Every Wish That We Put Into Motion.... (comments welcome!)

[jmasgat]

reservations for the *whole* park? Or just certain hikes within the parks?

I know with Zion you have to make a reservation to hike the Angels Landing trail, but not the park itself.

 

[MissLiss279]

reservations for the *whole* park? Or just certain hikes within the parks?

I know in previous years, during certain times of the year you had to make a reservation to drive into the park (or maybe weren’t allowed to drive in at all??). The valley can only handle so many cars. They had shuttles you could take into the park, though.

 

[The Expert]

reservations for the *whole* park? Or just certain hikes within the parks?

For Arches, they have a timed entry system depending on the day and time you're going: https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/timed-entry-reservation.htm

They've talked about doing the same for Zion, but for now it is just certain trails.

 

[The Expert]

I know in previous years, during certain times of the year you had to make a reservation to drive into the park (or maybe weren’t allowed to drive in at all??). The valley can only handle so many cars. They had shuttles you could take into the park, though.

They run shuttles March through November and over the holidays. Most of the park road is closed to private traffic during that time, but you can still get to certain areas (especially coming from the east side). The shuttle is free and does not require reservations.

https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/zion-canyon-shuttle-system.htm

 

[avondale]

Totally agree with what others have said that all of the parks in Utah are gorgeous and all different (although they are all red!). I'm out of date for what will need reservations, etc. But, keep in mind that while the hugely popular hikes are probably very pretty, there are tons of less popular hikes that are just a smidgen less pretty and much less crowded - if you have limited time, then don't waste it in a conga line of hikers.

As for how many parks to visit...keep in mind that Utah is BIG. You will have some significant travel time between them, unlike park-hopping in Dis. Arches and Canyonlands are pretty close together at one end of each, but depending on where you want to go within them, then that could still be hours apart. Of course, the landscape while driving is gorgeous.

Since a lot of folks have been to the area, maybe someone will know which road this is: we were driving from one base of operations to another in Utah, on a state road (I think). The road itself could have qualified as an amusement park ride. It was two lanes and narrow. Some places had huge grades (like 12%) and some areas were on the top of thin "fin" ridges where there was nothing on either side of the road (who needs guard rails?), and the scenery was amazing. It was a fairly hair-raising drive, however, and we've driven through many, many national parks, etc. This was not in a park - just driving through Utah. But I can't remember which road/route now!

 

[jmasgat]

Since a lot of folks have been to the area, maybe someone will know which road this is: we were driving from one base of operations to another in Utah, on a state road (I think). The road itself could have qualified as an amusement park ride. It was two lanes and narrow. Some places had huge grades (like 12%) and some areas were on the top of thin "fin" ridges where there was nothing on either side of the road (who needs guard rails?), and the scenery was amazing. It was a fairly hair-raising drive, however, and we've driven through many, many national parks, etc. This was not in a park - just driving through Utah. But I can't remember which road/route now!

We drove this as part of our trip. It's Route 12. I was driving and doing fine til we got to the ridge line, where I promptly had a case of the major willies and pulled over so my DH could take over. Of course, the ridge line ended right after that, but he had the joy of then driving the rest of the area near Hell's backbone. Turns out, this is exactly where he had done a cycling trip about 20 years ago.

Also, to be noted, they have a road race there--the Escalante Canyon Marathon.

 

[The Expert]

Yep, Route 12. I believe it is designated a Scenic Byway.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Who knows what's even going to be going on with the National Parks systems with all of the cuts and freezes. I saw on social media from the "alt ntl parks" account that they are anticipating the reservation systems that they have been using to control capacity to NOT be in place this year because of all of the cuts. That's a little freaky, and as someone who lives in a place with a very popular natural area, makes me nervous for the possible outcomes for these places as a result of too many people at a time.


In fitness news, I purchased new shoes today. I had seen some posts on reddit about the new balance "Balos" last summer, and the shoe looked ..... different. Very "retro" feeling colors, and the reviews were kind of mixed, but mostly centered on, "Why does NB think they can charge supertrainer shoe prices for a shoe with no carbon or even nylon plate?" because these things are msrp'd at $200. Reviews started comparing them to the supercomp trainer v1 (which makes me run so much faster without any more effort than my 1080s), they have a midsole rocker, the drop is similar to what I'm used to, etc. So I started to really consider trying them. But. They didn't appear to sell particularly well (but they were also not marketed much, if at all!) and there was some conjecture that they would abandon the new model completely, and I didn't want to try a new shoe that would immediately become impossible to find. But looking at the NB website, there is now a *new* "V1" of the shoe (make it make sense?! the first shoe was just "Balos" and now the 2nd release, which looks different, is the v1???) and they were clearancing out the OG model. Yes. Clearance for $160. So I've been waiting, and today they were gone from the main NB website.

