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Pussyfoot

08 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Grand Circle Trailfest, Kanab, Utah

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I recently rediscovered the gravity-defying benefits of treadmills.  Turns out, I can run pretty fast on those things.  I’d forgotten that when I returned to fitness years ago, I first started out by walking, and then evolved to running on treadmills before finally pounding the pavement again.  It’s a progression that works.  So most of my runs the last couple of weeks have been on the treadmill at the office.  Seriously, it feels like I’m actually running again on those things.

I still run the trails on the weekends but it’s time to start picking up my game.  I tried to defer my October Trailfest event again but they wouldn’t let me.  Turns out you can’t keep putting things off.  This event has rules.  I paid a hefty registration fee last year and I can’t just let it go.  I’m running it.  Or walking it.  Whatever gets me from start to finish.

Knowing I’m committed now is exciting.  Lose ten pounds or die is the way I feel right now.  Each of the 3-day half marathons have cut-off times to reach their respective aid stations.  It would be helpful if they shared the actual times, it’s a little scary not knowing.

I decided to move on from my weekend routine of the pedestrian East Boulder Trail to a real mountain trail.  I ran Heil Valley Ranch today.  Last time I tried it I don’t think I made it to the top of the Wapiti trail.  I did today, and ran the shorter loop up top – seven and a half miles in all.  That’s my longest run in half a year.

This is a real trail.  Rocky.  Technical.  The two and a half mile climb was hard enough on my lungs, but managing my footfalls was also surprisingly difficult.  I expect to be able to regain my trail skills if I get out there every weekend, but conditioning is part of the process.  Running slow helps but you have to be strong enough to pick up your feet.  I’ll continue to run on the treadmill at the office during the week, but I’m done pussyfooting around on the weekends.  I’m back on the mountain trails.

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Zion

20 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Colorado Trail

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Capitol Reef, Dixie Forest, hiking, Kiva Koffeehouse, petroglyphs, trails, Utah, Zion

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Half way between California and Colorado is Zion. So Brit and I booked a night at the Cable Mountain Lodge near the entrance to the park.  We rose before the sun to squeeze in a hike through the Narrows.  The first mile was paved.

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The trail disappeared with the sidewalk.

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Surely, the trail will pick back up around the next curve in the canyon.

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Brit wades deeper.  The trail guide did say something about expecting to get wet.

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And to guard against hypothermia.  The sun is slow to warm up the canyon.

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We hiked up the Virgin River for maybe a quarter mile.  The cold, deep water didn’t turn us back.  The canyon walls drew us in like sirens to the rocks.

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But we had to get home to Colorado by nightfall.  We’ll return for sure to Zion when we’re not just passing through.

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We skipped the high speed Interstate for Hwy 9 through the park, connecting later with highways 89 and 12, traversing Escalade, Boulder, the Dixie National Forest and Capitol Reef National Park.  A virtual lifetime of vistas.  Barely out of Zion, just past the tunnels, we saw a rock that had to be climbed.

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Brit preferred walking the sandstone barefoot to her sandals.

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She finally made it to the top, after me.

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Brit celebrated her climb with a namaste.

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I just did my best to keep my balance.  I don’t have words to describe the splendor of our remaining drive through Utah.  We saw flaming orange aspen in the Dixie Forest and petroglyphs in the cliffs of the Capitol Reef rocks.  If you get a chance to drive between Colorado and California, do yourself a favor and skip the Interstate. Take the scenic byway.

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