Journey to an Ultra

Chimney Rock

2012-10-21T09:52:00.001-07:00

Prolog: Altho what follows may seem to be a grand outing and something that I thoroughly enjoyed I want to make sure that my wife knows that I was miserable and suffered the whole time. I would have never gone if it weren't my duty as a Priesthood holder to magnify my calling in the young mens presidency. Therefor any mention of enjoyment in the following account was my literary license to make the reader enjoy the depiction of the hike and not an actual account of my feeling for such a repulsive activity.

6 am comes early some days and not soon enough on others. On this occasion it wasn't soon enough as I woke up at 4 am unable to sleep any more as I anxiously awaited the days events to follow. 6 am was the designated time for the Deacons, Teachers and there leaders to meet at the church followed by a swift departure to the Chimney Rock trailhead. I was excited for this hike, not only was it to be my first as the new Young mens counselor and scout master, but I had only seen Chimney Rock from the distance and couldn't wait to be able the to see it up close and personal. Remarkable everyone showed up on time, the last boy arriving at 6:03 am which was well within the limits of Mormon standard time.

After a prayer we were off. Riding with me in my subaru (which I have now officially named the "old Goat" since it doesn't go very fast but can climb up a shear rock cliff with ease) was Jacob, Daniel and Troy. We had some good conversations on sports, music and how the light of christ in indivuals is affected by the decisions we make. It took about an hour to wind are way up the Pack River road to the trail head. Upon ariving we were quick to get on the trail not only because we needed to be back at the church by 2 pm but it was cold and the only way to warm up was to get moving. The trail started by crossing the Pack River via a bridge then ascended slowly in a south westerly direction. The boys devised some walking sticks from downed tree branches to assist them on the hike. Yet despite their best efforts (or worst depending on how you look at it) all the hiking stick that were created were way to big to be affecting but would definitely build some arm muscles as the were 8 - 10 feet tall and 4 - 6 inches in diameter.

The Trail continued in the same direction for about 2 miles there it then took a big right turn and headed northwest. The farther we went the steeper the trail got. From the trail we could see glimpses of lake Pend orelle and the Pack river valley. About 3 miles in to the hike the trail basically ended into large granite slabs and we had to use cairns (piles of rocks that mark the trail for those not familiar with the term and yes it is spelled correctly) to make it up the next mile or so where the trail reappeared. From that point on the trail disappeared and reappeared as it ran through and along side giant boulder fields.

As we reached 6200' Chimney Rock first appeared briefly through the mist of clouds that had blocked our view of the surrounding peaks all morning, then as quickly as it came into view it was gone. Yet as we drew nearer to the base the clouds parted and allowed us a fully view of the beauty of not only Chimney Rock but many of the peaks that make up what is called the Seven Sisters. Most of the boys broke for lunch a couple hundred yards before the actual base deeming that they had come far enough and were tired. Jonathan (the other leader) and I were the only two to make it to the actual base and its northeast saddle. I even rock climbed a little way up the "chimney" but turned back before it got too technical, plus it was freezing cold up there. The views of the northern valley were spectacular as the clouds wisped their way through the northern peaks of the Seven Sisters. Unfortunately due to time constraints and cold, tired boys we didn't stay long and soon I found myself on my way back down the trail.

On the way down the boys had a fascination of heaving large rocks over cliffs, watching them beak into a thousand pieces. This distraction gave me time to run and bound over bolder fields and rock faces which only fueled my desire to run in the mountains even more (I have not been able to do much for two months now, as I have suffered from a string of overuse injuries that occurred as a result of my last ultra) and for once my knee/legs didn't hurt while running down hill. We finally had to put an end to the rock rolling as we need to get down to the cars. On the way down one of the boys had rubbed his "cheeks" the wrong way during the hike and had a very interesting gate for the last few miles. His slower duck like pace allowed some of the rest of us to enjoy a waterfall that was hidden from the trail. We finally arrived back at the cars shortly after 1pm. I was given the chore of taking Jacob and his brother Eric home, manly because Jonathan had to suffer through Eric's ever present ramblings on the drive up. But I am pleased to report that Eric fell asleep soon after departure and didn't wake up till I doped him off at this door step.

Overall it was an amazing hike one I would love to do again with a little more time to be able to explore some of the peaks that surround the trail, but for now it was a great experience to share with the young men of our Ward.

Hiking and hunting

2012-09-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well its been a few weeks since my last post and I finally feel that am starting to heal up from all the injuries I've had lately. My back and hips feel really good and the last few times I've attempted running I haven't had pain in my knee. I haven't ran a lot but I'm excited to start adding more running into my workouts. The only injury that has really bothered my lately is tendentious in my elbows and the are getting better everyday so next week watch out I'm ready to get back in the game.

This last week I found myself trying to harvest the elusive rocky mountain elk with my bow. My brother Dan and I made a valiant attempt and had many close encounters with cows and one with a spike bull but I never was presented a shot at a bull which was the sex my tag was good for. I did get a lot of hiking in probably 15-20 in three days. The mornings were beautiful and the air crisp and cool and the smell of autumn was everywhere.

Katie and I took the kids hiking this week which is always fun. The kids love being in the woods running, hiking and playing. Kalea really loves being outside even though she is only 5 months old, and the other three love finding hiking sticks and exploring the woods (under the close supervision of their parents of course). I want to see if we can plan a hike every week even if it is just a short one because being outside brings out the best in our kids.

Matthias hiking up the trail

I love this picture Mathias looks so small compared to all the trees

Running up the trail

Mommy leading the way

about two minutes after this photo was taken, a spike elk came up the draw but I wasn't offered a shot as he stayed in the thick brush.

"Journey to an Ultra" Trailer 1

2012-09-06T09:52:00.002-07:00

Since I haven't been able to run do to injuries lately, I have been going crazy wanting to get out and run. To either satisfy or fuel my desire to run I have been watching all sorts of videos on different races throughout the world such as UTMB, Leadville, Pikes Peak ect... Watching these videos has inspired me to make a video of my own, about my adventures this last year as I have trained and raced ultra-marathons. Below is a little trailer of what you can expect sometime around the end of the year.

PS- it ok to laugh at me the trailer is pretty dramatic it was meant to be fun :)

Injuries, Thoughts and Realizations

2012-09-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

It's 5:30 am, I just got done at the gym and had a little time to collect some thoughts before I have to get ready for work. I've had a lot go through my mind this last week and could probably write a book or two on some of the subjects that have perplexed my mind. Yet since I don't have time to write a book here are some of the events and thoughts I have suffered, endured and enjoyed this last week.

First off I am not invincible. Yes I know that may be striking news for some of you, it has been for me. This revelation has come slowly but has culminated over the past few weeks with injuries that continue to frustrate me. The first injury that many of you reading this are well aware of is the overuse injury to my right shin which has kept me from running since my last race. I have taken this injury not as much as a chink in the armor but more of a maintenance issue one that will be polished out with some time. Due to the lack of running in my life I have intensified my weight lifting workouts to keep me somewhat sane (or insane depending on how you look at it). For all accounts this was going well till this last Wednesday when I involuntarily decided to injury my lower back and dislocate both my hips while attempting to do a burnout set of squats. This left me face down on the floor for several minutes and then in bed at home for most of the day. I could barley walk, just rolling over in bed seemed like a insurmountable task, in other words I was quite pathetic (just ask my wife). The next day I was able to walk (sort of) but after spending most of the day on my feet at work not only did my back and hips hurt but my knees and lower legs as well. Since then I have been doing much better and started lifting again (very isolated chest, shoulders and arms) but the whole experience has given me much food for thought.

First, just how amazing our bodies are. God really knew what he was doing when he created our physical bodies. They are so amazing, just think of how they are put together and how balanced they are. All the muscles, bones and organs work together to create a body that can do so many amazing things. There really seems to be no limit to what our physical bodies can or will (think of when they are perfected) be able to do.

Second, the joy of motion. Our Bodies are meant to move, to run, jump, swim, climb and be in motion. An active body is a happy body, just look at children and how they play. My kids truly enjoy being physically active. They are so much happier and better tempered when the are outside running, jumping and climbing on everything I tell them not to climb on. When they sit around and watch a movie or play games on the computer the tend to get depressed, selfish, cranky, and are hard to deal with. One of my kids favorite activities is hiking/running in the woods. Often we go to a tail and hike up a mountain side, then the kids run all the way down laughing and smiling. When they hit the bottom of the trail they want to run back up and do it again. The greater the capacity our physical bodies have to preform these activities the more joy we have when engaged in them. That is why training or improving our physical abilities is so important it allows us to have more joy. Now I'm not saying we all need to be elite athletes, but how much more enjoyable is running when your not out of breath after ten feet or swimming when you exhausted after a few strokes. Our bodies are designed to move so lets move.

Not being able to partipate in some of the activities that I love due to injury has really brought these points to a new light for me. I long to be out on the trail and am so much happier when I participate in some type of physical activites everyday. Another thought that I will save for a latter post is the importance of nutrition. Untill them stay active, eat healthy and enjoy life!

Picturtes of the kids running and playing at Dover Bay

Recovery and more Pics

2012-08-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

Recovery from Angel's Staircase has been great except one thing...

