Butterfield Canyon Training Run 11.22.14

Ruthie & I - the Altra Paradigm Twinners

I really must have lost my mind... SERIOUSLY!  Since my first season of getting into triathlon, I have been a wuss about training during the winter months.  Sure, I've run a couple times here and there in freezing temperatures, but then I went into hibernation for the rest of the winter.  But, I've decided to push myself and break down these mental barriers I've put up about training in the winter.  Most of the push is due to my wonderful running groups, The Run Aways and Run4Fun!  I tell ya (and Ezra can attest to this), that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE GROUPS!  I have never had such a great, more supportive group of friends to run with and who constantly motivate me to be better!   Alas, we've been running snowy trails, running through bitter cold wind, and on icy roads... All to build up our mental toughness, as well as our bonds with each other.

This Saturday, we originally planned to go 13.1 miles up the canyon.  The weather was calling for rain and snow.  My friend, Heather, said if it rained, she was going to bail.  The weather forecast kept pushing the time for the start of precipitation back further, so we decided to go.  Our friend, Denise, also offered to bring some cupcakes, so how could we resist?

We met up at the mouth of the canyon at 8:30am.  The wind lashed us to the bone.  We waited for our whole group to congregate so we could take our "before" picture.

After we took the picture, off we went to tackle the mountain.  Most of us had planned to go 8-10 miles.  With some of us running the upcoming Thankful 13 half marathon, some of us decided to taper and run a shorter distance.  The wind was not on our side today.  It continually howled throughout the morning, and only got worse the further up we went. 

We even reached a part in the road covered with snow and ice.

Heather and I decided to take it easy on the ice, knowing what clutzes we could be sometimes (ie Coyote Hollow - we pretty much hit just about every rock and root there was on the way up.  Thank goodness we didn't face plant!) 


We finally caught up to the faster group, who were singing "Happy Birthday" to our friend, Dave, as Heather and I arrived.  We ran into Brian, who was running 17 miles that day.  He said he had turned around because the wind got too cold for him to want to continue. 

We decided to take a few moments to assess our next moves.  Do we continue?  Or do we turn around and head back?

 

Ruthie did a good job of convincing us to go just one more mile.  So, up we went.  But as soon as we headed up, sleet came down upon us.  That ended the idea real quick!  Back to our cars we went.  Yay downhill!

Sleet then turned into rain.  I don't mind running in rain, but cold rain?  Not so much.  It's winter, and we're running in rain.  Yuck.  But you know what?  I didn't mind so much because I had all my wonderful running friends running with me.  It definitely made it more bearable!

Marisa & I enduring the rain

My hands were freeeeeeezing by the time we got back to our cars, but I felt great!  I had so much fun!  Then Denise brought out the cupcakes!  It made the agony of the cold, wind, sleet, rain, and ice all worth it!

haha... had to get a pic of my friend, Alberto, enjoying his cupcake in the bitter cold!

Thanks Denise!  Thanks, Dave, for giving us a reason to celebrate with cupcakes after a cold, wet, icky run!  And thank you Run Aways & Run4Fun for getting me out there on a day in which I would have slept in!  Love you all!

Yellow Fork Canyon Trail training run 11.15.14

My running group planned another trail run today, this time at Yellow Fork Canyon.  The original plan for Heather and I was to go 17 miles.  But, we decided later on to scale back and go 8-10 miles.

 I got up at 5:30am this morning to get ready to run.  I checked the weather forecast... and yes, snow it is!  I'm thinking... what the heck did I get myself into?  There's no turning back now.. I've already committed... and Alberto was on his way to pick me up for our carpool!


We were running a little bit late, but Robert texted me back to say he'd wait.  We got there and donned our gear.  Again, it was really hard for me to gauge what to wear since it was snowing!  I didn't want to end up sopping wet either.  
 


I was excited Brandy got to join us too!  :)

Heather, Me, Brandy

There were 15 of us to go out today.  Some of us were from the Run Aways, and some of us were from Run4Fun.  Some of us are from both groups.  

This run was definitely a lot harder than last week's Coyote Hollow run.  It didn't help that it was snowing either!  The first half of the run was pretty much all uphill.  And in the snow.  It felt much like running in sand.  But the scenery was beautiful and made it much easier to keep moving forward.

 

Towards the middle of the run, the snow started falling faster.  Don't you just love my frosted eyebrows?

