March 2015 Recap - Mark

Here is my recap of what was a very fun month on the face trails of the Wasatch. I refer to them as face trails as they are on the west face of the Wasatch Front. These trails are very accessible and get baked by the sun. It makes these trails great for spring running. 

These trails are extremely engaging to me this time of year. Some of them are quite technical and require me to get quick feet. I feel sharper after a fast (for me) descent of say, Mt. Olympus. I spent the majority of my March schedule on Mt. Olympus with a few variations here and there. 

I paced QB and Jeff Stowell at the Buffalo run. This is a 100 mile race held entirely on Antelope Island. It is a good kick-off for the Salt Lake City Ultra Running community. In all I logged 28 miles that day between pacing them both and running back and forth between them. Sarah joined me for this and also picked up some QB pacing miles. She was great! We had fun in our little tent, eating a meal in our camp chairs and just being with each other.

It was a great night and day. I started pacing QB around 1:00 AM and we journeyed through the night for about 6 hours and just shy of 20 miles. QB is an amazing man that almost every runner knows and loves. I feel like most runners would say that QB is their best trail buddy. The truth is that he is. He brings smiles everywhere he goes.

QB was 50 miles into his race and it was in the wee hours of the morning. I was tired from a long days work with a full night of pacing duties ahead of me. Our walls came down and we shared "our stories" with one another. I love the raw vulnerability that long miles and short sleep brings out in us. I feel closer to QB after I shared some deeply personal things that night. We connected. He ran strong! It was euphoric. 

Pacing is my jam and I remain committed to my long term plans of eventually getting a Hard Rock finish and then becoming a career pacer never to run a hundred again. If you read this and are ever in need of a pacer shout me a holla.

Some other highlights from March were an introduction to the BoSho above Draper. I ran this with Sarah and Matt Farness who I met at Wasatch Powder House. He is the manager there and has taken great care of me. We ran strong and the prospect of a new trail was invigorating. I since have run it one more time. If ran as an out and back, the turn offers a view of the LDS Draper Temple. 

Perhaps my favorite run of March came on Oly. I climbed a little bit above the second stream. From the first stream and beyond the trail was covered in a mash potato like snow. My descent was chaotic. I was grabbing trees, sliding, bumping, skiing and doing all that I could to stay upright. I passed a few hikers with poles and spikes gently working their way down. One of the hikers yelled out "your gonna kill yourself running like that". I thought if he only knew that I am a back-of-the-packer. It was a riot. I wanted to hike up and do it again but was pressed for time.

All in all March was one of my favorite trail months ever. I stayed very committed to eating right and working out. All in all I lost another 5 pounds during the month taking my total for the year to 14. I logged just over 80 miles with a fair amount of vert. I PRd Mt. Olympus to the first stream and back 4 different times. I felt good on all but one run. I can only pray that the rest of the year feels this good.