Monday, June 4, 2012

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.

11 comments:

  1. Sorry I've been missing your posts for a bit. This transition to Georgia has me swamped!

    It looked like you had a blast running in different scenery! I think that's one reason I love your pictures so much...because they don't look like anything I'm around! I'm glad you had some Zingers to enjoy as a celebration. Watch out for those flies! Youch!

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  2. That looks like a lot of fun on the most beautiful trails with really great friends. Green is beautiful! My trails are all dry and dusty now because winter is our dry season. My wife rides her bike while I run sometimes and is trying to get me into biking again. So far I haven't taken the bait. Have a great week!

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  3. Awesome week as usual Cory! The pictures of the trail run make me so jealous that I missed out. It looks like you guys had a blast.

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  4. its crazy to see the contrast between the draper trails and your trails back home. it really is so green on those trails here! wow! it was a fantastic time! cant wait to hopefully run the trails again together sometime soon:) glad you enjoyed the rest of your week!

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  5. I'm with Julia. What a contrast! I can't wait until St. George so I can run the red rock again. But, that trail run was TONS of fun. Not to mention the Zingers were a great ending. Next time we should order pizza or something? ;)

    Keep running and I'll see ya this weekend!

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  6. Green is not to be underrated! That picture of Julis running in front of you is the coolest! Wish I could have been there. Looks like you had a great week!

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  7. Wow, that green trail looks breathtaking!

    I love when people surprise you with your favorite food!

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  8. Uggghhhh!!! Nothing ruins a run faster than temperatures soaring. You probably almost have to run when the sun is completely gone down or not even up yet to enjoy outdoor running in the Summer down there. That's the pits.

    Cory!! I totally give you permission to use my zinger picture. That was too good of a photo to not share. We all had the most happy faces with goodies in our fingers.

    Please come back soon and run the 15 trail! Bring Jessica and Mel:)

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  9. I am running the half on Saturday too! I will keep an eye out for a really tall guy, I will be the really short girl in the green tank and BRIGHT pink shoes :)

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  10. What a stunning run!!! Best of luck at Utah Valley!

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  11. Your photos are amazing as always - it just took me a while to adjust to the change in colours. I must say green suits you.

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