Is this Heaven? No, it's Idaho.

I was a little nervous about this past weekend. Mainly, because I knew it would be my last opportunity to get in a long training run before pacing Olga at Hardrock. And, it would be the most elevation gain/loss I’ve ever attempted in one run. Besides a nasty case of macerated feet, I came away unscathed. Time to give Drymax an honest try. And, while my main purpose was to hang out with Olga and learn how she operates before I pace her at Hardrock, I discovered, basically, no new secrets. She powerwalks flat sections so quickly that she slowly drops me. In response, I have to run back up to her to keep up with her fanatical pace. Rinse and repeat. It defies the laws of physics how she can go so fast at a walk. Of course, other well-known ultra runners attest to her abilities, too. She attacks climbs with a resolve that would make a mountain goat jealous. Hey! Wait a minute! She is a goat--a Wasatch Speedgoat! The only thing slowing her down on the descents was her sprained ankle. Lucky for me, I was able to keep up because, while I could have bombed one continuous 4+ mile descent. I don’t think I would have fared well doing that later in the race where I knew a 3,000+ foot descent awaited starting at mile 43. And, she wastes no time at aid stations. Get in, get out, and keep moving forward! And, let’s be completely open here. She did not taper before this race. Another 80 mile week before the race with lots of elevation gain and descent. And, she finished the last 10 miles solidly. So focused that nothing would have stopped her from making the finish line. It was a pleasure to watch. I had a lot of fun that day on the course. Besides my macerated feet, which was attritubed from standing in cold streams, I felt awesome afterwards. The race course was incredibly beautiful and made more so by getting to spend the time with Olga.


And, what a difference a day makes! On Sunday, as we left Pocatello, it was raining. As if the course wasn’t challenging enough, rain would have made the course much more difficult due to the terrain, which was open and exposed in many areas. Basically, we had perfect course conditions. And, while there were sections in the later miles with lots of snow, it could have been a lot worse. Four weeks earlier, the trails were covered in snow within a mile of the start/finish.

We drove to the Wasatch Mountains on Sunday and Olga took me up to Brighton. It was a very enjoyable drive going up Big Cottonwood Canyon. The creek along the highway was raging and the Aspens were completely leafed out. When we reached Brighton, however, Winter still had its grips on the area. The Aspens were still dormant and the slopes at the base of the mountain were still covered in snow. Olga found the aid station that is used for mile 75 at the Wasatch 100—a small A-frame building that she said was often referred to as the “morgue”. I think it brought back lots of memories for her as she walked up the steps she had difficulty walking up in 2005. She peeked through the window while I stood at the base of the stairs. Our plan was to go on a hike up there, but that wasn’t going to happen due to the amount of snow on the ground.

We decided to drive back down the canyon to find a trailhead. Eventually, we found a suitable spot and began our hike with an immediate climb out of the canyon. We ascended over 2,000 feet within a few miles into an open basin before, eventually, turning around. The light rain led to bright sunshine by the time our hike ended. We had forgotten to take water with us, but the snowmelt streams provided all we could ever want. We came to the conclusion that people in the Salt Lake area are totally spoiled with the Wasatch at their doorstep. I can’t imagine having such close access to so many mountain trails. I’m getting excited about July in Silverton. More mountains for this flatlander to enjoy.