Keep Moving Forward: A Training Log (Comments Welcome)

[lhermiston]

Congrats on a great PR!!!

Thank you!

 

[lhermiston]

I'm back!

So, following the marathon, I actually felt really good. Good enough that I could have gone for a (slow) run over the next few days and by Wednesday or so, I'd say I was totally back to normal. But, truth be told, I wanted to just not run for a few days...so, I didn't.

I got back to "business" this week. I don't have a current training plan, so it's a little aimless at this point. I guess I'm okay with that, though I liked the structure of a training plan. For now, I'll keep winging it.

Tuesday

Four miles at an average pace of 9:14 per mile. As much as I was ready for a break from running, it was good to get going again. I'm trying to shift to morning workouts at least through the summer. The reasons are two-fold: it's going to be cooler in the morning and it frees up my afternoons/evenings for my side hustle, lawn mowing. Since I'm still waking up on my own most mornings, it's a win-win.

Wednesday

Aborted run. I won't get into TMI territory, but I nature called about a mile in and that was that. Oh well.

Friday

Three miles at an average pace of 9:04 per mile. A little on the cool side, but other wise a nice and easy run. I wanted to go longer, but I was slow getting out the door. Some aspects of morning training are coming on a little more slowly than others.

Saturday

Six miles at an average pace of 8:56 per mile. A little cool again, but it was another easy run.

I doubt I'll run tomorrow with various Mother's Day activities on tap, so I'm ending the week with just 13 miles. Oy. Here's a cool thing, though: on Tuesday, I hit the 600-mile mark for the year. Not too shabby and that positions me very well for my goal to run 1,000 miles this year. Even with a pretty laid back summer, Dopey training should get me well past 1,000 by the end of the year.

So, what's next? I haven't signed up yet - and there's really no rush - but my next race will be The Bix on July 28. That's a 7-miler in the Quad Cities. No time goals, just looking to have a good time. In October, I'll do some distance of the Iowa City Run for the Schools (5K, 10K, or Half - leaning Half, ATM) and then it'll be time to dive into Dopey training!

 

[ZellyB]

Great that you are back at it. I also love the easy recovery weeks following a race.

 

[lhermiston]

You guys.

I have been such a bum this past week. I told myself I'd get back to running five days a week, but I've been tired, lazy and busy - but not THAT busy. The result was another low mileage week.

Tuesday

3 miles @ 8:47/mile. Looks like I ran after work. I don't remember it, so there must not be much to report.

Wednesday

5 miles @ 9:07/mile. Morning run. So, I'm capable of getting up and running. I just haven't been. Still, the morning schedule is taking some getting used to.

Saturday

6 miles @ 9:14/mile. Kicked this one off at about 7:15, which is a MUCH more ideal time for me than 5:45.

Total for the week: 14 miles. I mean, I'm not training for anything, so it's fine, but it feels like such a drop off. For now, the alarm is set for 5:30 tomorrow. We'll see how things go!

 

[lhermiston]

SpaceshipEarthHDR by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

 

[lhermiston]

So, this week was MUCH better. I got four runs in. I'm not running tomorrow because I'll be traveling all day.

Tuesday

4 miles @ 9:02/mile. I'm adapting a little bit better to getting up in the morning and going. And, with the heat the way it's been, getting a run in before the sun is completely up is so much better than running in the evenings.

I saw a fox during the run, too. I tried get my phone out of my arm band to take a picture, but the fox got spooked and fled.

Thursday

4 miles @ 8:50/mile. Not much to report on this run. I'm starting to feel achy in my knees, which generally means it's about time to start thinking about new shoes. I'm at 643 miles, which means I'm just under 300 miles on these shoes. I know that's not a lot, but I'm a total heel striker and I just burn out shoes quickly. Not ideal. And pricey.

Friday

4 miles @ 9:15/mile. Not much to report here.

Saturday

6 miles @ 9:03/mile. My "long" run of the week. My next race is a 7-miler, so I really don't need to worry about getting stretched out too much, but I'd like to get some 8 and 10 mile runs in just for the sake of maintaining my conditioning (which I'm sure has been considerably depleted and will continue to deteriorate this summer ... sigh).

