A.M. - No, I didn't run a marathon this morning...Well, the distance was equivalent, but it was just a training run. The only reason I went this far today is because that's just how long the route was. It wasn't a hard effort either. This was basically my standard 8.5 mile LC park and ride out-and-back done 3 times with slight variations in the middle to account for a little extra distance. I haven't done this route since my NYC buildup in 2010. For my long runs, I usually opt for the route that I did last Saturday (2 times around the extended LC Road/Wasatch Drive triangle). Though a bit monotonous, the advantage to this route over the other one is that it makes it more convenient to get water/Gu twice instead of just once (I don't like to carry stuff with me and I'm too lazy to go place bottles on the course unless its my front yard) and still affords similar elevation changes. Lots of folks out this morning. Tons of bikers and runners. Relatively nice temps this morning and I felt pretty good. Total time was just over 2:54. Average pace of ~6:40. Busy day today, but hoping I'll have the energy and time to do a bit of a ride later on.
P.M. - 50 mile bike ride up Big Cottonwood to Brighton and then to the end of the paved road up Guardsman's Pass. Awesome ride. The last little bit of Guardman's get pretty tough. I'll definitely want to come up here again. I refilled my water at the 7-11 at the bottom of the canyon and toyed with the idea of trying to go up Little Cottonwood a little bit, but by the time I got the electric sign, I decided I was out of juice, so I wussed-out and went home. I really need to be putting in some more cycling miles. I have a feeling the Ultimate Challenge is going to be really tough.... I got some good climbing in going up to Guardman's. About 4,700 vertical feet give or take from the mouth of the canyon. | 