SLC Half Marathon - 2017 edition

Friday: rest day, with some gentle hiking with my friend Lois in Red Butte Garden. Awesome.

Saturday: Salt Lake City Half Marathon!

I woke ready to go and feeling pretty good. Had a banana and grabbed my stuff, but forgot my Garmin. At least I have my fitbit, but I can't do splits on it. Oh well! I didn't mind too much as I was doing this just as a training race. I was excited to get out there and enjoy the camaraderie, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Started off low 40s (~5C) and sunny and calm, and ended at probably 50F (10C).

Took it easy for the first 5 miles (a couple small steep uphills but mostly gentle downhill), and then through mile 6.5 it's a relentless though gentle uphill. That takes a lot out of you, but I took it easy and it was OK. A little more downhill and then one more difficult uphill (hard to racewalk legally near the top) before coasting down to mile 8-9. The kids were supposed to greet me at mile 8.5 but didn't :/ ah well.

I still felt pretty good in miles 8-10; legs got pretty tired around mile 10 but I took a gel and that seemed to revive me a bit (or it was just a coincidence!). Either way, I was able to do the last couple miles pushing it just a little (moderate-moderately hard) and I felt very good - tired, but good. After crossing the finish line I felt fine and recovered well the rest of the day, although it was a bit of a crazy schedule. Church stuff has been super busy with being on the search committee for a new pastor, and we had a lot of stuff to do this weekend, so that made recovery harder, but I am hoping to sleep well tonight.

Oh, and my time? A reasonably respectable 2:21:37 - for out of shape and just enough training to go the distance, I will take that. Fitbit data here. 

I'm definitely sore today, probably from the hills and the extra effort the last couple miles, but it's a good kind of sore. Hoping to hit the gym for some weights this week and do a lot of cross-training. Onward! Need to get ready for Portland to Coast in August, and then still setting my sights on WMA in Malaga, Spain in 2018.

18K at the Oval

Yesterday: ~35 min elliptical, plus did some hiking at Red Butte Garden (~30 min) very, very easy with a friend (she's in her mid-60s and a little frail for her age). 

Today: 18K on tap, and with it raining (hard) and 40F (4C), I opted for the indoor comfort of the Olympic Oval. It was odd today as there was no ice (!) just concrete where the 400m speed skating track usually is; I guess they have to redo the ice occasionally. So, no long track speed skaters to watch, though there were a few short track skaters on the two hockey rinks in the center of the oval. The track is 442m and so for me 6:30-6:45/km would be about 2:53-2:59 per lap. I was hoping to stay in that range, and I did overall, though there were a number of slower laps. Sigh. My legs were kind of tired by 10k, but not terrible; still, I wasn't feeling strong today. I also didn't feel awful, so I will take it :). No GI distress at all, which is great. Last week after my 16K I had problems, and also had some trouble after the 14K the week before, so no trouble is good news. 

I was slow, getting to 5K about 33 min and change, 10K about 1:06 and change, 15K in 1:40:40 or so, and 18K in 2:01:17. My pace overall was 6:44/km, which is a lot slower than I'd like to be, but my HR was mostly in the low to mid 150s (average was 149, but that reflects short stops for gel/water 4 times during the workout, I think) and I felt I was pushing the pace a little. The reality is that after not training for a long time, and increasing in age, I'm not going to be fast. But I'm glad I could train and prep some more for the half marathon in a few weeks. It will be slow, but at least I can do it, which is the main thing. 

Garmin data here.

Canyonlands 5-miler; feeling better

I've been feeling better since mid-February or so, which is great. I've been trying to get more sleep, but other than that I'm not sure what the difference is. It seems kind of random, as it has for the past 4 years, so I guess I'm just happy to be feeling better.

On Saturday (the 18th) I did the Canyonlands 5-miler. I was originally registered for the half marathon, but after the 2 weeks of fatigue in January I had to drop to the 5-miler. I was a bit bummed about that, but glad I could at least still do something. Calvin was slated for the 5-miler as was my friend Diane, so that worked well; plus, the weather was crazy warm on Saturday and the people doing the half really suffered at the end, so I guess it all worked out for the best.

