(Dreaming of) Running in the Tetons

I ran along the bike path to Smith's again but this time I went further. I turned around at the community gardens then stopped at the high school track and ran a mile there. It was the first time I've run on a track since October, last season of cross country. Can't say that I have missed the track one bit at all... the last mile of my run was killing me. I think it was the heat. It was really hot, I went in the middle of the day - stupid me. My ankle didn't bother me at all! I hope I don't hurt in backpacking this week.

Today I hiked into Death Canyon. It is so steep! It's killer! ah! Especially with three days worth of backpacking equipment strapped to your back. But! It's gorgeous up there so definitely worth it! We saw a cinnamon colored black bear at the overlook, very cute!

Today we went up to Static Peak. It was amazing! Again, very steep but extremely worth it. From the top, you have an awesome view! You can see the Grand Teton, Buck Mountain, Alaska Basin, lots of good stuff! After, we jumped in the river behind the cabin - brrr! It's freezing! But an excellent way to get clean(er) while one is camping.

Today we hiked out of Death Canyon. The switchbacks from where the trail splits to the overlook are insanely hard! Trey (who I was right behind and trying to stay with) was haulin up them so that was quite the workout!

Today I went up hanging canyon. It was steep which made up for the lack of mileage. It was really pretty and way fun!

Today I did the classic zoo run. I ran into Alec Turner and his friend Dave, who were running with Highlands xc team. I ran with them for maybe a half mile. They helped me get a good pace going and then I was able to keep a fairly steady pace. I was definitely feeling the change in elevation, it was awesome! Jackson is 2,000 feet higher so coming down here made running a breeze!

Today I ran along the bike path. I pushed myself so I think i got a pretty good pace going!

Today we summited a mountain... or a peak... or maybe it was just Timber Island... We just hiked around Timber Island for quite awhile, since I guess we didn't have much else to do. It was nice and shady from all of the timber so that was quite pleasant!

We hiked near Jackson Lake to Herminage point then got to swim in the lake! It was a cloudy day so that helped with not being too hot but some sun would have been nice for the swimming!

Today we went to Phelps Lake, via the usual route of going up a mile, then down switchbacks but we had to hike up the switchbacks at the end of the day which is always a fun haul...

Wow running today was really hard after about 8 miles. I have a bad cold so I couldn't breath too well and my nose was really stuffy. But i kept on running! One week until my half marathon, at least I know I can do 13 miles. Hopefully I'll be over my cold by next Saturday because I'm not sure I can race if I'm sick.

Today was my first day back to cross country. We met at Sugarhouse Park and ran the 2 mile loop for a warm up. Then we did a circuit, followed by 5 1000's. Bill had me aiming for 4:15-4:25, I did pretty well keeping in that range:
1- 4:23
2- 4:20
3- 4:25
4- 4:27
5- 4:21
I didn't expect cross country to be easy, especially coming back after a summer without speed workouts so I felt pretty good about today. We cooled down with another 2 mile lap around the park. When we were almost done with that, I heard my ankle pop and it gave a bit of a surge of pain. It's still swollen, it's now been swollen since June so 2 months. It hasn't hurt recently so I thought it was getting better, I hope it is and this was just a random thing...

We ran on the Shoreline Trail today, across from the Zoo. I was feeling really tight and sore for about the first mile then I loosened up and felt like I had a really good run. I ran with Bre and Susannah, the whole run took me about 55 minutes. I still have this stupid cold, I think it's getting a little better. My ankle is defintely still swollen. It almost looks like it's a bit more swollen. Maybe the pop I heard yesterday wasn't a a good thing...

Today we hiked up to Desolation Lake. It was 6 miles to the lake then we hiked a different way down so we didn't have to hike back uphill. I rolled my ankle (The ankle, the one that's swollen and sore) and now it's even more swollen and sore. I have my half marathon on Saturday so I hope that my ankle feels better by then. I've been icing it today so cross your fingers! It was a fun hike, aside from the ankle injury.

