then started the return. Most of the group was already at the turn around when I arrived, but I was the third person to leave, although the rest of the group started up shortly after me. The snow let up and the last hour of the run was quite enjoyable. I spotted a coyote out on some salt flats and several jack rabbits on the run, and saw many of the buffalo in the pens that we passed by. By the time we finished, the sun peaked out and it warmed up a little. [Left: finished!] The distance was 14.6 miles and my time was 2:31:51, which is excellent for me considering that is my longest run since the Bear. Actually, the conditions were very similar to the last 25 miles of running the Bear (although it wasn't as windy yesterday, and not nearly as remote).

Next week I'm going to take a bit of recovery time before pressing up the mileage again.