I have actually been able to ramp up my long day just a little the past few weeks, from 8km to 10km, and so I decided to do 12km on race day. I did 2km out and back before the race started, and had the whole road to myself, which was absolutely stunning (at left). I got back just about 1min before the gun went off (perfect timing!) and then did the 8km of the race. My total time worked out to 6:36/km for the 12km, which was great considering how out of shape I am and also the hills and the warmth of the day, which I'm not used to yet.

Calvin and Diane had very good races and placed well in their age groups, I got Loren a couple beers at the finish line beer garden, and Grace enjoyed playing on the playground in the park, so we all had a great time. Plus add in some great food, swimming/hot tub at the hotel, and some amazing hikes (Saturday: Tower Arch; Sunday: Delicate Arch) and it was a great weekend. The only downer was the crazy 4WD road in Arches that totally tore up our car (eeek!); it was designed for high clearance vehicles but there was no sign advertising this and so we were in over our heads in our Rav4. Fortunately Loren was quite skillful so we didn't get stuck or roll the car (both very real possibilities on this crazy road) and the only damage was to our muffler. We got it fixed today for $182 so that could've been a lot worse.

More pics:

Delicate Arch

Pasta Jay's (Calvin's fave!)

***

Monday I did some elliptical to let my body recover.

Today I went out for a gentle 6K and my legs were still a little sore from the hiking, etc. so I wasn't surprised to be a bit slow at 6:48/km. But it felt fine and I plan on 8K on Thursday and 14K on Saturday. Fingers crossed to keep feeling good as I have a race registration for the Salt Lake Half in April and I can do it if things keep going all right.

Off to bed - I have been finding that extra sleep is very helpful with the fatigue thing.

hiking; 15K

Yesterday: the only cross-training I can realistically do right now is hiking. Running gives me IT band problems, I don't have a bike with me, and don't have access to a gym. So that leaves hiking. Which, fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to do. Plus it's making my glutes work hard and get stronger, which is fantastic. Yesterday we hiked to Bumpass Hell. Yep, you read that right! Back in the late 1800s a guy with the name of Kendall Bumpass (!) was showing some tourists the area, and cautioning them not to step in certain spots, when he broke through the thin crust, burning his leg severely. It's a volcanic hotspot and has all kinds of geothermal activity. Really very interesting place; a lot like a mini-Yellowstone, complete with vile sulfurous odor (Grace hated it and claimed she was sorry she came on the hike! The rest of us didn't like the odor but the place sure was fascinating). It was a total of about 5K with 178m elevation gain, so it was a good hike. Garmin data here. 

Today: I asked the KOA campground hosts where a good place to run was (I rarely try to explain that I'm a racewalker...too much trouble) and they pointed me to a subdivision a mile down the road from camp that had all the infrastructure built when the recession hit, so then no homes were ever put there. It was a good place to walk. Paved roads, and no cars, with just a few dog-walkers out there with me. It had some rolling hills, but nothing around here is flat, so you get what you get: good training for Portland-to-Coast. Guess what though? It went great!!! I felt pretty good except for a bit of GI distress, which was solved for the most part by pausing to allow my innards to settle and drinking some water. But nothing severe, and my legs held up well, tiring a bit in the last 5k but definitely keeping good speed. I worked a lot on my posture especially when doing the hills - a good chance to think extra about form. On the last 5K, I really tried to book it up the hills, figuring that I'd get a rest when I was done and that I needed to push and see what time I could get. A good one! First 5K was 31:16, second 31:27, and third 31:13 for total of 1:33:57. Yup. Faster than 15K nationals in May. Happy me! I really hope this holds up so that I can keep training well. I am excited to get back in shape again :) :) :).

Garmin data here. 

