Mid-January Update

I missed posting an update last week, so this one will be for two weeks.

I had progressively improved times on my 8 mile Tuesday/Thursday runs, going from 1:05:27 (8:11/mile) to 1:03:46 (7:58/mile) from January 1 to January 10. My cardio maintained around a 155bpm average while increasing my times as well. I maintained my Monday/Wednesday/Friday cross-training with spinning and yoga, and some weights as well.

[Left: finishing on Antelope Island] Saturday, January 5, I ventured back up to Antelope Island for another training run. Like the December trip, the weather was very bad and this time only five other runners showed up. It was snowing really good at the entrance, so I left my hat and sunglasses in my car and rode in with two other runners, a mistake I soon realized when we arrived at the start. It was no longer snowing and signs that the storm might let up were already showing. We ran 17.6 miles with varying conditions, from icy mist to full sun. The zipper pull on my jacket broke and I had to improvise with a key ring to unzip my jacket. I finished in 3:37 feeling pretty good. I would wake up the next morning with sore back and shoulder muscles, though.

[Left: Alpine Loop near Timpooneke] Then on Saturday, January 12, I embarked on my longest long run since the Bear. Knowing that my 50k race is only two weeks away, I wanted to do at least 22 miles on snowshoes, an increase of 6 miles from two weeks earlier, but still 9 miles shorter from my race distance. I started out at Pine Hollow and ran the Alpine Loop to Aspen Grove. The weather was absolutely beautiful, with only patchy clouds and lots of sun. The trail conditions were difficult. It had not been groomed recently and fresh snow from the week's storms and lots of snowmobile traffic left the road uneven with powder. On the return trip, I started to feel colder and the sun soon dropped behind the mountains, not to be seen again that day. I also ran out of water about 1 hour from returning to Pine Hollow (3 liters) at 3:39 into the run, and was feeling the effects of not hydrating as I ran on. Reaching the car (16 miles) around 4:43, I was tempted to call it a day. [Right: elevation vs. heart rate profile] Instead, I added two liters to my pack and started back up the road. The trail groomers were out and that helped alot as I passed them 1.7 miles back up the road. I also spotted a moose sitting on the ground about 1000 feet away (unfortunately, the picture didn't turn out too well). By the time I reached the 3 mile turnaround, it was beginning to get dark. I continued on until about 1.5 miles remaining, it was too dark to see (the trees were thick and the road very uneven), so I pulled out my green headlamp. The green helped alot, as it didn't reflect too much off the snow. I finished the run at 6:43 and actually feeling pretty warm.

Also in the last two weeks, I failed to get into Miwok 100k (might be on waiting list, but won't know until Feb. 1), but I did register for the Moab Red Hot 50k+ (is actually 34 miles) on February 16. We will see if I can pull off two 50k events in the next five weeks.