Anyway, took off around 9 this morning and it was already so stinking hot. It felt like a blast furnace. I changed my 6-mile route slightly just to mix things up a bit and ended up with a much longer uphill portion than normal. By the time I got to the top (at about mile 4.5), I had to walk for a few seconds. The heat was awful and I was feeling gassed. Fortunately, the next portion was downhill and I ended things on a high note.

Miles this week: 18
Year to Date: 643

Did I mention I'm traveling tomorrow?? I'm getting up at 2 a.m., picking up my buddies, driving to Des Moines and flying to Las Vegas. From there, we're renting a car and heading to Zion National Park for 2.5 days, Bryce Canyon National Park for one day and Las Vegas for a day before flying home on Friday. I. AM. PUMPED. I've been planning this trip officially since last October or so, but it's been on my bucket list for much longer. I won't be doing any running until next Saturday at the earliest, but hopefully I'll be coming home with some pics to share with you all.

 

[SarahDisney]

Enjoy your trip!

 

[SheHulk]

OMGosh I LOVE Zion, that whole area. Hope you have a wonderful time.

 

[jennamfeo]

I'm heading to Vegas Saturday, I'll just miss ya!

 

[lhermiston]

I'm heading to Vegas Saturday, I'll just miss ya!

Have a great time!

 

[lhermiston]

OMGosh I LOVE Zion, that whole area. Hope you have a wonderful time.

I LOVED IT. Pictures to come in the next few days.

 

[lhermiston]

I'm back! I haven't run in a week, but I'm thinking I'll do a little trip report to make up for things.

Day 1

I got up around 1:45 a.m. Sunday, May 27. I had to pick up my traveling companions - Jacob, David, Mitch and Coltin - and we had to be in Des Moines for an early flight. Originally, we were scheduled to fly from DSM to Denver to Vegas, but it got changed to DSM to Chicago to Vegas, which means more time spent traveling, but it was all fine.

We got into Vegas around 11 local time, went to the rental car place, got our minivan (riding in style!) and took off. We hadn't had lunch yet and I had recently learned that Vegas was home to a few In-N-Out Burgers. I'd never had In-N-Out, but I was a *little* obsessed with trying it due to my undying love for The Big Lebowski. So, we swung through the closest In-N-Out to us. It was amazing! I had a double and fries "animal style." Sooooo good.



After that, we had a two hour-ish drive to our cabin near Leeds, Utah, which was about a 45 minute drive to Zion National Park. We stopped before we hit Utah to pick up beer since Utah has stricter regulations on alcohol content than other states.

After checking into the cabin, we made the drive to Zion National Park. As we were approaching, cars were lining the highway, some as far as 3-4 miles away from the entrance to Zion. I was a little nervous we'd be hoofing it to and from the car a bunch this weekend. We knew it would be busy since it was Memorial Day Weekend and opted to keep driving toward Zion, figuring by that time some people had left the park.

Our gamble paid off and we were able to get a parking spot in the parking lot for Zion Outfitters, where we were renting gears to hike The Narrows. The woman who got us our gear told us that parking was free for the rest of the day and we could just stay there! It worked out perfectly.

After getting our gear into the van, we decided to go for a short hike since it was early in the day and none of us were too exhausted yet from getting up 16 hours earlier. We took the park shuttle to the stop that led to Emerald Pools trail.

Emerald pools was awesome! It was an easy hike, fairly shady and we saw some water, despite it having been pretty dry lately and the views were incredible.

Emerald Pools by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Emerald Pools by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Emerald Pools by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

After spending an hour or two hiking Emerald Pools, we drove back to the cabin, ate, had a few beers and went to sleep. The next day we were getting up at 5 a.m. to do The Narrows.

Up next...The Narrows (a.k.a. The coolest hike I've ever done)

 

[lhermiston]

Day 2 - The Narrows

We got up around 5 on Memorial Day. We knew this would be one of - if not the - busiest days at Zion and we didn't want to spend the entire day waiting to park or waiting for the shuttle. It's funny how much Zion was like Disney World - get there early to beat the crowds, do a bunch in the morning, take a break in the afternoon when it's too hot and come back in the evening after it's cooled off.