***

After that, made breakfast (french toast) for the family, and then we went to Kids' Free Fishing Day at Grace Lake. Yeah, there's a lake named for our girl ;). It was challenging for the kids at first, but there were lots of people there to help them ('cause I don't know anything about fishing and Loren knew a bit more but not too much either!) and they caught 3 fish (Calvin) and 4 fish (Grace). Plus the people next to us gave us some of theirs; they like to catch fish but don't eat them. So we now have 15 smallish trout for dinner. Yum!

hiking; 10K

Yesterday: cross-training - hiked Garfield Peak at Crater Lake with Calvin. It was an amazingly beautiful hike; Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and it's so vividly blue. It was formed over 7000 years ago when Mt. Mazama, then 12000ft tall, blew its top in an eruption 100 times greater than Mt. St. Helens in 1980. The mountain collapsed all around the caldera, and then the resultant hole filled up with water over the next few centuries. Now it's a beautiful lake, though still geologically active (there are hydrothermal vents on the lake floor). Someday it could become explosively active again, but in the meantime it's a great place to visit. The hike was 6km round-trip, with 412m elevation gain according to my Garmin. Calvin and I made it to the top in about 45 minutes, at a moderate hiking pace, and we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Garmin data here. 

Today: Jim wanted me to do 10k at about a 6:15/km pace. We are now camping in Mt. Shasta City, which is at about 3600-3800 feet of elevation (a bit lower than at home), but there is nary a flat spot in the city. I knew this one was going to be tough with the hills, but I figured it'd be good training for Portland-to-Coast next month. I set out thinking that if the hills were too tough I could just work hard and get my HR a bit higher than I usually would and that would be good. But guess what? I hammered those hills! I was able to do the 10K in 1:01:57, which is the fastest 10K I've done in a LONG time at 6:11/km. The total elevation gain was 108m over 3 large hills. I am proud of how well I did those hills, and my legs were even a bit sore (just normal DOMS) from yesterday's hike. YES!!!! My ave HR was 152 according to my Garmin; that seems lowish as it felt like it was in upper  150s most of the time, but I did stop a little here and there to consult my map so that might be it.

Nice weather; a bit warmish at the end but it was 17.2C (63F) to start and probably 68F when I finished.

Garmin data here. 

cross-training bonanza!

Sunday: rest day

Monday: elliptical 30 min, then hiking! Took the day off work (will work Friday instead; Friday is the observed Independence Day holiday) and hiked with my uncle, his wife, and my mom. Awesome. We hiked from Alta ski resort base up to Secret Lake, which is at 3011m (9878ft) by my Garmin; the start of the hike was at 2647m (8684ft), so while it wasn't a huge elevation change, it was a good amount. We did go very slowly, since I am the youngest by 17 years! We saw amazing scenery, a mama moose and her baby, lots of wildflowers, and of course the lake. Total distance was about 8.4km.

sorta rest day :)

I went hiking today with the kids. Not hard, but my muscles are definitely sore from the race yesterday and so I definitely noticed the activity. But I'm a believer in working sore muscles just a bit - it actually seems to help ease the soreness if you hit the sweet spot. The 4-hr car ride home after the hike? Well, that, not so much...I drove my friend Diane home in her car (hubby drove our car home) because she fell at mile 7 and broke her nose, and really wasn't in good condition to drive. But there's none of the weird soreness, or very very little, so I'm not too concerned.

Other than the 3 mile (5km) hike and the drive, I rested. So, it was a sorta rest day :).

My coach actually gave me a schedule for TWO weeks. He hasn't done that in a long time, because I was too unpredictable. Here's hoping I can do it, and that things continue to go well. I'm pasting the schedule here in case I need the reference.

x-train tomorrow, 6km + 5 x 85% effort 200s tuesday, fartlek wed, 5 x 1km fri, 12km sat

the next week:
Mon 10km Tues 5 x 1km Thurs 8km fartlek Fri 6km + 5 x 85% effort 200s Sat 16km

Bear's hump; 8k plus 5x200; stationary bike; 5k fartlek and hike

Have a lot to catch up on. Can't download from my watch right now because need my laptop to do that and nowhere to charge it here. Blogging from my phone, which is less than ideal but works in a pinch. So now to catch up.

Sunday was a rest day but I couldn't resist the Bear's Hump hike in Waterton NP in Canada. Short hike at 1.1km each way, but with 240m of elevation gain it was quite steep with many stairs. Great glute workout. Took about 20 min hiking quickly with Calvin and the view was SO worth it. Let's see if I can post a picture. Uh, no. Not happening. Well it's on Facebook if you are my FB friend.