Angel's may not have been as long as Pocatello but it made up for it in elevation and ruggedness. That being said I didn't have swollen feet and the legs where barley sore the day after. In fact I was at work the next day and in the gym pounding the weights on Monday. I even lifted legs heavy on Wednesday. I didn't do any running but did some biking every day and was feeling great. That was until Saturday morning. I had woken up early to go lift legs at the gym but for whatever reason my 24hr card wouldn't let me in the door (its happened before something wrong with the computer system at the gym) so I decide that I would do a couple mile run. I drove over to the Syringa trail and started up the trail. The first 1/2 mile went great and I was feeling strong and light, then somewhere between there and the mile marker my right shin muscle (where it connects to the knee area) started hurting. It really lit up as I came back down creating not only pain there but in my right knee and hip as well; leaving me in a lot of pain by the time I made it back to the car. My diagnoses is that I have a sever case of shin splints where the muscle attaches to the knee area. I am really bummed about this because I can't run for a while and this is the same type of injury that Anton Krupicka (one of the best ultrarunners in the world) suffered from and it kept him out of racing/running for a year and a half. Hopefully mine heals much faster and is not as severe. The good news is that it only affects running not hiking or lifting (Anton was able to do a ton of hiking that kept him in grate shape). This injury puts a big question mark on the Mt. Spokane 50k. It might be smart not to even think of doing it regardless of how the shin is feeling. That realization really sucks, I really wanted to kill that course, I had a ton of motivation coming out of Angel's to train harder and really do well at Spokane. So depending on how the next few weeks go I might have to adjust some goals and concentrate on working towards something else for a while.

Coming down the backside of Angel's Staircase

The trail was really rocky as you can see

Another picture of the trail

Angel's Staircase

2012-08-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Angel's Staircase 8/11/12

Mountain Ultras have a love hate relationship with those who participate in them. There are times of extreme pain and suffering where one questions their sanity for undertaking such a task and swears that they will never run another; then there are the moments of bliss as one glides down the trail completely lost in the ambiance of the mountains and Gods creations; wishing, hoping that the journey may never end.

Angel's Staircase was one helluva journey and then some. For me the journey started on Friday as my father and I loaded up his car and traveled four and a half hours west to the Methow (Met-How) Valley region of the Northern Cascades arriving at the Foggy Dew camp grounds around 6:00 pm. We set up camp and my dad made some wonderful chicken and vegetables for dinner. We Slept out under the stars and woke up about 5:30am the next morning to get ready for the day ahead of us.

Start to Foggy Dew Trail Head: 3.6 miles, 600' vert

Registration was from 6:00-6:45 with a start time of 7am. There was a short pre-race meeting just before we got underway where we were informed of how the trail was marked and that the race director had encountered a black bear with cubs the day before while setting up the second aid station. The race director also told us that he had missed judged the distance to the first ad station by .6 miles thus adding 1.2 extra miles to the race. I should have seen the real warning in that announcement, because if he couldn't get the correct mileage for the only section that was on a forest service road, how was he going to get the mileage correct on backcountry single track trails. The official start of the race was at 7:06 am as the group of about 60 runners started up the now 3.6 mile road section towards the Foggy Dew trail head. This section proved to be a great warm up as the incline wasn't too steep but still warranted a mix of 80% running and 20% hiking allowing the legs to get ready for the backcountry.

Foggy Dew to top of Angle's Staircase: 8.5 miles, 6000' vert

After about forty minutes I hit the Foggy Dew trail head. The trail was extremely dry and dusty and I was soon covered in dust from the knees down. The trail followed Foggy Dew creek up to the point where it reached Foggy Dew Falls. The falls were about 40 feet in height and were beautiful. The falls were also the location of the first aid station were two volunteers dressed as angels manned the an extremely limited aid station as rap music blared from the boom box they had packed up. The Aid station only had M&M's, potato chips, candy bars and GU gels, not quite what I expected especially after the wonderful aid stations I experienced at Pocatello in June. I filled my water bladder with 60oz of water since I was assured that the next water station was only 6 mile away and took off up the trail relying on the food I had packed. The trail then veered away from the creek and ran up and over granite ledges until flatting out a bit as I came into Merchants Basin. The basin was a lovely meadow full of wild flowers which were in full bloom and delicate blue butterflies. On the sides of the basin were rock walls that sealed in the meadow from the surrounding wilderness. The trail ran strait up the basin then zig-zaged up the peak that laid at the end of the basin known as the Angel's Stair case. The summit of the staircase offered spectacular 360 views of the Cascade mountain range it was truly awe-inspiring.

Top of Angel's Staircase to Eagle lake: 8 miles, 2000' vert

The water station according to the mileage given at the first aid station should have put it near the top of the staircase, but there was no water and I was running out fast. The trail took us down the backs side of the staircase and through a valley that rested between Old Maid mountain and Martin peak. Here I shot some videos as I ran down and through the valley that was filled with wild flowers and creeks. The water that was promised finally showed up about 4 miles farther then we had been told. By that time I had already been dry for about 20 minutes. The water station was unmanned and consisted of three 15 gallon jugs of water and a roll up table, that was it. I filled up not knowing exactly how far the next aid might be and took off down the trail towards Boiling lake and Horsehead pass. Just before I hit the lake I ran into a women and two men dressed in caveman style buckskins. the were bear foot and one of the men carried a old wooden recurve bow while the other male toted a modern-day fishing rod and reel. At this point I was wondering if the sun was getting to me and I was hallucinating, I quickly slapped myself but they were still there. As I passed them I said hi and that they responded with the same greeting. They were all in their late 20's and looked way to clean to be wackos living off the grid but what do I know except the fact that I was about 15 miles in the backcountry with three people trying to look like cavemen, kinda weird (that's an understatement). Shortly after the caveman encounter I came to Boiling lake and the start of Horsehead pass. Horsehead pass was about a 1.5 mile, 2000' ascent through boulders and shale then a 1.5 mile 1500' descent into Eagle lake. This was the point where it started to get really hot as temps rose to the low 90's and there was little to no shade leaving you baking in the sun. It was also in this section that my feet started to get pretty beat up do to the sharp rocks that made up the trail. My shoes just didn't have enough under foot protection for that kind of terrain.

Eagle Lake to Foggy Dew Falls: 16 miles, 3000' vert

The aid station at Eagle lake marked roughly the half way point and was about as well stocked as the first aid station (meaning not very well). Here I downed a couple of gels (chocolate mint and Vanilla bean both tasted really good) and packed some for the road as I was told the next water was 6 miles away and the next aid (food) was 10. The next 6 miles I was in a grove as I crushed this downhill section covering 6 miles in under 40 minutes. But at the end of the 6 miles what was suppose to be a water only station was an aid station. I was a little confused and asked how far it was to next water and I was told 6 miles. So I filled up with 60oz of water and started towards the next aid station. After descending about a half a mile the trail started to ascend again. I climbed about 1500' in two to three miles and then started descending again. At this point I figured I was 3 or so miles away from the next aid and I was doing fine on water. After descending about a half mile the trail started to climb again which was startling because according to the maps it should have been a strait descent into the next aid. Well about another three mile and 1500' of vert I finally started my descent into the last aid station complete out of water and at least three to four mile to go to water. I tried to run to the aid but the lack of water and the heat left my legs unable to run and throbbing in pain from the days efforts. It was at this point were I really questioned why was I doing this, why would I put myself through so much pain and suffering? why did I decide to run ultras, especially ones in the remote mountain locations? I wanted the pain to end but do to the nature of this race the only way it could end is if I finished or died and the later was not an option. So I grit my teeth and dragged my feet forward. I finally reached the aid station covering 10 mile instead of 6. I sat down chugged some water, electrolytes and gels and started walking down the trail.

Foggy Dew Falls to the Finish: 6.5 miles all downhill, thank goodness

It took about fifteen minutes for my legs to start working again. My dad was waiting for me where the trail hits the road again and the start of the last 3.6 miles. We talked briefly and my dad got in the car and I started jogging down the road. Dad pulled up beside me and rolled down the window. We talked for the next 2 miles about the race and his experience hiking to Merchants Basin, taking pictures, a nap and all the people he got to meet as they came down the trail. It was such a blessing to have him there pacing me for those last few miles cause I was in bad shape; my legs and feet were killing me but having dad to talk to took my mind off some of the pain. With a little over a mile and a half to go a runner came charging down the hill behind me and I had to accelerate quite a bit to keep up. I wasn't going to let him pass me, I hadn't been passed by anyone for over half the race and wasn't going to let it happen now. It was fine by me if we finished together, I just didn't want to be passed. He slowed down after a quarter mile as I kept the same pace, he caught back up with me again but was unable to maintain the nearly 6 min mile pace we were at. He faded back and my dad pulled up besides me again. My legs hurt so bad, but I just kept the pace knowing that the finish was almost insight. I ran into the finish line, 10 hours and 46 minutes after we started. The race director greeted me and told me how to get to the creek if I wanted to wash off in the cold water. That sounded great so my dad and I headed down to the creek. It was ice cold and felt oh so good. Other racers were down at the creek and we compared notes on the race. We all agreed that it was longer then advertised and that the aid stations were way to far apart and not where the were suppose to be. One racers also saw the cavemen and woman so I really wasn't hallucinating. All in all, despite the pain and suffering I went through I enjoyed the race. The scenery was magnificent the journey hard and rugged and in the end it was all worth it.

The Days totals: 42.6 miles, 11600' vert

Special thanks to my wife and kids whom I was away from for this race. I missed you guys and wish you could have been a part of this one like Pocatello. You keep me going when the going gets tough, I love you. Also to my Dad who took the time to drive me there and back, paced me towards the end and enjoyed some father and son time, it had been a long over due.