We ended up getting to Zion around 6 a.m. and put on our gear for The Narrows - special hiking boots, neoprene socks and a walking stick. We had previously reserved a package that included waders, but were told it'd be too hot for that.

I should probably explain what The Narrows is/are. The Narrows is a hike at Zion National Park up the Virgin River, which has carved a deep slot canyon over the course of a few million years. I learned about it while researching this trip and it immediately became a bucket list hike for me.

After getting our gear on, we made our way to the shuttle stop where we had about a 35 minute wait. The Narrows was the final stop for our shuttle and began after about a mile-long hike from the bus stop. After a short walk down some steps, we were in the water.

The water was about 50 degrees and it didn't take long for it to get above our boots. It was cold, but you got used to it fairly quickly. The bigger challenge was the hike itself - instead of walking on sand or something like that, the river bed was tons of roughly bowling ball sized rocks that had been worn smooth over the millennia. Even with a walking stick, maintaining your balance could be a challenge at time - especially when navigating some of faster moving water - and all of us had some close calls.

Let me tell you, guys, the Narrows is so much fun and absolutely gorgeous. I took a bunch of pictures, but they really don't do it justice. It's unlike anything this Iowa boy has ever seen.

The Narrows by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

The Narrows by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

We hiked about 3.5 miles up the river - sometimes reaching water that was about waist deep - until we got to a portion that was fairly deep. There were a couple of large boulders here, which we scaled so we had a dry place to sit and eat the lunch we packed.

After lunch, we made our way back to the trail head, which was much more of a challenge in certain areas. Going with the river, especially when it was moving quickly posed more of a threat to sweep us off our feet. The walking sticks came in handy and none of us wound up in the river, though we were definitely soaked from the bottom down.

All in all, this was the coolest hike I've ever been on and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who can get out there.



I'll pause here and pick up on the second half of Day 2 later.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Wow!! Definitely putting Zion on my bucket list! Can't wait to read/see more!

 

[lhermiston]

Day 2, Part 2

After the Narrows, we got back on the shuttle and returned to the visitors area and returned all of our gear to Zion Outfitters. It was a little early to call it a day, but none of us were in the mood for another big hike. We settled on the Watchman Trail, which was accessible from the visitors center and didn't require us hoping on a shuttle again.

The Watchman Trail was another interesting trail. While Emerald Pools was kind of foresty and had waterfalls and the Narrows was up a river, this was more arid and desert-like. It was hot and more exposed, so in that respect, it was a more strenuous hike. But it offered some great views.

Zion by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Zion Canyon by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

After the Watchman Trail, we stopped in at the Zion Brewpub for dinner and some drinks. I had a buffalo meatloaf burger that was to DIE FOR. Seriously, just amazing. Along with my burger I had a strawberry rhubarb beer that was recommended on the menu. After a long day of hiking, it tasted like the best beer I've ever had. Seriously delicious. If you're ever out in Zion, I highly recommend it. The brewpub is literally right outside of the park and close to Zion Outfitters, so it's a good place to hang out.

After that, we headed back to our cabin for beer and card games. It was a great night with my buddies, but I went to bed with a sense of apprehension. In the morning, we would be attempting Angels Landing...

To be continued.

 

[sylkai]

Hahahaha, Angels Landing is right there on my NOPE list. It might top it.

Your pictures continue to be gorgeous. I need to get back to Zion and actually do it right.

 

[lhermiston]

Hahahaha, Angels Landing is right there on my NOPE list. It might top it.

Your pictures continue to be gorgeous. I need to get back to Zion and actually do it right.

I’ll get the Angels Landing post up soon. I went back and forth on it a million times.

 

[lhermiston]

Day 3 - Angels Landing

The alarm went off at 5 again Tuesday morning, but it seemed like all of us were a little slower out the door. Maybe we were tired, a little worse for wear, but I suspect it might have had something to do with our destination.

I probably first read about Angels Landing a year or so ago when I started looking into this trip. The images I found of the views from the top were breathtaking and part of me desperately wanted to see those views for myself. On the other hand, so much of what I read and saw about the hike had my head screaming, "NO FREAKING WAY, DUDE." I tried to watch YouTube videos of the hike (with awesome titles like, "Deadliest Hikes in America") to see if that would ease my concerns and they just made my heart race. I'm not a heights guy nor am I a "fall to my death" guy.