The run was tough, but I'm glad Heather didn't let me quit!  We were supposed to go 8-10 miles today, but as we were heading up to the steep part, the early group going 17 miles had turned around.  We thought they were part of our group, so Heather, Brandy, Alberto, and I turned around too.  It was quite windy up there too, so we weren't sure if the rest of our group would go to the top either.  By the time we realized they were still heading to the top, we were about a mile away from where we headed back down.  So, we cut our run short and headed back to our cars.

I also wanted to share my thoughts on the SmartWool pants I recently invested in... holy cow!  They were so nice!  They kept my legs nice and toasty throughout the whole run!  It was a little cold once you stopped (since the wind was blowing), but they do make some with windproof material in them too.  I'm thrilled!  And... they don't hold in STANK!  Looking forward to acquiring more of the line to help me trudge through winter training!


And... my Altra Paradigms did pretty well in the snow today too!

Looking forward to more winter trail runs! 

Coyote Hollow Trail Training Run 11.08.14

I decided to take my running to a new level.  I've decided to challenge myself to be a better and stronger runner... and if that means going on group trail runs, so be it!  The past two days, my friend, Heather, and I ran the Salt Lake Running Light Up Liberty 5Ks to raise awareness for running safety.  Thursday's run was in Salt Lake (right in my neighborhood), and Friday's run was at Sandy, in Heather's stomping grounds.  Today, we made a pact to run this 10 mile trail run with our Run Aways group at Coyote Hollow at Corner Canyon.  Our teammate, Robert, invited us as he was joining the run alongside another local running group.

I picked up Heather and we headed down to the Draper Temple, as we weren't exactly sure where to meet.  It was soooooooooooooo cold!  As Robert made the turn around the corner, we followed down to the trail head.

We met up with the Life Time running group.  The sun was behind the clouds, so it was freezing!  I wasn't exactly sure what to wear since I was so cold, but I do tend to heat up pretty quickly. 

We took a little while to decide on which trail to take, but we finally got moving.  We headed up, and everyone went along at their own pace.  Heather and I hung out in the back.  What I love about this group though, is that nobody gets left behind.  There's always a checkpoint to make sure nobody gets lost or hurt along the way.

Another beautiful part about this trail was the view of the temple from the overlooks.

This trail run wasn't so bad.  It was cold at the start, but the weather couldn't have been any more perfect as the day progressed.  There were some tough parts, but the challenge will only make me a stronger runner.  And who could pass up being in nature?  I love it!  And whew, what a leg workout!

Salt Lake Running: Light Up Liberty 5K 11.06.14 (Salt Lake City) & 11.07.14 (Sandy)

Thursday, 11.06.14 - Salt Lake City run

I skipped my spinning class tonight to take part in Light Up Liberty, hosted by the Salt Lake Running Company.  What was nice about this race, was it was right down the road from where we live.  The races were to raise awareness for night running and safety for runners and the community.  I met Heather and Maria there.  And I ran into Shaylee, who's also a member of my running group.  I had only talked to her on FaceBook, but was excited to run the same event with her!

Maria, Me, Shaylee, Heather @ Light Up Liberty 5K 11.06.14

It was also Maria's birthday today!  Yay!  Happy birthday Maria!  It's also President Uchtdorff's birthday, and Ezra and my 4th year anniversary.  I know... I'm a horrible wife... running a race on our anniversary!  (But no worries... we went out for Sushi Burritos after!!!!)

Light Up Liberty had a 5 and 3 mile option.  Maria, Heather, and I opted for the 3.1 mile option since Maria's hip was hurting a bit.  We headed down 6th East to 1300 South and turned around and came back.  We waited around for the raffle at 7:30pm and then celebrated Maria's birthday with cake!  :)  We finally caught up with Joshua, Jill, and Elsha.

Heather, Maria, Joshua, Elsha, Jill, Me

Get it?  Get it?  :P

Friday, 11.07.14 - Sandy Run

On Friday night, Heather and I did it all again.  The race took place around the South Town Expo Centre and we ran on the Porter Rockwell Trail.  This run was a little more hilly than yesterday's, but it wasn't bad at all.

 

After the race, we walked around the fun expo they had going on there.  We scored some free gear and I stocked up on some Core Power!  Yummmmmmm!   Tomorrow, we run 10 miles at Coyote Hollow!  Fun fun!  :D