Rebound

If you read my last post you know I've been in a bit of a rut lately. Many people have suggested that it was due to over-training and I tend to agree with them. While that week was physically draining, it was the mental impact that worried me most. I felt like I had lost my competitive edge and willingness to push myself to my limits. As I rolled into Monday of this past week that concern still weighed heavily on my mind, even though I physically and mentally felt a ton better. The smart way to work into this past week would have been to take it slow and short and just enjoy being outside in the nice weather. So yeah, I kind of did that.

On Monday there was still a considerable amount of snow left over from the weekend so I knew it would be a good idea to stay off the trails next to and on the mountains. Thus, I opted for my usual Monday default, the Dimple Dell gully. Slow and short, that was my focus. Well, 10 miles later and 1 minute off my personal best on that route and I realized that the cobwebs from the previous week were officially gone. My psych was back and I was ready to roll.

But the smart thing to do would have been to take it easy the rest of the week. I guess I did that. Tuesday through Thursday were easy days on the Draper BST and the gully. I never felt like I pushed hard and my distances were reasonable. I was feeling good, to say the least.

On Wednesday I had the awesome of idea of taking Friday off, gathering the crew, and heading out for a day on Antelope Island to run an ultra distance. With having drop my kids off and then pick them up later in the day I knew we'd have a firm time limit, but the 6 hours I had planned for seemed more than enough on those trails. As it turned out we got to the island and started running a little late, so we only had 5.5 hours, but that still seemed like more than enough.

Our initial plan was to run the 25k loop with the 3 mile out and back to Elephant Head, making for a total of 19 miles on the front loop. Then run Buffalo Point clockwise, then out to the east side trail and back around. All of it went off like clockwork except for when we got back up off the east side trail and realized we were only 2 miles from the car, but needed 6 more for a 50k. 25 miles in and I was now talking Scott and Matt into running to the TOP of Buffalo Point. They weren't happy about the prospect of another 1000 ft of vert, but we pressed on. Surprisingly, we all felt really strong running up the paved road. And then when we hit the short trail to the summit we charged and cruised right up. It was the perfect way to cap off the day. With only 3 miles to go that were all downhill and flat, we were amazed with ourselves as we easily flew at a 7:30 pace down the hill and then plugged away at an 8 min pace the last mile to the finish. I felt that running those miles with that vert in 5.5 hours was right on my 100 mile pace, which made me feel extremely good this early in the year.

Here are a bunch of photos from Friday's run.

 Topping out the first hill.

 Early March and we were all in shorts. You bet.

 Josh cruising down the hill into Split Rock valley.

 Back at the car after the first lap. Buffalo were very close all day.

 Scott psyched about summiting Buffalo Point. Me pointing out that he is weird.

What a great week overall. I feel like everything is back in place. I hope I can keep it up.