Monday my legs were a bit sore from the hike, but not too bad. At least it was different muscles than RW. I had 8k plus 5x200 @85% effort. The 8k was lovely - saw a deer and 2 fawns and had a great time exploring Wateron with Calvin, who came along. Though I was a bit sore and started a little slowly it went well and I did it at a 6:14/km pace for a total time of 49:23, I think.

Later on Monday we went to Lake Cameron and worked my legs some more with an hour in the paddle boat. Uh, that was a surprisingly tough quad workout!

Tuesday I did the stationary bike at the hotel for 30 min, followed by a very short hike at Red Canyon. It was only about 10-15 min hike and then I relaxed by soaking my feet in the icy stream, because it was a warm day. Later we drive back to the US and set up camp in the St. Mary area of Glacier NP.

This morning I did a 5k fartlek on a somewhat flattish road out front of or campground. My legs were pretty tired and though I started well with 2:49 and 2:51 I slowed down pretty quickly and my other fast 500s were something like 2:52, 2:57, 2;58 and 2:53. My medium 500s were better than last week with the slowest one about 3:08, but I felt very tired and my legs had no turnover today. Still, I finished in 29:41, a couple seconds faster than last week. I'll take that.

Calvin wanted to hike in Many Glacier today, and so even though I know I have 8k tomorrow I decided to hike a nice one with him. It was pretty level for a hike, with only a small amount of elevation change, but it was on the long side at 11km and 2hr hiking very briskly. The payoff? Two beautiful glacial lakes and two moose - one a bull moose with an enormous rack, swimming!!! We also saw a deer very close to the trail.

After the hike (which was just me and Calvin), the four of us decided to canoe in Swiftcurrent Lake. That was an amazing hour! We rented canoes and it was so much better than the paddle boats! We loved it. To top off a great day, we then saw a couple of bears feeding on a hillside - from our car - and watched them with binoculars. Nice!

Tomorrow - 8k might be interesting, but it was worth it to enjoy the things I did today.

hiking; 14K

Yesterday: Hiked 11.2km with Calvin on the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park. I have to say that that trail was one of the most beautiful I've ever hiked, rivaling Observation Point Trail in Zion. It was a amazing, hiking along the edge of the Garden Wall above Going-to-the-Sun Road. We hiked the trail to the highest point at the saddle, and then went back. You can hike it as a loop, but then it's 11.8 miles, and Jim thought that'd be too far for me to hike with 14K racewalking planned the next day. And you know what? We got great views and it was honestly just the right amount of hiking. Awesome.

Highline trail hike data.



Today: 14K was the assigned workout. I was as ready as I was going to be. It was chilly here this morning in northern Montana - 43F (6C) - and I could see my breath. I wore a long sleeved shirt and gloves and took off both at about 3km when I warmed up. I decided to walk by Lake Five again because it was really beautiful out there, and though you can't see the lake from the road (lots of trees), the forest is lovely and the road is paved (mostly) and quiet. I say mostly paved, because there was about a 2km stretch each way (I did out and back) that was packed dirt with some gravel. Not the best for RW, but it wasn't awful either. However, the route was quite hilly. My Garmin says it was about 94-96m total elevation gain (and loss, since I did out and back), which is definitely significant. I figured it would be OK since I need to do some hills for Portland-to-Coast, and also there isn't much choice around here. Hilly, or nothing!

When I started out, I had a pretty serious muscle spasm in my upper left calf. I stopped to massage it but that didn't help much. I am not sure if it was from yesterday's hike or what, but it kept on and got worse until about 4.5km. I was considering whether to continue, and then it started to feel better and improved the rest of the time that I was out. I was thankful for that!

All in all, except for the hills (all of which were racewalk-able - barely, sometimes) it was a lovely walk. I couldn't ask for more.

Total time 1:30:12 for 6:26/km with ave HR 150. I was at 6:23/km through 12km but then that last uphill nearly did me in ;). Below, a photo of a typical part of my route today.