Pictures provided to you be Tevis "the elder" and Tevis "the younger"

Me just before the start of the race. See I'm still smiling which means I was totally ignorant of what laid in store for me!

And there off. There were about 60 people who started but only 35 would finish.

Looking down at Foggy Dew Creek

Foggy Dew Falls

the trees have wings

The angels at the first and last aid station

Trail heading up to Merchants Basin

Looking back down the trail at one of the 35k racers

Entering Merchants Basin

The Trail ran through the grass Basin sandwich between rock peaks.

Merchants Basin from the top of Angel's Staircase

Panorama from the top of Angel's Staircase looking west

Boiling Lake

Climbing Horsehead Pass

Looking down at Eagle Lake form Horsehead Pass

Martins Peak

north fork of Foggy Dew creek

Me coming off the trail and back on the road

Running down the road, almost there

Crossing the finish-line

Finally finished

Dust covered legs

Where's the soap my feet are disgusting

Cooling off in the creek after a hard day

Running down the backside of Angel's Staircase

Running with the Goats

2012-07-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we have all been asked the question "if you could be an animal, what animal would you be?"

For me the answer to that question would probably be a Mountain Goat. They are extremely rugged and muscular, like me :), have beautiful white coats, can climb ridiculesly steep mountains with ease, and they live in the most spectacles high alpine areas. Just think of waking up and going to bed every day with the most amazing views in the world surrounding you. So why do I start this post off talking about what animal I would want to be? Because for one morning I got to run with the Mt. Goats.

This weeks adventure started in the midst of us moving to a new house so thing were a little crazy and I hadn't had a decent run in a week. That and for the last few weeks every day I seemed to find myself looking to the southeast of Sandpoint towards the Clark Fork delta, there looming in the distance stands Scotchman's peak. That peak has been calling to me, teasing me, as it towers as the highest peak in Bonner county at 7009'. With the need for an adventure I woke up early and drove to the trail that climbs the backside of the peak. The Trail is only 3.5-4 mile long (one way) but it climbs 3800' in that distance with the steepest section being the first mile or so. I hiked 75% of that first mile but after that I found myself being able to run over 70% of the remaining trail. About half way up I came to a stop as I heard a snort, hoping that I might get a chance to see the animal that made it. I was expecting a mule deer but my eyes soon rested on the white fur of a mountain goat. In fact I had literally ran into a herd of five or so goats and was surrounded by them the closest being only 15 yards away. This encounter surprised me some because I was still well below tree line and you always picture mountain goats above that line. Well I made some noise as I tried to get my camera out which spooked an older male goat that had no idea I was there until that point and the goats were gone before I could snap a picture. I felt shorted by the quick glimpse of the goats but felt excited of the possibility that there could be more goats as I climbed higher.

From there the Trail crossed over grassy mountain sides and through alpine timber and finally it spit you out at the rocky peak. It was when I came to the first snow patch on the summit that I saw two more mountain goats taking a nap on the snow. This time I was much more careful with my movements and sounds and was able to snap a couple of photos before they even knew I was there. Once they realized my presence they stood up but did not run. After a while you could tell that they become curious of me and headed in my direction. within minutes the two goats were less then five yards of me and I started taking a video of them. About that time I heard something coming up behind me and as I looked over my shoulder a third goat came up the trail that I was on to within two or three feet of my position. I continued to video the encounter as four more goats made their way to my location including this years kid and its mother. There was also the 250-300lb alpha male of the group who had rubbed the hair off this shoulders to where his black skin was exposed as all the goats were losing there winter coats. He was a little more standoffish then all the others had been but he to seemed to accept me after a few minutes. It was an incredible encounter as the goats seemed to accept my presence like I belonged at the tops of the mountains with them. After spending a half an hour with the goats I made the short final push to the very top of the peak. There I ran into two more goats, a big nanny and what was probably her kid from two years ago. These two had a keen interest in me and flowed me just about everywhere I went as I explored the summit. The views from up top were spectacular and humbling and beyond my capacity to describe and the picture I took don't or could not capture the majesty of my surroundings. I eventually had to come down which I did in a brisk 35-40 minutes (it took about 1:20-30 up). I miss being up there and long to go back but haven't really had another opportunity to since, which is ok for now because I can sill remember the day I ran with the goats.

Hot weather and Moving

2012-07-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

This week started off great with a fast time of 42 min on Syringa on Monday. I really want to break the 40 min mark on the loop (5.1 miles with 700' vert) and I think its possible I just need to really devote the effort to do it. I have yet to run it "all out" but I think I will attempt it in the next few weeks.

Tuesday was another good day but it was HOT. I went up Mickinnick around 1pm at it was in the mid 90's. Once I was at the top a decided to do a little exploring. I ended up running another 1.2 miles on a small trail and by going cross country which had me doing a little rock climbing as well. It was a lot of fun but I ran out of water half way on the way back down, since I had only really taken enough to reach the top and back.

The rest of the week sucked (I didn't make it out again) as far as running went mainly do to the fact that we are in the process of moving right now. So the rest of my energies went towards that. I can't wait to get out this next week especially since the weather has finally warmed up.

Grouse on Mickinnick

Exploring the top of Mickinnick

Schweitzer mt

Strong Creek

2012-07-09T15:14:00.003-07:00

The Mountains are finally opening up and "I am so excited that I just can't hide it"!

For my first adventure in the highlands (well high for north Idaho) I went up the Strong Creek Trail then scrambled to the top of Round Top Peak. This was an amazing run, the trail is an old mining road that has been closed to vehicles over a 50" wheel base. The Trail itself isn't very technical but it does climb about 3500' in 7 miles then its another 1/4 mile and 200' scramble to the top of Round Top Peak. The trail starts in a Ceder forest and crosses several creeks. About half way up you start to have views of lake Pend Oreille as the trees change from Ceders to high alpine shrub trees. Around the 6.5 mile mark I hit some patches of snow and lots of water running down the trail from the snow melt. The Strong Creek trail ends into the Bee Top, Round Top #120 trail which I took the northern route till I couldn't find the trail any more (it was under snow) then I scrambled to the Top of Round Top Peak elevation 6165'. The views from there were phenomenal with 360 degree views of Lake Pend Oreille, The Cabinet mountain range and the Selkirk mountain range. On the top of the Peak there were the remains and footings of an old lookout tower. I spent probably 20 min just soaking in all the views. After a quick meal (a pro bar) I set back down the trail. On the way down I ran in to a couple of mule deer one of which would not get off the trail and I almost ran it over before it finally eased over the bank. It was a great run and one I look forward to doing again, there are so many place to explore up there its going to be great!

Strong Creek

Lake Pend Oreille

Strong Creek Trail #444

Looking Northwest towards Chimney Rock

Top of the Strong Creek Trail #444

Scotchman's Peak

Standing on one of the footings of the old lookout tower on Round Top Peak

Lake Pend Oreille from Rond Top Peak elevation 6165'

Cabinet mountain range

A Mule Deer that didn'y want to leave the trail

Weekly Recap: 6/25-6/30/12

2012-07-08T19:46:00.001-07:00

I'm about a week behind on the blog, so this will be a quick recap of 6/25-6/30/12.

I didn't get a ton of miles in this week probably around 30 or so but I managed a 10 miler with Vern the "ninja warrior"(see picture below) on Mickinnick which was great and then did some speed work out at Syringa. At Syringa I did the 5.1 mile loop 4 time this week with times ranging between 43-45 min. The cool thing about that is after talking to a couple of local mountain bikers I found out that I can run the loop faster then most people can bike it. Also this week I did some trail running with the kids out at the Mineral Point trail. Matthias just goes and goes and would often get way ahead of Kaiya and Tytus and I would have to run him down to get him to stop and wait for the rest of us. Katie hiked behind us with Kalea, it was a great outing, I love going out with the family and I'm glad Katie and the kids love being in the woods too.

Ninja warrior Vern

Lake Pend Oreille looking towards Hope

Kids enjoying a break from running to look at the lake

Matthias "the stoic one"

Tytus

Kaiya

Katie and Kalea

Weekly summary: 6/18 - 6/23/12

2012-06-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

Monday: 5 miles
Ran at syringa great morning good to be back at it again though still i am not planning on doing a ton of milage this week.

Tuesday: 5 miles
another morning at syringa

Wednesday: 5 miles
Am starting to sound like a broken record but did another 5 miles at syringa. The trail is just beautiful right now and enjoying running again.

Thursday: 2miles
This was a great outing with the family. We went up the Gold Mountain Trail about a mile then came back down. the Kids absolutely love hiking and running up and down the trail as Katie and I hike with Kalea. The three oldest kids probably ran over two miles with all the back and forth the did. There favorite part is running down hill and there pretty fast to boot. They are getting much better on running uphill too, its amazing how much their running abilities have improved this spring. To them running is fun and they laugh and have a good time, just the way it should be.

Friday: 7 miles
Went up to the top of Mickinnick for the first time in probably a month. The Last time I was to the top there was at least a foot of snow this time it was completely clear. It was an early morning for me (I had an early sift at work) I woke up at 4am and was out the door by 4:30am. It was just light enough on the trail that I didn't need a headlamp. Ascending the first 1.5 miles or so I felt really slow and tired (I was up with kids most of the night) then I finally started to wake up and did ok the rest of the way up. The trail is as rocky as ever but the wild flowers are in full bloom. I saw Nootka Rose, Silky Lupine, Fairy Slipper and many others, plus all the foliage is so green and lush right now (I guess all the rain we have been getting has been good for somethings). Then there was a majestic sunrise, it was totally worth the price of admission (sleep deprivation and ascending 2100' in 3.5 miles). Coming down was fun but frustrating, Fun because of because running fast downhill is very exciting, frustrating due to all the loose rocks the size of softballs which I almost rolled my ankles on multiple times. It was a great to run Mickinnick again and I plan on running it a lot as I prepare for Angels Staircase.