So, I went back and forth on whether I would do this hike for months. Literally, the better part of a year I wavered on it...right up to that very day. The night before the hike I told myself it was okay if I didn't do it (and the other four members of my group said the same thing to each other). But, the other four guys seemed pretty committed and one of my former coworkers had done it over Spring Break a couple months earlier, so I felt a sense of obligation to do it.

We got out the door around 5:30 and made the drive to Zion, getting in sometime around 6 or 6:15. I don't recall waiting along time for a shuttle and, before too long, we were on our way to the stop for Angels Landing.

Here's the deal with Angels Landing: the trail is just over 2.5 miles, but the first two miles are pretty much just switchbacks and the last half mile is the actual spine that you climb out on (the scary stuff), so you have a LONG time to think about what lies ahead. The switchbacks are pretty tough, but the views along the way up are pretty great.

Zion Canyon by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

The switchbacks open up to an open sandy area just before the last half mile - Scouts Landing. It's your last stop before you go out on the spine. I had been a little apprehensive up to this point (I remember breathing a little more heavily than normal on the hike up, and it wasn't because it was strenuous), but when I finally saw what I was about to tackle, I felt...fine. It's hard to describe. Kind of like watching a scary movie with an unseen monster and then it's just some dude in a bad mask.

So, I was calm, but Angels Landing is no joke. I clutched to every chain that was provided me and clung to the face of the rock when there was no chain. For half a mile I climbed, shimmied, scooted and did whatever I could to make my way while avoiding falling to my death. And, I snapped a few pics, of course.

Angels Landing by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Angels Landing by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Angels Landing by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

I really don't know how long it took us to get to Angels Landing. I broke up the half mile into a dozen little portions, focusing only on the next step to take or the next chain to grab. But, eventually we made it and were treated to some incredible views.

This pic is from the top, but doesn't really do it justice:

Angels Landing by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

And here's a pic of me and my buddies (I'm the guy in the hat):

Angels Landing by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

We sat atop Angels Landing for a little bit. There were probably 30 or 40 other people up there. It's a fairly big area. I had a Clif bar while tons of chipmunks ran around, trying to scavenge whatever crumbs they could. I saw what I think was a peregrine falcon just off the mountain, as well. The weather was gorgeous and it was a really cool experience.

Of course, getting to the end of Angels Landing is only half the battle. We had to get back down. Because we had an early start, we didn't have too many people going the opposite way on our way out, but on the way back, there were considerably more people. That can make things tricky. You're either waiting for people to pass, clinging to the chain and making yourself as flat as possible so they can reach around you or trying to find a safe place to step off the trail to make room. It could be a little hair raising, but most people on the hike were really, really nice. I think we all understood this was a serious, dangerous hike and there was no sense in messing around.

We finally made it back to Scouts Landing and worked our way back down the switchbacks. I think a weight was definitely lifted for all of us. We had faced our fears and survived. I can't speak for my entire group (and I know one member of the party definitely does not share my opinion), but I thought it was a blast. I would probably do the hike again. That said, the overprotective father and husband in me would never do the hike with my wife and daughters (though I seriously doubt they would be interested).

So, that was Angels Landing. While not as "fun" as the Narrows and certainly more challenging, it was a great hike, probably my second favorite of the trip (behind the Narrows). I recommend it if you're in decent shape and don't totally lose it with heights.

After Angels we said goodbye for good to Zion. We drove back to our cabin and made a pit stop in Hurricane some really good Mexican food. That afternoon, we explored the Red Cliffs Recreation Area, which was literally right across the highway from our cabin. Supposedly, there was a trail with a waterfall over there, but all we found was some stale, stagnant pools. Not really worth getting into since it was kind of a bust, but we had fun.

When we got back to the cabin, we had supper, tidied up and loaded up the van. In the morning, we'd head to our next destination.

Next up...Bryce Canyon

 

[lhermiston]

Day 4

After getting up, showering and doing some last minute cleaning around the cabin, we hit the road for Bryce Canyon National Park. It was about a two hour drive and a good chunk of the trip was through the Dixie National Forest, which was cool, but I didn't get any pictures. We got into Bryce around lunchtime and ate some sandwiches at the van, before filling up our water bottles and heading out.

