Guardsman Pass and Sheepdog Trials

I was thrilled when Leslie Petersen called me yesterday and suggested a running adventure for Labor Day. I've been feeling sorry for myself because it seems like I have very few friends and am too often alone - so having someone to hang with on a holiday cheered me up.

I drove over to Leslie and Harold's house at 7 a.m. and we loaded up their SUV. Harold drove us up to the top of Guardsman Pass and Leslie and I started the run down. I worried the first half mile because it was pretty steep and I was having to use the quads fairly heavy to 'brake' myself, but then the downhills eased up.

We were able to run most of the time - I think we started throwing in occasional walk breaks around mile 5 or 6. I'm sure our quads will complain tomorrow, but it was great downhill training for Leslie for St. George. We had planned to run between 9-13 miles, but Leslie decided she wanted to get to the second part of our adventure while it was still overcast, so at 8.65 miles we called it quits. We had just reached Midway at that point in our run.

Part 2 involved the Grand Championships of the Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Competition. These dogs and their handlers are pretty amazing. The dog is totally controlled by whistling commands and a few verbal commands. They had 24 minutes to gather 2 different herds of 8 sheep each, put them through various gates and other maneuverings. A very tough workout. The last two teams we watched ended up taking gold and bronze in the competition - so we got to see some of the best.

I'm going to hold off taping my foot again until Friday when I run part of the Wasatch 100 course to cheer on runners. Some skin came off with the tape today - so my skin definitely needs a break.

All in all - it has been a great weekend.