14K Garmin data here.

rest day, 8K, rest day, 5K fartlek

Sunday: rest day

Monday: 8K hilly course. We are traveling and have left the house and dog with my friend Jill the awesome house-sitter. It's a perfect exchange as she wanted somewhere to stay, and we wanted to have someone stay at the house. Win-win. Plus she's even cleaning it a bit for me [blush] as yeah, I don't have time. Anyway, we are in Montana at Glacier National Park, and I took Calvin with me and racewalked from our campground to a cool lake called Lake Five and back again. Awesome. Hilly, and a little warm (mid-60s but sunny and more humid than I'm used to). I still did a 6:25/km pace for 51:19 with average HR 148.

Garmin data here.

Later in the day, went hiking with Calvin to Hidden Lake. Should've put it on my Garmin but forgot. It was a lovely hike with about 700ft of elevation gain in 1.5 miles. The hike was challenging because there was still a lot of snow up there and we were trekking through it  trying not to slip and slide. We saw a ton of really cool mountain goats, and the view of the lake at the end was incredible. Sorry, no pics because I haven't downloaded them yet. Hard to do as computer time is at a minimum because there's really nowhere to plug in that is convenient (I'm sitting at the campground pool right now and there are a couple plugs here - charging computer and camera battery). I can get online on my phone easily enough but the wifi here is not so good at our campsite, which is fine, honestly - not here to do that stuff except occasionally. We'll be in a hotel this weekend and I'll do more photos then.

Tuesday: rest day. I needed to cross-train, but really have no options here. The pool is too small for laps, and I couldn't bring my bike. I guess I could run, but running = IT band problems, so… yeah, that leaves some hiking, which we didn't do on Tuesday. Ah, well. Rest isn't a bad thing, as long as I eat well, which I did.

Wednesday (today): 5K fartlek. Warmed up for 1500m with strides in 9:31, and it felt stiff to start, but legs were good by the time I was done warming up. I walked on a slight incline - the flattest road I could find nearby, at the front of the campground. There was a 500m stretch that included perhaps 50m on gravel (packed) and 6m between the lowest and highest points, according to my Garmin. Not ideal, but not too bad. I chose to do the hard efforts on the downhill and the medium efforts on the uphill. That worked OK; my hard efforts were pretty fast at 2:48-2:51, but the medium efforts were slower than usual at 3:06, 3:07, 3:09, and 3:14 (yeah, I was tired on that last one). Plus, I'm not in good shape (yet), so I expect slower recoveries. Total time was 29:43, with a very high average HR of 169. Yeah, I was pushing it. The weather was good - mid-60s - but humid and sunny, so I did feel hot. Maybe that contributed?

Garmin data here.

We did another hike today, so call that cross-training for yesterday :). Today's hike was about 6 miles (~10K) with a 500ft elevation gain, ending at beautiful Lake Avalanche. Highly recommend. The kids played in the water for an hour while I hung out on the beach, relaxing and taking photos. Garmin data for the hike here - but some is missing because of poor satellite reception in the heavy tree cover.

challenging week

It was a challenging week. Vacation is always interesting - with more opportunities, but also more difficulties.

The soccer game on Sunday with Calvin did change my week a bit. It definitely left me sore and off-kilter, and then I followed that up with a hilly walk Monday (which actually was good, in retrospect). After that I felt I needed a day off racewalking, so I used the hotel elliptical. Big mistake. It was so different from the ellipticals at my gym! I don't know what it was about the angle of the foot plates or something - but it used my calf muscles way way more than I am used to. By that evening they were screaming, and continued to be excruciatingly painful for several days. It hurt just to walk across a room. A lot. They were tender to the touch and extremely sensitive. This left me in a quandary. I wanted to exercise - let's face it, food was going to be difficult this week, and exercise was essential - but exercise was also painful.