Week totals: 24 miles

Not a ton of mileage but better then nothing. Next week I'm going to try to get more miles in and altitude with means Mickinnick though I am going to try a few new trails in the upcoming weeks to see if I can get more vert in.

Sunrise coming over the Cabinet Mountain range

Panorama from the top of Mickinnick

Running with the Kids on Gold Hill

Ty has so much fun running on the trails look at that smile while running down the trail

Matthias as he run by

Kalea and me at the first overlook on the Gold Mountain trail

Katie Hiking up the trail with Kalea

Recovery

2012-06-17T23:06:00.001-07:00

Well its been two weeks since Pocatello and I feel that I'm fully recovered. The first two days after the race I was really sore (mainly in the quads) and getting around was slow but every day after that I seemed to feel better and better. We spent four days down in Utah visiting family after the race before heading home. The kids loved playing with their cousins which are all about the same age. When we got back From Utah I started lifting and cycling, nothing super intense just wanted to get the body moving again. The start of the second week after the race I started lifting harder and did a little jogging (5-10min) to warm up before lifting. I even lifted on my legs on Wednesday which left good but they were sore for two days afterwards. On Friday I went on my first "real" run with Vern over at Syringa. Didn't break any speed records but went five miles and it felt great to be out again. I could have run longer or harder but I wanted to play it safe, at least for a couple more days. I lifted again on my legs on Saturday and ran a mile. The legs are starting to feel strong again so next week I'll start training for Angels Staircase.

Angles Staircase is a 60k (about 37miles) races in Washington state that climbs to 8000ft(starting from 2100ft!) above sea level at the top of Angels Staircase. The trail climbs above treeline to the top of the rocky ridge line that separates the Lake Chelan Watershed from the Methow River Watershed. From the high points of the course you can see Glacier Peak and the surrounding North Cascades Mountains to the West as well as the smaller and older Okanogan Range to the North and East . Its a very remote race in the back-country of the North Cascades, Chelan Sawtooth Sub Range. Most of the race is in high alpine so the views should be stunning. My dad is coming and plans to hike to the top of the Angels Staircase and then back down (about 16 miles) and I believe Vern is planning to run the 60k as well. The only bummer with this race is that it is so remote that I won't be bringing Katie and the kids (we will be camping the night before and the nearest town is about 30+ miles away) its just not really doable with a baby and three little kids. I'm going to really miss the support they gave me in the last race, they were great! They will for sure be in my thoughts and prayers as I run. They are so supportive of me, I couldn't ask for a better family then the one I have now! I love them so much.

More Follow-up thoughts on Pocatello- I clearly got dehydrated relatively early in the race. I believe I actually started the race a bit dehydrated from the trip down and nerves. I didn't keep hydrated enough the days before the race, so that should be an easy fix. I also will carry salt and electrolyte pills and take them early and often. To answer some questions from Grandpa Ed, I write the following. First, I didn't have any blisters, I credit a lot of that to good socks and shoes. That being said my feet did swell up for about a day afterwards (probably do to the fact that I switched to shoes I hadn't worn in a while at mile 32). Second, the best time for this course is 8:14 set in 2010 by Dakota Jones one of the top ultrarunners in the world. Third, not only do people run 50 miles in one day but there are 100+ mile races. I believe the world record is 167 miles in 24 hrs and the fastest 100 mile run was done just under 13 hrs (it was really flat terrain).

Final Thought- After completing Pocatello one thought has crossed my mind and that is even after running 53 miles I could take one more step. In fact I probably could have ran 5-10 more miles maybe more (despite the condition that I was in). This realization has prompted the now serious consideration of running a 100 mile race. I don't plan on doing it soon I want to enjoy the 30-50 mile distances for a little longer before jumping up to a 100 (pulse I have only been running for a little over a year and I would like to build some more base fitness). I plan on attempting a 100 miler in 2014 so I have some time to figure out which race I'll do but as of right now the Wasatch 100 or the Bear 100 would be my top two choices both are run in the mountains of Utah.

I love the mountains
(Pic from trip to Utah)

Sun rise on the Wasatch Front

Montana just below Butte
(taken on our way home from Utah)

Hiking the Syringa Trail with the Family

Our Kids love going hiking, it is one of their favorite things to do.
Their always begging to go and the have so much fun running up and down the trails.

Matthias running up the trail

Week 19: My First Ultra Distance

2012-04-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

04/23/12 - 04/28/12
Monday. 6.2 miles
       Started the day with a 1 mile run before a upper body weightlifting secession. Directly after lifting I drove over to Syringa to run the 5.2 mile loop. I started out slower then I wanted to but my legs were just not warmed up yet and it was cool outside. By the time I got about a mile up the trail my legs and lungs were ready so I took off at a pretty good pace. It was a beautiful morning the sun was out and the air was clean and crisp (I love mornings like today). As I started my decent on the backside I tried to keep a fast pace but controlled I didn't want to push it too hard and end up dieing on the uphill portion. When I hit the bottom of the hill (2.75 mile) my watch read 24 minutes. I didn't feel tired at all so I decided to run a much faster pace on the ascent then I normally do. The ascent back to the top went really well, I didn't over do it but I ran faster theb I ever had on that section. Once back at the top I was still feeling good so I took off back down towards the trail-head at a really good clip. I completed the 5.2 miles in 44 minutes and 50 seconds which was a PR for me. I already think that I could cut another 2 minutes off that time just by warming up before I start running and pushing it a little harder in some sections. Overall I felt like it was a great outing and I think my goal by the end of summer is to run that loop in 40 minutes or less.

Tuesday: 10+ miles
         The Temperature has been much warmer the last few days with highs in the 70's. Today was no exception and since I need to acclimate my body to the heat I ran mid day. I started from my house with just a handheld water bottle and ran over to Syringa. By the time I had made it 2 miles up the trail my shirt was soaked with sweat. I wasn't dieing in the heat like last week despite it being hotter and that I was running faster. About mile 8 I noticed that my right shoulder was hurting really bad. I had never experienced such a pain like this while running and I can only attribute it to the 24oz water bottle that I have been using for the last week or so on my longer runs instead of my backpack. By the time I was a half mile from my house the pain was so bad that I had to hold my shoulder with my left hand which made me run like I was wearing a straight jacket. I didn't stop running because of pain and having to run so awkwardly. I guess I was working on my mental toughness. I'm not going to be running with a water bottle in hand any time soon and if I do I need to build up to it easier so I don't injure myself again.

Wednesday: 3.5 miles
Light on miles today so my legs are fully recovered for Fridays 31 miler. So today I ran a mile at the gym before a back and shoulder weight training session then directly after lifting I went to Syringa and ran 2.5 miles there. The weather was amazing with temps in the mid 60's. It was really nice today. On today's run I also tried out a new waist pack that I'm planning on using for my race so far I like it but the real test will be on Friday's long run.

Friday: 31 miles
      It rained all Thursday and the forecast for Friday morning when I was planning to run wasn't looking good but I decided to run even if the weather sucked; Hey it would build some mental toughness right. I woke up Friday at 3am so I could be done running early enough to let Katie workout before I had to go to work. I was out the door and running at 4:10am. I started my run by running 3 miles on the road to the Mickinnick trail-head. It was cold and windy out but no rain. I then started my first of two ascents on the Mickinnick trail. I was feeling pretty good at this point but decide to speed hike most of the was up to the 3 mile mark. I did this for two reasons first was to use my energy efficiently since I was planning on going for 31 miles. Second is that it was great race prep for Pocatello since I will be doing some hiking on that course, epically when I'll be covering 1300' to 1600' vertical ft per mile on some of the sections on the course. There was no snow on the trail until I hit the 2.5 mile mark then it was hard packed snow to the 3 mile mark. At 3 miles I turned around and ran back to the trail head. Once back down I turned around and did it again. I will say that coming down was defiantly a quad killer since the trail is very technical with lots of big rocks littering the trail. With all the rocks you had to constantly be picking a line to run down that was full of breaking and bouncing from rock to rock, oh and its pretty steep too. This made the going slower and left my legs sore. After my second ascent and descent I ran back to the house to resupply.

      After stopping at the house or should I say my car (I put a drop bag in it so I wouldn't have to go in the house) I was off to Syringa. It was right after my stop at the car when my legs decided to stop working, they were sore and hurt but my mind told me they should still be working just fine. I was only 18 miles into the run. Well for the next 40-60 minutes I battled with my legs to get them going and I ended up hiking a lot of trail that I would normally run. I finally had to pee and when I did it was dark, dark yellow and then the light bulb went off in my head that I was dehydrated so I started drinking much more water then I had all day and with in minutes my legs came alive again. From that point on (somewhere around 23 miles in) I ran everything, uphills and down. I finished strong and arrived at my house sprinting the last 300 yards to finish 31 miles in a total time of 6:39:13 (that includes all stops). I felt great and could see my self doing more.

      Side notes: I wore my new hip pack and I love it, and I think it will be great for racing in. It has enough space for food, camera, phone, and two 20oz water bottles. I can also strap a rain jacket to it. I also am really liking my new shoes they are doing a great job and my feet feel fine. For future long runs and races I need to make sure I drink enough fluids I dropped 5 lbs during my run or about 2-3% of my body weight which means I was pretty dehydrated. The run I did today is very close to the elevation gain of the first two legs of the Pocatello 50 and my goal is to run those 2 legs (32 miles) in 7 hrs so today's performance put me right in line with that goal.

