Training Log Archive: Bash

All caught up on logging our Utah trip:

Thursday - Watchman Trail hike
Friday - JEM trails mountain bike
Saturday - Zion 55K trail run
Sunday - Angel's Landing hike/scramble (posted today)
https://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/pe...

Spectacular spring weather for a single track ride at Palgrave. Albion Hills usually opens the last week of April but Palgrave Forest is dry and ready to ride - at least until it rains this weekend. Only 7 weeks until the Mohican 100K mountain bike race and I didn't ride the trainer this winter so it'll have to be a quick build-up.

Bike computer distance and moving time.

Zion ultra report is posted and it's mostly photos.
https://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/pe...

Angel's Landing, Zion

We had a midnight flight home from Las Vegas so we checked out early and took a park shuttle bus to the Grotto, the start of the West Rim Trail.













After ascending Walter's Wiggles, a series of 27 steep switchbacks, and scrambling up some rock, we arrived at Scout's Landing.











Audrey and I continued to the top of Angel's Landing, a rock formation with a spectacular view in both directions along the main Zion valley. It was a 45-minute return hike / scramble on rock with steep 450 meter drop-offs, sometimes on both sides. In many places along the route, there was a chain to hang onto although it was a two-way path so we often had to let go and move to one side to let people pass in the other direction.



Apparently, 6 people have died on this hike since 2004. We saw some tourists with inadequate footwear and limited hiking experience so that's not surprising. I didn't feel unsafe on the route itself but there was a risk in sharing the route with so many other people who might slip and bump into others.









I didn't take too many photos on the climb up. Here's Angel's Landing.













I took a few more photos on the way down. Unfortunately, I crunched my ankle on one of the big steps down. It didn't bother me until an hour later, which was good timing, given what I had to do to get to the bottom.







We met the others at Scout's Landing and went back down to the Grotto, running a lot of it. We all felt pretty good after yesterday's long run. I guess post-race hiking is the secret!

Zion "50K"

Our vacation had been built around the Zion ultra but we didn't treat it as a race since we wanted to play outside every day. Our half-day on mountain bikes yesterday ensured that our legs weren't fresh but we looked forward to a fun run with aid stations.



We started near Virgin, UT at 6 a.m., an hour before sunrise. We ran the first few kms on paved road then got onto a dusty desert double track. Browner and I ran together for the first 5K, then I eased off in anticipation of the steep 450 m climb up Gooseberry Mesa.



Between the dark start and a weak phone battery, I got 40+ photos that only show the race course from 8K to 34K. The landscape was beautiful! The climb was steep and the trail was often eroded and rocky so it took extra effort to pass people who were fading.









We were supposed to get a few hours of steady rain but it mostly missed us. The dark, stormy skies were spectacular. There was a wind warning and it built up as the day went on; there were times when I ran off-trail away from a cliff edge in case I got blown off my feet.







There was an aid station on top of the climb, then we ran a 20K loop on top of Gooseberry Mesa. It was really fun and interesting up there! There were sandy trails, large areas of rolling slickrock and slabs of rock with stunted vegetation like Georgian Bay. We mostly ran on mountain bike trails, some of which are rated double black diamond and go along the edge of the cliff. I think running was safer for me and I would *love* to run around Gooseberry Mesa again.



























Yes, this is the trail.





Halfway around the mesa at the 17K mark, there was an aid station with a 750 m out-and-back run to a lookout. I saw Browner returning as I was going out, and she saw Mrs. Gally, Dee and Aud returning when she was heading to the lookout.

At the aid station, I filled my bladder with "water" that turned out to be an unidentified lemon drink - maybe Tailwind or Gatorade - and I packed along a peanut butter sandwich that turned out to be a tortilla stuffed with refried beans. Loser!

We descended the mesa on the same steep trail we took up. I'd brought poles that were mostly unnecessary but they really helped on the climb and descent of the mesa. My quads weren't sore the next day but I did lots of running with both poles in one hand.







Things levelled out around 30K and I stopped to reapply sunscreen and remove my arm warmers, which had been rolled down to my wrists for a long time. The rolling ATV trail at the base of the mesa had terrific views of desert vegetation with snowy mountains in the distance. I got exactly one photo before my phone inexplicably died. My best guess is that a recent operating system update changed some settings. It lasted more than 18 hours and 150+ photos and videos at Transgrancanaria.



We ran into the same trail system where we were mountain biking yesterday. It was nice that it felt familiar. Here are a couple of photos from yesterday showing the area.





From 38K to 46K, it was mostly a fun, gentle downhill with bits of rocky footwork. I caught up with Browner just before we crossed the highway and started climbing again. We chatted a bit, then she cranked up some tunes, started singing out loud and left me in her dust!

The race organizers had provided conflicting information about the course so I'd written them and confirmed the distance was 32 miles, i.e. 51.5 km. This was not true. I'd paced myself to push the "final" 10K and completely ran out of steam - not to mention fuel in my body - when I reached the 51.5K mark and saw the race course snaking across the desert with no sign of a finish line - ugh. I scarfed down some desperately needed food, gulped down some water and plodded on in a pathetic walk-run. Most people think it turned out to be 55K.

It wasn't my most energetic finish and I was thinking "meh" until just now when I checked my official time and saw that I was 2nd of 24 in my age group and missed the win by 80 seconds (my photography penalty). Audrey, Mrs. Gally, Dee and Browner were 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th of 30 in their age group - well done.

Thanks to Simpy for greeting us and taking this finish line photo. :)



Speaking of Simpy, he toughed it out through the 100K race the previous day and placed in the top half even though he felt awful.



Nathalie Long and James Galipeau ("Relentless" on AP) ran the 100 miler and Nat placed 3rd Female in her first 100 miler. So Canadian adventure racers represented!

Yumi finished her first ultra although we're not sure if we've won a convert to the sport.

We had a big group dinner at King's Landing restaurant at our hotel. Nice to catch up with everyone and pig out.