Today was my half marathon! It was perfect running weather, a bit cold at the beginning though. My ankle didn't bother me much at all, I noticed it a little but once I got into my run I forgot about it. My left sock slipped down and was rubbing pretty bad, which hurt, so I had to stop and fix that. My foot was bleeding so that wasn't too good... I felt pretty strong throughout the whole race, especially at the turnaround. Adrenaline definitely kicked in there!. The last few miles were probably the hardest but that always seems to be the case with longer distances. I won my age group - Womens 15-18! So that was very exciting! I'm pretty sore now, but I'm just way excited that I finished my first half marathon.

Today we ran our warm up on the track then had speed workout.For that, we ran a mile then did 2 800s. Bre and I were both still way sore from our half marathoning over the weekend so Bill gave us a little slower times to hit. For the mile, we were aiming for 7 minutes, I ran 6:55. For the 800s, we aimed for 3:20 and I ran 3:18 & 3:19. For our cool down, we ran a loop up Sunnyside, along Foothill, down 5th South and along 13th East. Bre and I had to stop a few times to stretch out of calves.

Today was the first after school cross country practice. We ran up to the drinking fountain by Shriner's hospital. It was so hot outside! I was feeling really sore and tense for the first half but coming back I loosened up and it was a lot better (probably because it was also downhill!) When we got back to the track we ran 10 100m strides then ran a 300m five seconds apart. The idea was to catch the person infront of you and if you did, you didn't have to run a second one. I caught Ashleigh on my first so was able to stop. I'm going to have to get somewhat used to running in this heat and today wasn't even as hot as it usually is... yikes!

     Today was our first Cross Country meet. Everyone did awesome! Especially the girls who were running their first meet. I felt like I had a pretty strong run and kept my pace fairly consistant. The blister on my left foot from the Park City Half was hurting and bleeding so that wasn't fun but after awhile I stopped noticing it - I think it just became completely numb. It was also pretty hot, but not quite as hot as it was last year at Wheeler Farm. It's not too fun to run past a swimming pool (twice!) while you're dying in the heat!
     After the race we did 10 hills while cheering on our guys then ran a 15 minute cool down. We won with a score of 16, so one off of a perfect score, which is better than we ever did last year.

AM: we ran 6.25 miles this morning, we ran to Sugarhouse, did a lap around the perimeter, then ran back. I ran with Amanda most of the way. When we got back to the track, we did 5 strides.

PM: after school we ran up to Sunnyside park, ran a 2 mile warm up, which was 2 laps around the park. Next we did a tempo run, where we were aiming for a minute slower per mile than our race times. I ran about 16  minutes, which is an 8 minute mile. Yesterday, I ran 7:20 minute miles (average) for the race so I was pretty much right on. After the tempo run we did 2 sets of circuits then a 2 mile warm up. Thanks to Zach I had a lovely branch in my hair which bobbed infront of my face the whole cool down, haha.

I'm in Jackson! This morning when we went running, around 8:30, it was about 40 degrees, which is a bit cold for my personal 50 degree and above tank top rule but I didn't plan for cold running weather. It actually felt really good as we ran out along the Elf Refuge road, just past the Miller House. Then we made our way over to Cache Creek and ran maybe a mile up there, my dad and I sprinted up a few hills. 2 deer ran across the road infront of us there. My left shin has been hurting a little when I run lately so I'm icing it now. The swelling on my right ankle has gone down significantly! Now I just need to make sure I don't twist it again. I didn't notice the altitude too much (2,000 ft higher than SLC) which is probably good.

Today I hiked 20 miles with my mom, Ben, and Chrissy. We went up Open Canyon and looped over Mt. Hunt divide and down through Granite Canyon. It rained a bit during the hike, but we had pretty good weather. It rained all last night so everything was very green and gorgeous! There were yummy blue berries, raspberries, and huckleberries which was exciting then we saw 3 moose. My ankle hurt a bit, especially pounding on the downhill but it's not anymore swollen than it was before I started, so that's good. My calves are sore but too but I think that's to be expected after 20 miles.