Saturday: 1 mile "active recovery"
      Today I was suppose to do active recovery, which is something that gets you out and moving but it does have to be running. So I decided to go lift weights. I ran a mile to warm up then worked out pretty hard, training my back, shoulders and even some leg exercises. I don't think what I did was really recovery but it felt great.

Totals Miles: 51.7

      Great week! Friday was my first ultra marathon distance and besides some dehydration issues it went really well. Which has now left me wondering home much faster could I have done it without those issues, and how much faster can I do that distance in the future. I guess I'll have a chance to answer that in August with Angels Staircase and in October with Mount Spokane. But first things first and that is Pocatello which is 22 miles longer than what I did on Friday. I feel good about the race and the more I learn about myself and running long distances has kept building my confidence that I can do it. With that being said the thought of doing 53 miles is still pretty humbling.

Early morning looking over Sandpoint

Further up the Mickinnick trail

I ran in to a lot of mule/white tail cross deer on Mickinnick on my long run I saw 12 in all can you see the ones in this picture.

Second ascent on Mickinnick

View of the mountain from the Mickinnick trail-head. Its steeper then it look here.

Spring Flowers on Syringa Trail

Took this video while running down Mickinnick and this was one of the least rocky sections.

Week 18: Speeding things up

2012-04-21T11:12:00.001-07:00

04/16/12 - 04/21/12

Tuesday: 8 Miles

Met up with Vern for a run over at syringa. We ended up exploring some new trails so actual mileage for the day could be more or less not sure, but we ran at a pretty good pace so I would guess more then less. I was feeling really good, my legs felt strong and I powered up the hills and cruised on the down hills. It was a great run, the sun came out a few times and I really enjoyed myself.

Wednesday: 2.5 miles

Today we celebrated Katie, Matthias, and my birthday. We planned to have family over for a party so I did what any "real" man would do I helped clean house all morning to get ready for the party. We had the party in the afternoon between lunch and dinner and for the first time in 17 days I ate sweets (lots of cake and ice cream). Well it kind of put me into hyper mode and I really wanted to go running before dinner, so I got most every thing ready for dinner (Katie's brother, his wife and 7 kids + Katie's sister and her 2 kids stayed for dinner) then slipped out for a short run. Since we still had company I didn't want to be gone too long so I ran 2.5 miles at Syringa in about 18 minutes. It was a little faster then I would normally run but it was short and it felt good to get in some speed work.

Friday: 6.7 miles

Ran 1.5 miles at the gym as a warm up to a back and shoulders lifting session. Directly after lifting I drove over to Syringa to run 5.2 more miles with Vern. Since I don't have a really long run this week I thought it would be a good idea to pick up the pace a little and work on some speed. I led the whole time while running and I tried to keep a good pace on both the uphill and downhill sections. We finished the 5.2 miles in 51 minutes and 2-3 of those minutes we were stashing gear at a junction of several trails, so total run time was closer to 48-49 minutes. I felt like there were a few sections I could have gone much faster on and despite the increase of speed I never felt like I was really pushing things. Overall I felt happy with my conditioning and about the prospect of getting even faster.

Saturday: 14 miles

Vern met me at my house at 6am but at the time of his arrival we weren't exactly sure where we wanted to run. Vern finally decide that he had time enough to go out to Green Bay and run the trail from Green Bay to Lost Lake. It was the right decision. It was the first time in a long time that I didn't run either Micikinnick or at Syringa so the change was nice. One of the things I love about Green Bay are the views of the lake, they are amazing plus the trail runs through large cedar groves and it just a great run not too steep or too flat. My legs felt good for the whole run and the last descent to the parking lot I ran extremely fast (it was probably about a 1/2 mile or so). The temps were in the lower 40's and the sky was overcast which made for comfortable running conditions and as promised the views of the lake were breathtaking. To add a few more miles to the run we also hit a side trail past Mud lake to bring our total to around 14 miles (out and back from Green Bay to Lost lake is 11 miles). Great outing, loved it. On a side note I was wearing another pare of new shoes for this run Montrail Bajada, so far I really like them and I plan to run my race in them I guess I'll really see how the do on my 31 mile run next week.

Total Miles: 31

This was the first week this year that I didn't have to wear tights at all, Yeah! not that I hate my tights but it is a sure sign that things are warming up. I really backed down the mileage this week, it wasn't because my legs were sore or tired in fact they are feeling really strong I just thought it a good plan to insure that I don't over do it so close to my 31 miler next week.

Sun trying to break through the clouds on Lake Pend Oreille

Lost Lake

I snapped this photo while Vern was attending to a small pain in his calf
Surprising to me but I love taking pictures of flowers and landscapes.

Mud Lake

Week 17: Heat and back to backs

2012-04-20T12:35:00.002-07:00

04/9/12 - 04/14/12

Tuesday: 13.2 miles
Well today was the warmest day of the year so far, a wopping 69 degrees. I ran during the mid day "heat" which was about 30-40 degrees warmer than I'm use to running in. I ran from my house to Syringa did a couple loops there then headed back home. Lets just say by the end of the run I was totally wasted. I felt like crap and had some serious doubts about if I could go almost five times that distance during my up coming race.

Wednesday: 6 miles
It has cooled down a bit and I felt much better running today than yesterday. I really think the warmer weather caught my body off guard yesterday so I'm now hopping for even more warmer weather soon to give my body time to adjust before my race. As far as running today I ran at Syringa. The trail there is just so nice right now. Its firm with no snow, it hard not to run there every time I go out.

Friday: 23 miles
Today I started running at 5:15am. I ran from the house to Mickinnick, on the way I ran into three moose who have taken a seasonal residence on and around division street. Good thing for me they are so use to people because I ended up standing right between the cow and her two calves (I was ten feet from mom and 20 feet or so from the calves). Really they are more like very large dogs now after spending all winter in town, its a miracle none of them have been hit by a car with how much time they spend roaming the streets of Sandpoint. It started getting light about the time I hit the trail-head. I got to the 1.5 mile mark just about the time the sun crested the Cabinet mountain range which made the view of the valley breath taking. I stopped breifly to take it all in and snap some photos. I continued up the mountain from there and hit snow just below the 2 mile mark. I decide to climb through the snow which was hard-packed for the most part up to the 3 mile mark. The snow is still several feet deep.If I had to guess there is at least five feet deep up on top. Coming down was fun as I could slide around the corners until I got back to dirt trail. Once at the bottom I ran back to the house for some supplies that I had left outside. After refueling at the house I ran over to Syringa where I met up with Vern who joined me at the trail-head. It was nice to have a pair of fresh legs to help pace me for my last 11 miles. I ran really well at Syringa and felt pretty strong the whole time out, a vast improvement over Tuesday. After racking up 9.5 mile at Syringa I ran home for a total of 23 miles. I felt good after my run and defiantly had more in the tank, lots more.

Saturday: 18 miles
Ran from the house over to Syringa and didn't feel a bit sore from the 23 miler the previous day. Infact I probably ran better today then yesterday I actually felt stronger on the uphills and quicker on the down hills. I ran 14 miles before I ran out of time (Had to get home, I got a late start), so after work I stopped by the gym and ran 4 miles on the treadmill to get all 18 miles in. Feeling great!

Weekly hiking: 5 mile
On both Monday and Thursday the "Hull" family went hiking including Kalea. Monday we hiked Mickinnick up to the one mile mark and back down. It took a while with the kids, I had Ty in the back carrier and at one point Ty was in the carrier and Thias on my shoulders (I'll up date with a photo of that latter its on Katie's phone). On Thursday we went to Syringa and hiked a little over 3 miles. They kids had a blast on both outings and didn't want to stop hiking either time. They did a great job and love being outdoors.

Total Miles: 65.2

Great week! with more miles then I have ever done in one week. Legs are feeling great and I feel really good about my race after this week's back to back long runs. The "heat" on Tuesday caught my body off guard but it will adjust as the temps continue to climb.

1.5 miles up the Mickinnick Trail

Mickinnick Trail

Still lots of Snow up top

week 16: The Easter Bunny and a hair raising experience

2012-04-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

Week 16: 04/01 - 04/7/12

Tuesday: 12 miles. I ran form the house to Syringa, then ran a couple loops there and then ran back home.

Wednesday: 6 miles at syringa.

Friday: My long run. It was really cold all morning and my legs never really seemed to warm-up so my pace was pretty slow but I ended up running 20 miles. I started from my house and ran to Mickinnick. I then ran up to the 1.5 mile mark before heading back back down (I didn't want to run in the snow which exist above that point). When I got back to the trail head I then ran over to Syringa and ran 8.5 miles out there before heading home. While I was out at Syringa I found a dead moose calf on the trail with its front shoulder eaten as well as the heart, lungs and liver. Upon further inspection I concluded that a mountain lion must of killed it the evening before based on its broken neck and the fact that I could not find any tracks from a predator with the exception of two cat tracks near the belly side of the moose where it must of eaten from. Then the realization of how fresh the kill was and that the cat was probably close by had me quickly and alertly vacating the area. It was a good reminder of how wild and un-tame the mountains really are. During the run I never really got tired, probably because I wasn't moving all that fast. After the run I felt like a had just done a five mile jog not 20 miles.

