Porter Rockwell and Draper Canal Trails - Loop run

Today I had a long run scheduled with Leslie Peterson and her dog Odee. We were meeting at a new location - a park across from the start of the Porter Rockwell Trail. Since Les was running a bit late, I checked out some of the loop trails around that little park as a warmup.

We started our run on the Porter Rockwell Trail and at .8 mile, took the branch off to the Draper Canal Trail. Odee decided he wanted to stop right as I was going through a gate - so he made me do a graceful face plant. We ran the 2.6 miles on the Draper Canal Trail until its end. I was able to run along the edge a lot of the time to get some trail miles in. At that point, we walked up to the Porter Rockwell Trail.

We headed southwest on PR trail to its end at Point of the Mountain. Odee and I did a couple of fun runs up some dirt hills and I stayed on the edge whenever I could. It was very cold and windy when we reached the end of this trail, so we turned around and headed back. I did a lot more exploring and trail running across the dirt fields.

Odee was starting to struggle during the run back on the PR trail. We took it to the end, at which point Les headed out. We switched waist packs for a while - because she was really frustrated with hers and wanted to try mine out.

I was feeling pretty bouncy after 12+ miles of running and had been running pretty slow to stay with Les the last 5 miles. I ran the 1.75 miles back to the South Mountain bridge at a really good clip - staying for the most part between 9:30 and 10:00 minute miles. Not bad for late in a long run and generally uphill section. I was thinking of slowing down on the way back - but my legs still had power and my lungs weren't too bad. I stayed between 8:40 and 9:30 minute miles for the remainder of the PR trail.

Ran a couple more laps around the longest trail in the little park as a cooldown.

Draper Canal Trail

I ran a short stretch of the Draper Canal Trail last night and headed back this afternoon to see how long it actually was and where it ran in relation to the Porter Rockwell Trail. The start of the Draper Canal Trail is about 3/4 of a mile in on the Porter Rockwell Trail. It is 2.6 miles in length and is a gentle incline (in one direction). It ends up just one block below the former end of the Porter Rockwell Trail - at Bangerter Highway.

More Porter Rockwell Trail

I was on a mission tonight to find out how long the Porter Rockwell Trail really is. The trail - according to all the literature and Google Earth - supposedly ends at the Bangerter Highway crossing in Draper, but since Leslie and I crossed the road and ran it further, we knew that all that data was out of date.

I started from Bangerter Highway and headed southwest on the trail. It turns out that it runs another 2 miles along the Frontage Road and near the freeway (I-15) and ends up at Geneva Rock by Point of the Mountain. I enjoyed this stretch although it was a bit windy. I was able to run on the side of the trail on gravel, dirt and sand which gave my legs and feet some 'trail time'.

It is important to train on surfaces that you will be racing on. If you are going to do a road race, you have to spend some time running on roads so your body gets used to the pounding. If you are going to do a trail race, you need trail time, so your muscles and joints get used to the softer and constantly varying surfaces.

Second longest mileage week

I finished up the 6 day period (with one rest day out of the 6) with 65+ miles this week. It was good to see that I am in relatively good shape for the 50 miler, but I am really glad that tomorrow is a rest day.

2009 Utah Grand Slam

While driving to Park City with Les this morning, we decided that we are going to run the Grand Slam this summer. The schedule for 2009 is as follows:

2009 UTAH GRAND SLAM OFFICIAL FOUR MARATHONS

Ogden Marathon - May 16, 2009
Utah Valley Marathon - June 13, 2009
Park City Marathon - August 22, 2009

Top of Utah - September 19, 2009 - Alternate Marathon

St. George Marathon - October 3, 2009

I did the Grand Slam 2 years ago - but really hated the Deseret News Marathon. I was actually thinking of running the Utah Valley Marathon (I think this is its second year) - and hearing that it was on the list made this a no brainer.

I will push on Ogden and St. George and use Utah Valley and Park City as long training runs. It will be fun to try a new marathon this year - Utah Valley. Plus, it will give me a chance to visit with my dad.

Book Review

Living Successfully With Screwed-Up People (by Elizabeth B Brown)

I've been reading this book the last 2 weeks as I walk on my treadmill at night. It is a well written and easily read book. I wish I had read this many years ago, but I honestly was probably not ready to read in until 2005 or 2006.

For anyone who has dealt with or deals with a Screwed-Up Person (SUP) - I highly recommend this book. If you have relationships at home or work that involve a person that emotionally is able to manipulate you, this book will help provide techniques for how to deal with them.

Hill Repeats

For anyone who has never run an ultramarathon, the basic rules are "Walk the uphills, run the flats and downhills". However, the more uphills you get used to running, the better your cardio and strength becomes.

I decided to start doing a hill workout every week or two. Today I found a hill that was about .4 miles long with some steep section and ran this hill 3 times. Then I headed over to another hill and ran this short, much steeper hill 2 times.

The plan is to get so that I can do more hill repeats with more speed as the body adjusts. The downhill portions are used as a recovery section on the run.