If you have been reading this blog any length of time, you won't be surprised that I went out and exercised anyway. Mentally, I needed it. It was painful, but on Christmas Day (Wednesday), I race walked 6.86km at a slow 6:55/km pace. My average HR was only 136 --- you can see that the problem was my sore legs, not my cardiac conditioning! To make matters worse, I had consumed a fair amount of chocolate prior to going out (hey, it was Christmas!), and I got nauseated about 2/3 of the way into my walk. That slowed me even more, but I was still glad I went out. When I got back to my brother's house (we were visiting him in northern California), my mom wanted to go for a casual walk with me. I rested up for a bit and the nausea subsided and then enjoyed a very nice walk with her. The weather was SO lovely - mid 60s (17C) and sunny. I was almost hot on my racewalk, even though I wore shorts and a T-shirt. Ahhhhh. The warm weather was fantastic.

The next day, my calves were still screaming, but I knew I had to try to exercise. The elliptical was out of the question. The kids wanted to swim in the pool at the hotel, and I wanted to walk with my mom. Solution? The exercise room had a window to the pool, so my mom and I walked on treadmills in there while watching the kids in the pool. Awesome, except that I hate the treadmill. I lasted for 30 min of good racewalking at a very slow pace (5.5 mph - 10:54/mile, which is just under 7min/km --- keep in mind that RW on the treadmill is IMO ridiculously more difficult than RW on the street) before I quit. Later that day, because I am crazy? Stupid? Forgetful? I did a very hilly hike with my brother, his wife, and Calvin. It was an awesome hike and I'm glad I went, but it did make the calf problem worse for sure. We hiked up and then did some trail running on the way down. Calvin and Alex were waaaaay ahead of me but it was still a good time.

On Friday my calves were certainly not any better for having done the trail hike/run. So I race walked anyway! I enjoyed a somewhat painful racewalk on a lovely trail over to Discovery Park in Sacramento, near our hotel. I managed 6K in 38:01 for 6:20/km with ave HR 139, which was not bad at all considering the amount of pain I was in for the first 500m. You'll notice that split was rather slow… as was the 2nd 500m because of a hill up over a bridge. Mostly the route was flat (Sacramento is very flat) but there were a few inclines on the road due to overpasses etc.

Saturday I took a rest day, because I knew I had to sit in the car all day while we drove home (10 hour drive). My legs don't tolerate car rides after RW these days. They don't tolerate car rides much at all, come to think of it, though that seems to be improving slightly.

This morning I wasn't feeling much in the mood to work out. My calves were still fairly sore, believe it or not, and my mood wasn't the best. A week of eating a bit too much combined with muscular pain had me wondering if I'd ever feel back to normal again. It's been a long year. But I got out there anyway, and as usual, felt MUCH better for having done a walk. Today I did 6.27km total in a relatively speedy (for me, lately anyway) 6:13/km for a total of 39:01 with ave HR 151. My legs actually felt quite good for most of the walk, and the odd pain I've had the last 6 months only showed up at about 5km or so, and even then it didn't sap my strength much. I finished well and wasn't sore from sitting in church afterward, either. It was cold, though… sigh… I really miss the warm weather in CA. This morning it was 18F (-8C), which isn't too terrible for here in the winter, especially since it was calm and foggy-ish, with good footing.

I'm glad I am feeling OK today, and that my muscles seem to be recovering. I am hopeful that with my return to a more normal routine this week that I will feel good and continue my improvement despite last week's stall-out.

Thursday-Sunday

Thursday: felt a bit better. The 30 min on the elliptical didn't hurt as much.

Friday: elliptical + biked to work for total of 45 min cardio. I felt surprisingly good.

Saturday: 45 min elliptical. Still felt surprisingly good.

Sunday: Woke up more sore than I'd like, probably from Friday's bicycling. Hiked with my mom for 45 min (2.75 miles) and that felt pretty good and loosened things up. The fall weather here has been amazing and the leaves are SO lovely (see pic at left)...wish this weather could stay a bit longer. Later, I biked to book club and then up to work, then biked to a friend's home and then home. Feeling pretty decent right now. Hoping I don't pay for all this tomorrow, but I suspect I will. Off to bed soon so that I can get up early for some elliptical tomorrow.