Saturday: Ran 2 miles at the gym and then lifted shoulders and back.

Total miles: 40

It was a good week but I cant remember everything that happened since I'm writing this a little over a week late. The sun has been coming out more often and the temps are slowly getting warmer, spring is on its way. There is very little snow on syringa now but the top half of Mickinnick still has several feet. I was encouraged by how well I felt after my long run, it really didn't take much out of me.

Syringa Trail

Spring Flowers (click on the picture for a closer look)

Early morning at Syringa

The Easter Bunny, I told the kids that I saw the Easter bunny while running and showed them this picture I took of it. Kaiya was so blown away that the Easter bunny is real that she said, "I didn't think the Easter bunny was real, I thought that everyone was just teasing me about the Easter bunny, But he is real, he really is"!

Last week when I took the kids hiking Matthias kept on asking what was making holes in some of the trees along the trail. I told him that they were made by a woodpecker, he really wanted to see one but we never did so I took a picture of this one for him while running at syringa.

Week 14 & 15: New Baby! and spring

2012-04-09T22:40:00.001-07:00

Week 14:

Wow, where to start. I guess I'll start with the most important event the birth of our fourth child Kalea.
Katie said she wanted to have the baby on Wednesday (3/21/12) because it was my first day off of work that week, and by golly she had the baby on Wednesday. Kalea was born at 6:54 pm, a healthy baby girl. Katie did a marvelous job she makes it look much easier then it really is. Kalea weighed 7lbs 14oz and was 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing great and the addition to the family is going over well with the other kids at least for the time being. As far as running goes I managed to run 12 miles on Monday out at syringa and 6 miles at the gym on Tuesday but after that I didn't get out again the rest of the week. I did lift weights on Tuesday and Thursday at the high school. On Thursday I benched 360 lbs which is twice my current body weight. It was nice to see that I still am retaining a lot of strength despite running a lot. But the week really belongs to Katie and Kalea, I'm luck to have such a wonderful and beautiful wife who would go through so much to bring our little Kalea into the world. Thank you Katie!

Kalea and Me

Week 15:

Monday I finally made it out running again, I did 6 miles out on Syringa. The snow has really been melting lately which has left mostly clear trails and lots of water and mud.

Tuesday I ran 5 miles at the gym the rain has really been coming down lately which kept me inside that day.

Wednesday I decided to do a night run up Mickinnick. That was quite the adventure, I started up the trail at 9 pm with plans of going up to the 1.5 mile mark and then coming back down. The adrenaline of running in the woods at night by yourself made it quite a fun run. Due to the snow melt and tons of rain the last few days the trail is one big runoff creek (pictures and videos below) needless to say my feet got really wet. It was fun running up the newly formed creek bed AKA trail, which really kept you involved with the trail do to the newly exposed rocks. Made it to the 1.5 mile mark and almost went further up the trail but I told my wife that I would only be going that far and she was not so keen on me going up there at night by myself already. Coming down was very technical and required me to slow down and pay attention to all the large rocks on the trail.

Friday it was pouring out again, so I went to the Gym and ran 14 miles on the treadmill and then did 2.5 miles on the stairmaster.

Saturday the rain broke long enough for me to run a loop around Syringa. The snow is almost all gone, it was really muddy in some places but the trail is in good shape for the most part and is setting up nicely. I also took the older three kids hiking after my run, at Syringa. We went 2.5 miles and I carried Ty in the backpack the whole time. The kids love to run and hike and we had a great time enjoying being out in the woods.

Total miles: 38

Trail on Mickinnick

1.5 mile mark at Mickinnick

Hiking the Syringa trail with the kids

Running up Micknick at Night

Running down Mickinnick at night

Born to run Kaiya and Matthias

WEEK 13: Sore legs

2012-03-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well this week I had planned to put in about 60 miles and just have a great week of running, things didn't go as planned. I started off good running 13 mile on Monday (3/12) but it was on the treadmill because it was poring rain outside. Then latter that day I lifted upper body at the high School were I have been helping out with the high school football team the past two weeks. Tuesday I decided that I would lift lower body with the high schoolers and that was a big mistake as far as running goes. I ended up low squatting 300 lbs eight times (after 3 other sets leading up to that weight). Combine that with RDLs, St leg dead lift, lunges and mountain climbers (5 sets x 8 reps each exercise), I totally trashed my legs to the point were I had problems just walking for the next four days. Needless to say I didn't do much running the rest of the week. I did squeeze two miles in on Saturday but that was it. Probably not the best training protocol for running ultra-marathons, but it did feel good to have sore legs for a few days. I did lift upper body on Thursday and Saturday so it wasn't like I was just sitting around doing nothing the rest of the week. Hopefully next week I'll be able to run again and get back on track.

On a side note Vern ran the Chuckanut 50k by Bellingham, WA this weekend and had an awesome experience. He said it was a gorgeous trail that really challenged him but he ran hard despite conditions of rain and snow. He was also able to met some of the sports elite runners like Scott Jurek, Geoff Roes, Dave Mackey and Bryon Powell. In Vern's words "the whole day Rocked!"

Week 12: Half way

2012-03-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

3/6/12: 6 miles
Cold, wet and windy outside today and since I am on the tail end of being sick I decided to play it safe and run indoors. I could tell I wasn't 100% recovered from the cold I had this last weekend but it felt good to be running again. Ended up running 6 miles in 48 minutes.

3/7/12: 8.5 miles
       Busted out my new shoes for the first time on the Syringa trail today and after 8.5 miles I still like them. I do think they will be much better summer shoe than a winter shoe. The Shoes I got are Asics's "Fuji Racer" they weigh only 9 oz and are purple, gold and black (the only color they come in). They are extremely breathable which is why they are going to make a better summer over winter shoe. The shoes also have a drainage system in the bottom of the shoe which I think will be great for stream crossings but not so sure how they will do in mud (letting water in through the bottom of the shoe that would not have gotten there otherwise). The trail was very ice for the first 1.25 miles and I didn't take the Microspikes (Dumb move which resulted in one big butt plant on the ice, yes I have a big butt ) but the backside had a lot of open ground which made the decision to not bring the spikes not as dumb, because I got to run on dirt Yeah!!! You can tell spring is just around the corner and hopefully in the next couple of weeks all of the snow will be gone on the trail. During the icy spots on the trail I went off trail dodging trees and other obstacles, which was a lot of fun. On the uphill sections the new shoes shined they are so light that my feet felt weightless (probably helped that I didn't have a pound of spikes on my feet either) which made going up much easier and faster. Overall it was a great run enjoyed running on dirt! and so far so good on the new shoes though my calves are a little sore; due to the new shoes having nearly half as much heel to toe drop than my normal shoes (6mm compared to 11mm).

3/8/12: 8 miles
     Needed to get in a quick morning run so I just ran at the gym. Ran 8 miles on the treadmill, took just under 1:07 to finish.

3/9/12: 5.25 miles
      Met up with Vern to run Syringa. Wore the spikes for the first 1.25 miles then took them off as we crested the top and started on the backside. Even less snow and ice today then Wednesday (3/7). Beautiful day with Temps in the upper 40's. Actually ran in shorts (no tights) and a t-shirt, it was great! Though I will say for the first 1.25 miles it felt kind of weird running in just a t-shirt and shorts and still having to wear Microspikes to deal with snow and ice. Fun run, looking forward to more good weather.

3/10/12: 10 miles
        Ran from my house to the Mickinnick trail head where I met up with Vern. Started out running up the trail but slowed to a hike as we encountered deep and soft snow. Post holing happened ever couple of steps and sometimes every step As we continued higher and higher up the mountain, the snow got deeper and deeper and at one time I post holed up to my chest in the snow (yes the snow was that deep) which forced me to belly craw out of the hole I had created. So needless to say the going was slow. Despite having to hike most of the trail, it was great just to be up in the mountains with the sun shining. It took 1:44 to get to the top which was a new record; it was our slowest ascent so far. Coming down wasn't a ton better as far as post holing went until we got about 2 miles down the hill. We were then able to pick up the pace and get in some running. The weather was great the whole trip the sun was out and the wind wasn't that bad which made for a very enjoyable outing.

Total miles: 37.75

Good week, still not 100% after being sick last weekend and the beginning of this week so I cut off 24% of my planned mileage for the week just so I wouldn't overdo it and remain sick (or get worse). The weather was great towards the end of the week which was much appreciated. The forecast for next week looks like a lot of rain so we'll see how that goes.

Pocatello Course Update

2012-03-05T08:59:00.001-08:00

The official course for the Pocatello 50 is out. The full course is 52.3 miles long with 12,600'of vertical gain and 12,600' of vertical loss. The lowest point is 4,500' and the highest point is over 8,500' in elevation. There are two climbs where you ascend over 1,200' per mile, sounds like fun. Below are the course map and profile. The 50+ miler runs all three legs and if you got to pocatello50.com/course-info/ you can find a link to view the course with google earth so you can the course in 3D. I'm looking forward to the challenge, just 3 months left till race day.

Week 10 & 11: Falling short of expectations, depression, sickness

2012-03-03T23:01:00.001-08:00

Week 10:

2/21/12: 12 miles
         Needed to squeeze in a run between an early morning meeting and an evening shift at work. I decided to run on the treadmill so I could control how fast I was going without the challenge of snow and ice due to limited time. I ended up running the 12 miles in 1:38. It felt like a good effort but had more in the tank when the run was all said and done, which is a good thing.

