Fun In The Desert

Monday, May 2nd 2011: 20 mile bike ride in 1 hour & 19 minutes (average 15.2 mph). It was a beautiful ride out to Sand Hollow Reservoir and back. The road had recently been re-paved so I got lots of junk in my trunk. (Junk = rocks, trunk = gears.) I slowed down to take a picture while I was riding:


Tuesday, May 3rd 2011: I'll let you in on a little secret: I had been considering registering for the Utah Half Ironman in August. My experience on Tuesday changed my mind. The deciding factor: going to the swimming pool. In considering the half Ironman, I minimized the fact that you need to swim 1.2 miles! Don't get me wrong: I can swim. I wouldn't drown if my boat sunk in the lake. But this is totally different than being able to cover a significant distance in a limited time.

I know that my problem is form. I'm slow in the water and I get worn out quickly. But here's the thing: I don't care. I don't want to get better at swimming. Everyone in my family knows that I'm not a fan of swimming, or water for that matter. If it was something I enjoyed, I would be interested in improving. But I don't enjoy it. I loathe it. So I decided to forgo the half Ironman and stick to what I like: running and biking.

Wednesday, May 4th 2011: 1 hour in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. This was my first attempt at "running" since taking 10 days off after the Red Mountain 50k. My knees are still achy but I feel improvement every single day. I walked most of the time, but did a few bursts of slow jogging. I am being very cautious to make sure my knees recover as much as possible before the Ogden Marathon in a few weeks. I did parts of the Cottonwood Hills Trail and the Prospector Trail. The scenery was incredible:


The Red Cliffs Desert Reserve is a.....wait for it.....desert reserve so the area and animals are well-protected. I came across this fella walking right across the trail:


Thursday, May 5th 2011: Rest. If you don't count the 50k race, I have run a total of around 40 miles in the last six weeks since my knees started acting up. During my peak training a few months ago, I was running 40 miles a week for my rest week. I realize this may make it difficult to PR. If I'm not feeling good on race day I'll just take it easy and shoot for a PR at Utah Valley a month later. It's all good.

Friday, May 6th 2011: 12 mile bike ride in 55 minutes.

Saturday, May 7th 2011: Volunteering at the finish line of Ironman St. George! Pictures and report coming soon.

"There's no magic to running far or climbing Everest. Endurance is mental strength. It's all about heart."
~ Bear Grylls, Host of Man vs. Wild