Zingers, Amazing Trails, and 101 Degrees

I had the perfect week last week. And not just because it was National Doughnut Day. (Not to sound like Captain Obvious, but of course I celebrated with the appropriate junk food.)

Monday, May 28th 2012: 5 miles at Little Black Mountain. This was my first time in the desert area near the St. George Airport. You drive for a few miles on a rolling dirt road and arrive at a towering mesa surrounded by rolling slick rock and boulders. The scenery was just awesome.

I ran 5 miles on the roads around the mesa, but not before checking out what Little Black Mountain is known for: tons of petroglyphs. I'm excited to take the family back here. I think they'll love it.

Wednesday, May 30th 2012: 8 miles. I was in Salt Lake for a work conference. That evening I met up with Josh from PhatJosh, Susette from You'll Always Have My Heart, and Julia from Pain, Pride, and Perseverance.

They took me on some trails through Draper which were incredible. Incredible. I'm so used to running in the desert, I think this was the first time I've ever run somewhere that was green!

The trail had plenty of climbing and rocks and roots. It was so cool running underneath a canopy of trees:

One of our stops along the way was Ghost Falls which I bravely traversed with Julia:

As much as I was loving the trail and the scenery, what I enjoyed most was spending time on the trail with these friends. Susette just did a 46 mile walk for her 46th birthday and has her first marathon coming up soon. Julia is finishing up her Ph.D in a similar field and is kicking butt training for her first 50 miler. And Josh has lost 175 pounds and is running a ton of races this year. You couldn't ask to run with happier, nicer people.

I was sad as we got closer to the parking lot. I didn't want it to end. This was one of my favorite runs ever. But I didn't know that a reward was waiting for us at the end. Susette is aware of my affection for Hostess, and had Zingers waiting for us! It was the perfect ending to a perfect run.

Saturday, June 2nd 2012: 3 miles in Confluence Park. It was exactly 101 degrees when I headed out on the trail behind my house. (Not to sound like Captain Obvious, but that is too warm for a wussie like me to go out running.) You are guaranteed to have a fast pace here, because if you slow down, deer flies will remove your flesh and not even feel bad about it.

That night I went on a bike ride with Mel. With all the running I've been doing so far this year, this was my first real bike ride. We went nice and easy, and the wife and I had more fun than should be legal.

I feel really blessed and fortunate for all the fun I had during the week. I'm running the Utah Valley Half Marathon this Saturday with my brother and sister which will be awesome. In fact I'm so excited that I may celebrate by having another National Doughnut Day.