2/22/12: 6 miles
        I didn't find time to run till 10pm tonight. So I found myself back at the gym on the treadmill. It took 48 minutes to run the 6 miles. I will say one nice thing about running indoors at this time of year is that I can wear a t-shirt and shorts and not have to pack a backpack full of emergency gear in case something goes wrong out in the wintery weather.

2/23/12: 7 miles
        Headed up Mickinnick with Vern, the first 1.5 miles was fairly hard packed but the last 2 miles to the top we found ourselves trudging through 6-10 inches of new snow. The hardest part of navigating the snow was that the hard packed snow under the new snow had turned soft so when you tried to push off you would sink up the your knees and sometimes crouch. Due the trail conditions we did very little running after the 1.5 mark. About a mile from the top we ran into a hiker coming down. As soon as I was him I could tell he was in pretty bad shape. His jeans were completely soaked and his face was pale and you could just sense that he was completely exhausted. We stopped and talked with him for a little bit, it had taken him 3 hours to reach the top and he hadn't brought anything to eat or drink. I pulled a energy bar from my pack and gave him my water bottle and Vern gave him an electrolyte drink. After he got some food and water in him he continued down the mountain as we maintained our journey to the top. Our conversations consisted of the situation of the young man, being prepared for winter outings, and wilderness survival. Coming down the trail was frustrating and fun at the same time. Frustrating because you really couldn't run or you would post-hole up to your waste yet fun because you could ski around the steep corners. Towards the bottom we caught up with Nick the young man we meet earlier on the trail. He looked a ton better, the color had returned to his face and he seemed to be doing ok. We found out that he had never been on the Mickinick trail before and the it took him over 5 hrs to go up and back. He thanked us for the help and said whatever we gave him to eat and drink really saved him. I'll give him props for making it to the top especially in those conditions but it could have ended up really bad for him. You never know, but I have a feeling that if we hadn't ran into him up there and offered him help he may never have come off the mountain, alive.

Total miles: 25

I didn't run the rest of the week due to a combination of scheduling, snow and lack of motivation. I worked morning shifts during the later part of the week which is normally the time that I run. I had every intention to run at night but for whatever reason I just couldn't get myself out the door at 10pm. It has been tough dealing with the days I didn't run. I don't think it has hurt me as much physically as mentally. For the first time since starting my trainning I feel like I have fallen short of the expectations I have set for myself, and the only one to blame is me. This realization has made me question why I am even attempting to run an ultra marathon, because its much easier not to (no more early morning runs or late night ones). What is the driving force that compels me to want to run 50+ miles in the mountains? I guess what am I'm trying to say here is that the "natural man" (lazy) in me is fighting with the one who wants to see just how far I can go. I know which one I want to win (how far I can go), but the other is not giving up with out giving everything its got.

Vern fighting through the snow

Week 11:

2/28/12: 8 miles
The weekend brought more snow about 10" in town and a couple feet in the mountains. So I have had a slight bit of depression the last few days because I was really hoping for an early spring. I did make it out to run the Syringa trail today despite all the snow it was a gorgeous day the sun was out and absolutely everything was covered in pure white snow. The trail was in OK shape, the first mile or so was hard packed due to some snowshoers and the rest was 6-10" of new snow. I took a slow pace while I was cutting fresh tracks and just enjoyed being out in the woods.

2/29/12: 3 miles
Ran three miles on the treadmill before a 1hr long lifting session.

3/1/12: 14 miles + 6 mile biking
Ran 14 miles on the treadmill because I didn't want to run in the slushy conditions outside. I was planing on running at least 20 miles but about 12 miles in I just started feeling worn out and my throat started hurting. I toughed it out for another 2 miles before I decide to try biking to see if that would knock me out of my funk. It didn't so after biking 6 miles I called it a day. A few hours latter my sinuses were clogged my throat hurt and I developed a cough. So I know why I was feeling so bad on my run, I was getting SICK.

Total miles: 25

Started the week off depressed over all the new snow, I just can't wait to run on dirt again. The snow has been fun and challenging but I can't wait till its gone. I did order a par of snowshoes so I'm looking forward to using them to get up into the mountains but still can't wait for spring. Getting sick was defiantly not on the menu and as much as I wanted to run more this week after last weeks dismal performance I'm trying to play it smart and get better so I don't get worse.

Syringa trail head

Syringa trail

Week 9: Full speed ahead

2012-02-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

2/13/12: 10 miles
       Decided to run on the treadmill, wanted to be close to a bathroom as my stomach was a little upset. Ended up having a pretty good run finished the 10 miles in 1:24 nothing blazing but a good tempo and I felt great afterwards.

2/14/12: 8 miles
        I originally had planed to be out the door and running by 4:30 am but my 2 year old son Ty decided to wake up just as I was about to leave. He is such a daddy's boy and was not a happy camper when he saw me heading for the door. In consideration of my pregnant wife since Ty would have really thrown a fit if I left, and the only way for Katie to calm him down is to act like a little puppy to which Ty pats her on the head and curl up next to his "doggy". But that doesn't always work so I decided to take Ty back to bead and sleep with him till the other kids woke up. I did end up running in the afternoon while Ty was down for his nap. I ran from my house to Syringa, did a 5 mile loop on Syringa and ran back home. It was a gorgeous sunny day and was kind of glad I didn't run in the morning darkness because I would have missed the sunshine.

2/15/12: 7 miles
        Great learning experience today. First off I got off work at 2:30am and didn't get to bed till after 3am. Katie tried to let me sleep in but the kids had other plans. What sleep I did get was very unrestful since the kids thought daddy made a great trampling. All I had to eat was a piece of toast ( and very little the night before) when Vern and I met up to run Mickinnick at 11am. I was tired before we even started and about a mile up the trail I felt horrible. I wasn't in any pain just no energy at all, I felt like a snail and kept telling Vern that if he wanted to pass me and go up ahead, that was fine by me. He insisted that my pace was fine and that my horrible day would beat most peoples good day. Up to the 2 mile mark I still had no energy in my legs and I just felt depleted. I tried to get some energy going by eating a gel 25 minutes into the run but it didn't seem to work. From mile 2 to the top I was so tired that I could of curled up on the side of the trail and taken a nap, and if it wasn't for the snow I may have done just that. I did manage to sprint the last 50 yards to the top which felt like a great victory in its own right given how I was feeling. I was very surprised to see our time to the top, right at the one hour mark which was our fastest time to the top all winter, beating our previous best time by 5 minutes. So the lesson learned is that even at your lowest point it is amazing what you can accomplish when you just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I learned how to manage a "low" time which will be help for when I experience those low points during my 50 miler. During the decent I still didn't have the usual bounce in my step but found that I was able to let my legs do their thing as I "fell" down the hill. Vern was much faster on his decent than normal and we hit the bottom in 32 min and 40 sec which was a PR for Vern for any time of the year. He thought the snow helped him run downhill faster because he didn't have to worry so much about his foot placements or falling. Over all despite having a hard time keeping my energy levels up it was a great run and the fastest ascent and decent for either Vern or I on Mickinick this winter.

12/17/12: 20 miles
Left the house at 5:40 am it had snowed an inch or so in town the previous night, so I ran the first 3 miles to the Mickinnick trail on snow covered roads. When I hit the trail head I attached the Microspikes and headed up the trail. I really tried to pace myself on the accent because I planned on running to the top and back twice as part of my run for the day. I felt pretty good all the way up and the slower pace allowed my to take in gorgeous views of the lake as I climbed higher and higher. The pictures below don't come close to capturing all the vibrant colors of orange, pink and silver of the lake and clouds that morning (hey its a 6 year old point and shot digital camera so it didn't do a horrible job either), it was truly an amazing site for the eyes to behold. The combination of stunning views and listening to the "Last of the Mohicans" sound track really made me forget about the effort it took to run up the trail as I was lost in the splendor of the mountain, lake and inspiring music. I felt the fresh snow slowed me down a little but I reached the top in a respectable 1:09. On the decent I put it in cruise control and made it down in 42 min. Towards the bottom of the trail I passed a man hiking up the trail with his dog as I passed him he asked if I made it to the top which I answered yes, then commented that it "looks like your got a good work out" where I replied yep and told him to have a great day. At the trail head I changed my socks before I attempted my second ascent. One the way back up I passed the man with the dog again where I simple said "round two", He looked shocked to hear and see that I was running to the top and back twice in a row. All he could manage to say was "Holy Sh@!, your tough" through his look of disbelief. His reaction and comment really built my confidence and probably padded my ego a little too. The seconed ascent went better than the first. I did less power hiking and more running on the steep sections than my first ascent and I felt pretty comfortable the whole time but I didn't really push the pace either. I made it to the top in 1:07, two minutes fast than my first ascent which made me pretty happy. Coming down I did start to feel some burning in the quads but nothing to bad just noticeable. Made it back down the mountain is 40 minutes again beating my first attempt. From there I took off the spikes and ran the 3 mile back to the house. The legs felt better after this run than last weeks long run despite doing twice the amount of vertical, which is great sign on how my conditioning and recovery is improving.

2/18/12: 10 miles
Split today into two running sessions one 5 mile effort on the treadmill before work (5:30am) and one after work (11:00pm). The am session I had some stomach issues and ended up running most of the five miles at a 4% incline at 5 mile and hour for some reason that particular incline and speed gave me the least amount a stomach pain. During the pm session I didn't have and stomach problems and finished in about 40 minutes.

Total Miles: 55

Great week, first full week of training since my ankle injury and I am right on track of where I need to be, according to the training program that I am using. This was also the most running I have ever done in a week, so I am stoked on how well I feel. My legs seem to be in great shape and my endurance is coming right along. Hope this is a good sign of things to come.

