Crawling Across America!

I have been following Dean Karnazes as he runs across America in 75 days. I am motivated by individuals who test the limits. It always inspires me to do better! I also just finished his book. Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner. It was very enjoyable to listen to as I was out running myself!

"Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must, just keep moving forward and never give up!" - Dean Karnazes.

Crawling pretty much describes my workouts this week. I didn't miss any workouts and I enjoy getting out, but I just seem to be slower than usual. I continue with the allergies. They started out early this year and have never really gone away since February.

The highlight of the week was getting out in the foothills. Even though it continues to be wet and stormy, the snow has melted off a bit higher so some of the lower trails were in decent shape on Saturday. I decided to take the trekking poles with me on the trail and see if I could run with them. I knew I would be able to run much anyway due to this being my first trail with any significant elevation gain this season.

I was glad I took them. I have written before about how for regular hiking that they are great. They take a lot of pressure off the knees and allow you to get up the hills faster having the arms and upper body there to help out. In the stretches where I could run, I found that they weren't too cumbersome. I got into a rhythm where for each pole plant, I would take two strides. I could push off with the poles slightly and was similar to cross-country skiing. I will probably try them again. They definitely helped with balance as well.

Here is a picture not far after I had reached the top of my climb and started heading back down. The cliffs you see off to the left are the mouth of Provo Canyon. It is a lot prettier when things green up and the sun comes up first thing in the morning, but it was still an enjoyable view.

Several shout outs are over due. Hillary, great job in getting your weight down to pre-kid levels! Martha and Gordon are looking good and keeping in great shape. We may even make a runner out of Gordon yet! :) Bill continues to amaze with his ability to run incredible distances every week (day!). Todd gets in some great workouts every week! Clyde doing his 30 day challenge has done great in consistency and improvement as well! Those who ran Boston, way to go! Oma and Opa, keep up the exercising! Great job! Mark A. is staying true to his commitment as well! Hang in there and I will too!