My buddy Jake had done Bryce before and initially proposed an 8-mile hike, but seeing as a few of us were starting to feel some cumulative fatigue over the past few days, we opted for a 6-mile route instead: the Najavo Loop and the Peek-A-Boo Loop (I think). It was sunny, but not overly warm, maybe 70 degrees. It felt great.

The hike varied from easy to somewhat strenuous, but the views never got old. Bryce Canyon is a truly remarkable place.

Bryce by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Bryce by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Bryce Canyon by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Bryce Canyon by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

Even though it wasn't too hot, it did get a little toasty on our hike. There's not a ton of shade and there's something about being surrounded by rock and sand that dries you out a bit. Fortunately, we all brought plenty of water.

The only part that was kind of a drag: getting out of the canyon. After Angels Landing, we were all pretty done with switchbacks. Unfortunately, switchbacks weren't done with us...

Bryce Canyon by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

But, we made it out and were treated again to some terrific views from the rim of the canyon.

Bryce Canyon by Lee Hermiston, on Flickr

So, Bryce Canyon was really cool. I think it probably ranks as a single day park (in WDW terms). There were more hikes we could have done, but the topography was largely the same throughout the parks - hoodoos, rocks, some trees and horse poop everywhere. I liked Bryce a lot, but coming from Zion, it was hard to measure up. Still, I highly recommend it.

Bryce was our last day of hiking for this trip. Living in Iowa, I simply don't get to see environments like this very often, if ever. We almost never went west on vacations growing up, opting for the beach or cities instead of mountains and canyons (we did to Colorado and South Dakota once each). I was amazed every day in these parks at how beautiful our country is. What was especially encouraging was how many people were at the parks. Zion and Bryce are not especially close to anything. You have to choose to go there and I'm thrilled so many people chose to spend their time at our national parks. I heard many different languages spoken on the trails and I'm hopeful that people from around the world choose to come to the United States not just for Disney World and our big cities, but our natural areas, as well.

Now, my PSA for anyone reading this: hiking is awesome and our national parks are incredible, but if you opt to visit these or any other wilderness areas, please plan accordingly. During this trip, we saw so many people without proper hiking gear (like, flip flops and open toed shoes on strenuous, rocky trails) or without adequate water. Getting out of Bryce, we saw one woman - maybe in her 20s - having an absolute breakdown and it seemed fairly evident that neither her nor her two companions had any water on them. That's silly, dangerous and puts people at unnecessary risk. It takes 5 minutes to plan ahead for these trips. Okay, rant over.

After leaving Bryce, we went to our next cabin for the night. That night we went out to eat, drank some more beer and just took it easy. The next day was our last day of the trip and we were heading back to Vegas...

 

[lhermiston]

INTERMISSION

So, I did do some running after about a 10-day hiatus due to my trip. It all went fine, but I'm just kind of winging it/going with what I have time for, especially on the week days. That said, it was good to get back out after my break.

Tuesday

4 miles @ 9:09/mile. First run since before my break. I was worried I'd be dogging it a bit, but everything went fine.

Wedesday

4 miles @ 9:16/mile. Not much to report. Another early morning run. It's been pretty dang hot and humid this week, even in the mornings, but getting my runs out of the way before work has been ideal.

Saturday

6 miles @ 9:09/mile. I like my weekend runs because I tend to have more time. We had a ton of rain come through Saturday morning, so I had to wait for that to clear up. Then it was really, really muggy. But, the trade of - like I said - was having more time to run.

Sunday

8 miles @ 9:12/mile. My longest run since the marathon. I have a 7-miler next month, so I don't need to worry about pushing things too far and frankly, I've probably lost most of my marathon conditioning. I'm still planning on mixing in some longer runs (8-10, maybe 12), just to maintain some semblance of fitness for this fall when I go into Dopey training. I need to balance maintaining my conditioning with not totally burning myself out on running. So far, so good.

It was incredibly muggy this morning and I was soaked in sweat by the time I got back. I missed a decent downpour by about an hour. So, that was good, although it might have felt pretty refreshing.

Miles this week: 22
Year to date: 665 (glad I didn't go one more, that might have been ominous!)