Pend Oreille river

No wind made the Lake Pend Oreille into one great big mirror

My camera couldn't catch how orange and pink the lake and the clouds really were on this morning

The lake looked like it was made out of pure silver from the top of Mickinnick

Week 8: Back in the saddle again

2012-02-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

2/7/12: 5 miles
Ran a quick 5 miles (well quick for me under 40 min) After a Chest and arms weight lifting session. Felt good to get a little "speed" training in. Something I haven't been doing a lot of. I have mainly just been working on building a good base or in other words lots of miles but at a slower pace so today it was a nice change of pace. The ankle is feeling better every day and after 10 minutes of running I hardly noticed it.

2/8/12: 7 Miles
With the ankle feeling a ton better Vern and I decided to tackle Mickinnick today. Vern was kicking my butt on the first 2 miles up the trail. I could tell he was feeling pretty good and he kept rubbing it in my face as he effortlessly cruised up the many switchbacks to the two mile mark.

Vern at the top of Mickinnick Trail

He said it was due to his breakfast of yogurt and granola and just his excitement to be running that day. I really had to put in some effort in to keep up with him. At the two mile mark either he slowed down or I was feeling better (I think it was the later) because I had no problem keeping up with with the rest of the way to the top. We made it to the top in 1:05, which was our fastest time to the top since the trail has been covered with snow. At this point I need to give a big thanks to my dad and Ken for the wonderful trail they blazed last Saturday. It snowed about 12 inches over the last two weeks while I was recovering from my ankle injury. Since Vern nor I had been keeping the trails "packed down" my dad and Ken cut through 12 inches of snow when they hiked Mickinnick on their weekly Saturday hike. They didn't quite make it to the top and the last 400 yards where they hadn't blazed the trail through the snow were much more difficult to traverse than the wide hard-pack trail the two BFF's (best friends forever) had made. So THANK YOU Ken and Dad for the awesome trail you made you guys rock!

On the way down I decide to work on my video taking abilities while running so I shot some film of Vern running. Hopefully you don't get motion sickness when you watch the video, but its pretty hard to get a steady shot when you are running with the camera. At one point on a steep downhill section I had Vern record me coming down. He did a better job filming than me, but that may have been due to the fact that he was just standing in one spot and not running with the camera. After the filming sessions we continued down the trail, I was in the lead as we were coming up on a sharp switchback when a brown blur darted into the trail just feet in front of me. It turned out to be a deer and we were close enough to each other that if I hadn't put on the breaks we would of collided. As I came to a stop I saw some movement 10 yards down hill from us where there were two more deer just standing there trying to figure out what the heck had just happened. The other two deer never spooked and just started eating again around the trail. We were able to get some pictures and videos of the deer for about 5 and 10 minutes before we had to chase them off the trail so we could finish our run. After looking a the pictures and videos there is some debate on what type of deer they are. They have the rear ends and tails of a mule deer but the ears and face of a whitetail and they bounded like a mule deer. My dad thought the were blacktail deer but I've never heard of any blacktail in Idaho. Ken thinks they maybe a cross between a whitetail and a mule deer since he has heard that that has been happening in the Priest river area. Whatever they are it was a pretty cool experience.

2/10/12: 21 miles
Woke up at 4:30am with the hopes of being out the door by 5am but I had the hardest time getting going (probably due to the fact that I only had slept for 4 hrs). At 5:30am I finally entered into the early morning darkness to start my longest run to date. It was lightly snowing as I ran north on division st towards the Mickinnick trail head which is exactly 3 mile from my front door. Arrived at the trail head just before 6am, there I put on my Microspikes and headed up the trail. Maintained a steady pace up to the second bench (1.5 miles) there I ate a Scout Bar. It was the first and last time I will eat a Scout bar on a run, the taste wasn't bad but it was extremely dry and hard to get down. It also left my mouth chalky for the next ten or so minutes. Just over the 2 mile mark it was light enough were I didn't need the headlamp anymore and by this time it had stopped snowing completely. It was foggy on the mountain so views of the valley below were limited which kinda of sucked since the views on that trail are incredible. Reached the top in 1:06 just a minute slower than Wednesday (2/8). I felt pretty good about that since it was the second fastest time I ran Mickinnick since the trail has been covered in snow. The fog lifted providing spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountain ranges. I then ate a gel before I headed back down the trail.
Coming down the trail I went slower than normal, mainly because I didn't want to trash my quads less then 10 miles into a 21 mile run. At about a half mile or so from the bottom of the trail I stopped to fill up my water bottles at a beautiful little creek. I don't think there is a time that I haven't stopped at this creek just to take in its beauty and hear the soothing sound of the water as it tumbles down the mountain side. Experiencing the outdoors is one of the main reasons why I love to run trails, so I try to make sure to pause every now and again to take in the ambiance of this beautiful world our Heavenly Father has created. After making it back down I took off the Microspikes, and ate a lemon Larabar which has become one of my favorite solid foods to eat while running (or any time for that matter). From there I ran five miles on the road to the Syringa trail head where I reattached the spikes and ate a gel. I then ran 1.25 miles to the top of the Syringa trail and then did a 2.6 mile loop on the "backside" before running back to the trail head for a total of 5.1 miles. The whole time I was on the backside I sipped from a water bottle that had Hammer Nutrition's Heed in it (basically a 100 calorie drink with fast digesting carbs and electrolytes in it), which I feel really helps me keep a sustained energy level especially towards the end of a long run. Once back at the trail head I took off the spikes and ran the last 1.5 mile back to my house. I had a total running time of 4:24 which was faster than my 18 miler three weeks ago, but this time I didn't have to deal with blazing trail in 10+ inches of fresh snow. Not only was this my longest run so far, but it also had the most vertical ft of any of my runs. I am extremely pleased at where I'm at endurance wise given that I basically took the previous 2 weeks off from running to let my ankle heal. Speaking of the ankle its still not 100% and I had a slight burning sensation for most of the run but every day it keeps on getting better and better despite all the running.

Total Miles: 33

Very encouraging week, legs a little sore after my long run but were back to normally in a day. I modified my program this week to help get back into running again after two weeks off. I did not run as many days, but I got in a really good long run so next week I should be back to full speed ahead.

At the top of Mickinnick 6.5 mile into my long run

Looking back at the trail from the top of Mickinnick

Early morning on Mickinnick

Week 7: still healing

2012-02-09T22:23:00.000-08:00

1/30/12: 2 miles
Foot/ankle still not were it needs to be to do any serious running, but I managed to run 2 miles on the treadmill before a chest and arms weight training secession.

1/31/12: 2 miles
Still playing it safe another 2 miles on the treadmill before a back and shoulders weight lifting secession.

2/2/12: 2miles
Repeat of Monday (1/30)

2/3/12: 5 Miles
Finally out of the gym and on the trails. Returned to the scene of the injury Syringa trail and ran 5 miles with Vern. I could feel the ankle with every step, it was a mild burning sensation and depending on what angle my foot hit the ground the burning could get pretty bad. But I was just thankful to be running trails again, getting outside was worth the pain.

2/4/12: 2 miles
Basically a repeat of Tuesday (1/31) wanted to get out and run but the timing just never happened.

Total Miles: 13

Still over coming the injury to my foot/ankle, but the last few days of the week I saw a lot of improvement. The open wound on the back of my ankle is getting smaller and smaller. I just get a burning sensation whenever something rubs against it (eg. shoe) but the pain is becoming less and less every day. Hoping to just be able to jump right back into my training next week. I think that its a really good possibility that I can.

WEEK SIX: Dealing with the Injury

2012-02-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

1/23/12: OFF
The ankle is really bothering me I can barley walk with a shoe on, but am able to walk fine without a shoe. Went to the gym and did some cycling on a stationary bike without a shoe on and then lifted shoeless for an hour.

1/24/12: 3 miles
Tried to ascend Mickinnick with Vern today but it didn't go as planned. It started out ok, well at least for the first 200 yards then the foot started hurting do to my shoe rubbing against my ankle but I was going to press on. After a mile up the trail I was in pretty bad shape, the pain in my left foot as made me compensate with my right leg which was killing my right calf since it was doing all the work up the steep sections. I ended up calling it enough at about 1.5 miles up the trail, I could have pushed it to the top but thought it a wiser decision to play it smart and let my ankle heal some more. So I hobbled down the trail to my car as Vern continued up the trail.

1/25/12: Weight training
I've decided to give the ankle some time to heal so I spent a hour and a half cycling, lifting weights, and using the stair-master all with out shoes. I might not be able to run but still trying to get some cardio in. When I lift I keep the reps high (10-20) and the rest periods low (30-45sec).

1/27/12: At the Gym
I ran in my socks on the tread mile for 10min then lifted on my legs for and hour. I followed that with 20min on the stair-master.

1/28/12: At the gym
Ran in socks for 10min then spent 30min on the stair-master and then 30min on the bike.

It was an interesting week the injury to my ankle is slowly getting better but the slow progress is frustrating. I did lift on my legs for the first time this week since starting my ultra training and they are a little sore now, but its a good sore. I'm thinking that I'll be able to start running again next week some time but I'm guessing it will be later in the week. Hopefully I will be able to get back up to seed in my training fast and not loose to much ground. I'll have to tweak my training regiment for the next few weeks but I feel confident that I'll get back on track soon.

Pictures are of sections of the Mickinnick Trail the one day I made it outside these week