Running with a Mountain Biker

Ripping past bushes, navigating rocks and making turns I chased my rabbit. It isn't often that I have a pacer, but today I was lucky enough to have a patient mountain biker for a running buddy. When and if you do run trails with someone on a mountain bike, take them to the nastiest, steepest, rockiest trail you can find and you might be able to keep them in sight.

I took my running clothes to work so I wouldn't have to come back to my apartment before going to the mountains. After changing I went to Mount Timpanogos Park. Right around the time I arrived a mountain biker also stopped in the parking lot. After talking for a while he said something like, "Be nice when you pass me on the way up." Then I wanted to see how I could do against him.

After a trip to the bathroom we started up. He left me behind on the gravel road and waited for me on the trail. We paused there and continued until we met another cyclist. After a good pause we started again and I got separated from the cyclist but continued up the hill. It took him a while to catch back up, but soon enough he passed me and waited for me again. I think we took separate trails but we started up the mountain on the same trail again. After a downhill he was quite a ways ahead and he waited for me again.

He told me the trail we were about to climb was difficult for him. I followed him up this trail and passed him when he seemed to lose traction. I stayed ahead up to the rock altar where I waited for him! I asked him which trail he would use to go down and he told me that he was going to continue to climb and then take another trail called "Taj Mahal." I followed him more closely this time as he made his way through the more difficult terrain. The trail was steep and rocky in places. We turned off onto another trail and weaved our way through some fairly technical sections and I stayed pretty close. I haven't run that hard in a long time. We came down through sharp turns and rocks, then climb in sections. At one point my sunglasses were pulled from my head. I found them and continued on. I could hear his back tire skidding as he slowed down. We eventually came to a road that was steep enough to go fast and not as technical as a general rule. He waited for me again on a fairly flat gravel road. We talked for a while and I found out his name before he took off.

Tyler Mullins, you are a dang good rabbit!

Heaven

If you ever want to see heaven I suggest walking up Mount Timpanogos in the day time up the Aspen Grove Side. It's beautiful. It's popular to climb "Timp" at night, in order to see the sunrise, but I have explained to people that they ought to do it in the day. There is a point where you can see up into a cirque or bowl that has layers of green separated by rocks. If it is the right time of year there is water cascading down.

If you climb Timp at night you won't really see that view on your way up. You might catch a glimpse of it as you make your way down, but if you are like most people you will be looking at the trail, trying not to trip on rocks and feeling the fatigue that befalls those who climb mountains.

Another tip would be to climb during the spring. Sometimes the snow can be a pain, but the mountain is so green. When I climbed it for the first time we saw a girl hiking along the trail. In front of her, two mountain goats walked along as if they were her pets. It's not uncommon to see these animals on the mountain. There are quite a number of them.

Mountain goats are humbling creatures. They live in the mountains and must wonder, what in the world we are doing up there. We aren't normally scavenging for food or getting away from predators, unless you call sedentary life a predator.... What would draw us up so high? Most of us are pretty inept as compared to them. As good as we get at navigating the terrain, most of us won't come close to what they can do. Of course we can rock climb and use our hands to scale things they wouldn't dare, but if most anyone tried to keep up with them in their element, they would leave them in the dust. The only hope some might have would be to out-distance them and even then it might take a while.

Trail running is more.

     I had a really different experience today. I was running down through the rocks, navigating treacherous terrain yet I was at peace.

Trail running is more.

Being a trail runner is getting wet as you brush against rain soaked vegitation

It's stepping carefully while you climb a muddy slope

It's looking out over a valley and talking with your best buddy

It's trying to figure out just how much and what kind of food to take in

It's that hole you just put in your new shoe

It's the guy with the crazy laugh that you found in the middle of nowhere

It's getting to know your body

It's dancing through rocks with no pointe shoes

It's having the agility of a half-back and the stamina of two

It's pounding your feet with a sledge-hammer

It's experiencing the most majestic mountains but still appreciating a flower

It's exploring the limits of your mind and body

It's having your guts roll

It's breathing in and out

It's feeling fatigue try to crush your will

It's leaning in to a corner.....and coming out

...or I could just stay on the trail.