If you don't know, "Joesnewbalanceoutlet" is basically an overstock/previous model site that is completely legit. I got DS2 two pairs of plated track spikes for $100 total....spikes that usually sell for $170 each. So now this season he won't just run in is xc spikes for track. And while the shoes had been available there as well, they also had a "$30 off $100+" sale going. So now these $200 shoes are $120. That's less than a new pair of 1080s. So I bought them. (All of that was to say, if you love NB shoes, there can be some really good deals at that website, so go check it out.)

 

[The Expert]

Who knows what's even going to be going on with the National Parks systems with all of the cuts and freezes. I saw on social media from the "alt ntl parks" account that they are anticipating the reservation systems that they have been using to control capacity to NOT be in place this year because of all of the cuts. That's a little freaky, and as someone who lives in a place with a very popular natural area, makes me nervous for the possible outcomes for these places as a result of too many people at a time.

Yeah, unless something dramatically changes, I'm not sure I'd try your trip this summer after all. Alternatively, maybe a lot of folks will think the same thing and it'll be empty?? Doubtful.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Yeah, unless something dramatically changes, I'm not sure I'd try your trip this summer after all. Alternatively, maybe a lot of folks will think the same thing and it'll be empty?? Doubtful.

the whole plan is for 2026 anyway, but I know that sometimes when things get cut from programs, even if it's only intended to be temporary, it can be really really difficult to get them back in place and functioning again.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Rough-planning time to bridge the gap.

Tomorrow is my last night for refereeing for the 2024-2025 school year. There's a chance we'll get asked to do some sort of weekend tournament or something, but all of my cross training is about to take a major nosedive.

If I stick with the plan I found (probably will end up modifying it somewhat into hours/minutes instead of miles once I get into the looooong stuff) I should have about 8 weeks before I officially start. That means I have 8 weeks to figure out training.

Let's start with the current aches and pains. I have a cranky hamstring/glute on the left side, and a very cranky front hip flexor on the right. The glute/hamstring has been getting better, but the hip flexor makes it really hard to bring my leg up/forward and I jokingly tell my co-officials that "it's going to look like I don't know how to run for the first half of the first game." My knee-drive is basically non-existent with that leg. This definitely needs to get better before I start throwing long runs at it.

I'd like to get through the lifting program that I started (and then abandoned because that was when all of my leg issues started, coupled with working an absurd number of games likely too soon after Dopey) and I'm not opposed to doing it somewhat out of order to give my legs a break the first week and see if rest is all I really need. I would really like to find a way to incorporate weights into my training without feeling like I'm over-doing it, or spending hours and hours of every day working out (which will be a tough task with 50k training and b2b weekend longruns.)

Here's what I'm considering (and please weigh in on this if I'm missing some critical thinking):

-CG's Iron series for lifting. It's intended to be 6 days per week, but I'll probably stretch it out some to start with just to give my body a chance to adapt. These workouts are about 40min if I include the cooldown/stretching at the end, so that's not a major time commitment.

-Running 4x a week. I'd like to do something that's loosely focused on speed training, so I'm thinking like
1 weekend long run (90min+)
1 "medium" run (45-60min)
1 run where I do something like: 1mi WU + 30sec sprint repeats + 1mi CD
1 decreasing incline "power hike" on the treadmill, similar to what Avondale has posted in her journal

 

[avondale]

For that weekend long run, I would suggest not jumping into 90 min+ right away. You have time. Maybe cycle through 60 min, 70 min, 80 min, 90 min, then repeat. That way things change up. It's also friendlier on the time commitment.

You didn't mention it, but I'd really suggest doing some of these runs on trails if possible. The sooner you get used to that sort of terrain, the better.

Overall, sounds really good to me!

 

[Herding_Cats]

For that weekend long run, I would suggest not jumping into 90 min+ right away. You have time. Maybe cycle through 60 min, 70 min, 80 min, 90 min, then repeat. That way things change up. It's also friendlier on the time commitment.

You didn't mention it, but I'd really suggest doing some of these runs on trails if possible. The sooner you get used to that sort of terrain, the better.

Overall, sounds really good to me!

That's a good call on ramping up the long runs. I feel like I should probably be at 2hrs by the time I start my *actual* training plan because then I'll have a good build, and then cut back and re-build with the plan.

all of our trails are still under a lot of snow, so they aren't going to be an option until probably mid-April, possibly even May.

 

[avondale]

That's a good call on ramping up the long runs. I feel like I should probably be at 2hrs by the time I start my *actual* training plan because then I'll have a good build, and then cut back and re-build with the plan.

all of our trails are still under a lot of snow, so they aren't going to be an option until probably mid-April, possibly even May.