Been eating much better yesterday & today. Right now my #1 priority is to eat right and get in as much exercise as possible. No racewalking for now - I just need to keep my weight under control and feel better if possible. Racewalking was making things worse and so I just have to take a bit of a break from it. I should probably swim, but I'm just not feeling the love right now. I'm reserving the swim card for later, if it needs to be played.

cross-training; hiking; 5K

Thursday, despite fighting off a cold, I did 30 min elliptical and then 15 min stationary bike before going on vacation with my family to Southern Utah. We enjoyed an awesome hike in Dead Horse Point State Park on Friday, and then a hike in the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park on Saturday before returning home to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday. Whew!

My legs actually hurt a lot from the car ride on Thursday, but they felt fine hiking - no problems whatsoever. We hiked about 6K (3.7 miles) on Friday, and then a bit more (2-3K?) Friday night on a night hike with the park ranger. Then Saturday we hiked 2 miles (3.2K) in the Fiery Furnace, with lots of scrambling and some beginning rock-climbing moves. I wasn't sore at all from that either.

Today I decided to do 5K, because I could, and my legs felt recovered. I was pretty slow, doing 5K at 6:20/km with ave HR 146. I felt OK - legs weren't sore much during the walk. However, now after a few hours, my legs are starting to hurt, mostly in the glutes. It feels like I've done a hard weight training workout - too many lunges or something. It feels much worse when sitting, so standing is better, though not terribly convenient when you want to edit photos, watch football, etc.

My diet hasn't been the best as you might guess, between camping and birthday cake. My weight is a bit out-of-control at the moment. Time to re-strategize and figure this out.

I just wish I knew what was wrong. I wish I knew what to do to make my legs feel better. My fatigue level has improved a significant amount over the last week, so maybe my legs will follow? But I have to assume that might not happen and plan accordingly. I am not exercising like an athlete now, so it's time to stop eating like I am. That will be more difficult than it sounds, but I have a few ideas to tackle the problem. I need to start acting on my alternate plans for when I feel like eating - other things I can do instead. I have been saying this for a while...now time to DO something, before it gets worse.

On the bright side, some photos from our trip:

Hiking, rest day, and cross-training

Friday: My brother, an avid mountaineer, was in town. So I took the day off and we went hiking, of course! He originally had planned for us to do Lone Peak or Twin Peaks, but decided those were too hard for Erica (his wife) and I to do, so he switched our hike to Pfiefferhorn. It was still very difficult! If I'd been in better shape to start with it wouldn't have been as hard as it was, but even so, the class 3 scrambling with exposure was pretty scary for me and I doubt I'd do it again. I'm glad I did it, but...yeah...scary.

It was about 15K total (actually a bit more, at 9.5 miles or so), with 3800 feet (1100m) of elevation gain and then loss on the way back. Wow. But it was very beautiful hiking through forests, past alpine lakes, through meadows of profuse wildflowers, and then over boulders on a knife-edge ridge. The summit views were spectacular, showing us the Salt Lake and Utah valleys, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Mt. Timpanogos, and more.









On the way down, all was well until about 12k, when my right IT band pulled its usual hiking stunt and started to hurt. The last 3k was a slow slog for me, but I made it. My quads are seriously paying for the adventure now, but oh well. It was worth it.

Here are all of the photos. Here's my Garmin data.

***

When I got back into cell phone range, I was stunned to have a message from the camp director of the summer camp my kids are in. I discovered that they were BOTH at the hospital (thankfully with my husband Loren) from separate accidents at the roller skating rink. Calvin fell first, bracing his fall with his arms and fracturing his radius and ulna. They set the fracture with him sedated, and he is doing fine now, though in some discomfort. Just after the camp director got back to the skating rink, Grace fell and split her chin open, requiring 5 stitches. They took her over to be with Calvin and Loren at the hospital. By the time I got back from hiking, they were almost ready to leave the hospital, so I didn't go. I was quite relieved to be reunited with them and they are going to be fine.

***

Saturday: rest day. I needed it, after all that excitement!

***

Sunday: quads still hurting a lot, and calves too. However, I need exercise! So I decided to try the elliptical, and it was fine. I did 40 min elliptical in my swimsuit and shorts, and then peeled off the shorts and jumped into the pool for 20 min of laps. That felt quite nice after the elliptical, and gave my legs a rest.