     Last week I pushed my mind farther than I had in a while. I ran up Grove Creek and kept going toward the Timpanooke Road. I knew that I was about half a mile from the road when my phone GPS let me know I had gone three miles. The last part of the trail up to the road was steep and rocky. I didn't do the best job of staying motivated. I made my way up and all of the sudden I was right by the road.

     I think sometimes we don't understand how close we are to things getting better. We know that the road is up there and even kind of where it is, but we don't understand how close it is. It could have been a mistake, but I think I even saw what I thought was a road, higher than where I actually hit it. Elder Holland said in General Conference of October 1999 “'Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it—30 years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.'"
     On the same trip, coming down, I had a scary moment on a single track trail on the side of a canyon. I came close enough to falling off that it made me think about what I would do if I fell. I thought about calling for help. I thought that people near me and what someone would do. Then I thought, "...or I could just stay on the trail." I think a lot of the time if we can avoid heartache we should. If we can avoid hurting ourselves we might as well.
     I think I was in church the other day when it came up that we do not fail unless we quit trying. It's probably attributed to someone, but it's a pretty well known idea. I've thought, if you don't get up because you are tired of falling down, then you're still on the ground. Though maybe not the most original thought. It's pretty good imagery.
     Live life and make the best of it. You might not understand how closer you are to things getting better. Stay on the trail, it's not worth falling off if you don't have to. Don't stay on the ground. My grandma  used to say, "You can't do nothin' when you're sittin' on your 

04/22/15 #whoneedsroads

It's past midnight, but I might as well post about "yesterday's" run. I "had" to take my new shoes for a spin, so my roommate and I took off up rock canyon. It was a blast. My left achilles has been giving me trouble for the last while and I've been "resting" it. Trail running seemed to be alright on it and I felt much less pain at least for the majority of the time. I got a new bag today as well. It's pretty small and I think I almost have it adjusted. #whoneedsroads

Does mountain biking count as training?

This morning I went with a friend on a run. I didn't track the mileage, but it had to have been around 2 miles. It's a long way from 31, but that's about what I have to do right now. I tried out a technique called "eccentric heel drop" to help out my achilles. I saw it on a website the other day. Your supposed to do them twice a day for 12 weeks. It could get interesting!
I had a doozy of a day and I needed to blow off some steam, so I took off on my mountain bike after work. The Bonneville Shoreline trail from Rock Canyon down to Slate Canyon became a race course. There are some rocky sections that get a little sketchy when you go fast enough.
We also went hiking up Rock Canyon tonight. I don't know if you can count that as training, but it was pretty nice anyway. It's frustrating not to be able to run like normal.

50k Prep: 04/20/15

I lay on the ground and tried to breathe, but every time I took a deep enough breath the muscles in my back punished me. No one was home and I just stayed there until I was relaxed enough to get up to get my foam roller. I wasn't really expecting this to happen this morning when I planned out my training. I woke up around nine and fuddled around and rolled out my foot with a massage ball. When I got on my Twitter I read something about the Boston Marathon so I found a live stream on my computer and watched the end of it. It was a good race! the Americans were right up there! At some point I decided to run to the store to get a toothbrush because I had used mine to clean my battery terminals a few days before, gross right?! I put in my music and ran south and then hit Center Street in Provo and ran toward Smith's. My achilles tendon didn't feel too bad, but I could tell it was there. It was fun to hear that my first my split was somewhere around the 6:20's. I went in the store and found my favorite deodorant! Yes! Then I got my toothpaste and brush. My run back was fairly uneventful except that my tracker didn't tell me my mile split like it normally does! After the run I went back to my house and watched a little more of the Boston Marathon and then started some yoga. Child's pose went alright but I popped my back. Coming to my hands and knees and maybe trying the next part of the routine the pain was too much. I laid down on my stomach and tried to relax enough to breath normally. The muscles in my upper back tensed excruciatingly. I finally relaxed enough to go and get my foam roller and rolled out my back. It felt ok enough for me to try the yoga again. I got through most of the routine and was doing alright. I went through most of the day with pain in my back it felt better when I took off up some stairs. Advil also helped to alleviate some of the pain. "Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there..."-("Drive"-Incubus)