Then start on as many hills as possible. Truly one cannot get enough easy running on hills. Even if it sucks.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

You might consider doing the sprints on hills also - similar benefit but lower injury risk.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Last night while I was doom-scrolling browsing a local fb group, I saw a post talking about a new hiking/snowshoe trail in my area, and after a few clicks, I came across a 37 page pdf of all of the public-use recreation trails in my county. It says it's for mountain biking/hiking/snowshoeing/xc skiing and it's got trail maps, designates parking areas, some of them have distances labeled for different segments, access points if there isn't designated parking, etc. A lot of them are pretty small ( <2.5mi ) loops, but a few are quite a bit longer. This will be incredibly helpful this summer when I want to run somewhere new or change things up. The downside is that all of them are at least a 15min drive (some more like 30) from my house, and that will add a significant amount of time for me to set aside as "running time."

I'm also finally going to get my new shoes out for a test run today. Fingers crossed they are everything I'm hoping for.

 

[Herding_Cats]

OK. New shoes are......different.

Different doesn't mean bad. Different doesn't mean bad. Different doesn't mean bad.....

First impressions: they are shaped a lot like my supercomp trainers (v1) but lack the massive springy POP. They are lighter than both the SC trainers and the 1080s. The volume of the toe box (like from sole of foot to top of foot) is smaller/tighter. I can't easily lift my toes like I can with the 1080s. They definitely run a little bit small. This was something people talked about in their reviews, but I've gotten burned with shoes that are way too big when I go from a 10.5 to an 11. And honestly, a 10.5 is really probably a tiny bit too big for anything except my 3+ hour longruns. But I'm so used to that feel now that anything that is closer to what a "proper" fit [probably] is feels small/tight/short and just weird.

So it's definitely not love. But it's also not hate.

I did very very little running because even though I'm not creaking and ow-ing when I get up in the morning, or if I've been sitting, my hip flexor is still cranky enough that my gait is very much off. I'm not really willing to pop the tylenol/motrin combo that seems to nip most of it, because I'd rather just let the dang thing HEAL.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Oh hey. Look at that. After another nearly 2 weeks I still haven't really done anything. My hamstring continues to be annoyed (downgraded from grumpy, so at least I'm trending in the right direction?) and I can really feel it when I do things like take my boots off when I come inside; you know, the way you just use your toes from your other foot to hold you boot in place while you yank your foot out....yeah....that hamstring no-likey. I finally managed to schedule a massage and she definitely found the tight spots in that leg and worked on them. I was starting to feel like hey, I could try going for a run on Wednesday and then I slept wrong and put my hip/lower back "out" on that side. I initially didn't think it was too bad, but then I had a muscle spasm while getting out of the car at pre-school drop-off and that leg didn't want to hold me at at all for a few seconds.

I was 100% considering going for a very easy run (or just walk) today and then planting some bok choy, rapini, and sugar snap peas in our greenhouse as it has been super duper nice out, and was in the low 70s yesterday. But this morning? Snow on the ground. Snow all morning. So that's a big hard nope.

DS3 needed new goodrs so we stopped at fleet feet yesterday, and while he was picking out a color/style I went and looked at what they have in-stock for trail shoes. They have Hoka Speedgoats, Brooks Cascadia, and Altra Experience Wild. That's it. So now is your opportunity to talk me out of just ordering a bunch of shoes off amazon, trying them all on the treadmill, and returning what doesn't work. (And on the top of my list to try right now is the saucony endorphin edge, which are normally $200, but are available in several colors in my size for $70.)

 

[marty3d]

. They have Hoka Speedgoats, Brooks Cascadia, and Altra Experience Wild. That's it. So now is your opportunity to talk me out of just ordering a bunch of shoes off amazon, trying them all on the treadmill, and returning what doesn't work. (And on the top of my list to try right now is the saucony endorphin edge, which are normally $200, but are available in several colors in my size for $70.)

I haven’t tried the other 2 but I’ve recently switched to the Speedgoats for my trail running (which currently consists of snow, ice and slush) and I’ve been pretty happy with them. The vibrim outsoles are great in the snow. Have not tried any distance beyond 4 miles yet so not sure how I will like the, on long runs.

 

[avondale]

I have only ever worn Brooks Cascadias for trail running (about 5 years - not the same pair! LOL). When I got into trail running, I had previously been wearing Brooks, so I just went with the same brand. I have wide feet, and the Cascadias actually come in wide width, so win. They are fine. I'm not really someone who feels like a need new shoes to cure all my ills, however. (Just like for tennis, I'm not someone who feels like a new racket will cure all my ills.)

Because of the uphills and especially downhills, make sure you have room in your trail shoes. If you end up jamming your toes into the front of your shoes on on the downhills, you're going to lose a lot of toenails quickly.