American Fork Twin Peaks

E really likes me to post my mountain activities so here is the latest. The following pictures are of the American Fork Twin Peaks which make up the highest in Salt Lake County. This summit is the most prominent as seen from the Snowbird Ski Resort. During this trip we hit a few more peaks that are part of the Bullion Divide.

We used the Pipeline Couloir route to get up to the Twin Peaks.



During the hike up to the couloir which is hidden from view until you are almost right under it, we crossed through many a spring run off...



... and over the top of it hoping not to fall through the snow and into the cold water.



This is a view looking down from the top of the couloir



I am not sure why some of the group isn't climbing with their mountaineering axe, it was very steep and would be very difficult to self arrest with a ski or trekking pole. If one lost their balance here, it would have been a quick slide down.

A view from the top with Timpanogos in the background:



A view of Silver Lake Flat:



The Pfeifferhorn and Lone Peak:



This is a ridge that we crossed that leads over to Mt. Baldy and the Snowbird Tram.



In a few weeks I hope to have some pictures of Mt. Rainier from the Liberty Ridge route.

BFRE, Days 2 & 3

(Note to readers: You can skip the BFRE posts. They're mostly for me so I can log my progress. Truly, my feet are not so fascinating that you need to spend a few minutes of your life reading about them each day!)

So, yesterday I ran 1 mile in my Vibrams and 1.5-ish today. Feeling pretty good. My calves don't tighten up as much, which is good. No injuries to speak of. I can tell that I favor my left foot. I think it's because it's weaker and can't run correctly yet. Hopefully that will change. Tomorrow I will wear my Sauconys with my orthotics to run 3 miles. When I get home I plan to cool down a nice and easy 2 miles in the Vibrams. We'll see how it goes

Wasatch My...

Beginning.

We awoke at 4 AM after 2 hours of sleep to drive to the start in Logan. It was cold and dark when our first runner took off at 5:45 AM.

All our runners did an AMAZING job! They conquered uphills, downhills, long runs, heat, cold, dusty roads that kicked dirt into mouths, sunburn, no sleep, tummy aches, vomiting, side aches, no showers, and 188.2 miles.

Finish!


(The medals from last year were bottle openers too. I wonder if I should be opening more bottles...)

We loved it so much, we are already signed up for the Wasatch Back 2011 and the Las Vegas Ragnar in October.

Anyway, I'll post more pictures when I've caught up on my sleep and my stomach stops trying to eat itself.

Don't Think. Just Run!

Pictures

Pictures added to the post entitled, "Mountain Man." Enjoy.

The Barefoot Running Experiment, Day 1

This evening I began The Barefoot Running Experiment. These are my Vibram Five Finger Running Shoes:


I've been researching Minimalist Running and decided to give it a shot. I respect my podiatrist and believe that he really knows what he's doing. I am glad he sliced open my foot and removed my extra navicular bone. I'm just not so sure about the orthotics and all the orthotic-tweaking he's been doing. I made it through the Wasatch Back with Naproxen, Tylenol, my Keens, and my running shoes (complete with orthotics), but now it's time for something completely different.

It's important to ease into barefoot running. Tonight I ran 1/2 mile in my Vibrams. Tomorrow, if I don't notice any discomfort from today, I will run 1 mile. My goal is to run the Freedom 5K on July 5th in my Vibrams.

My observations through and after tonight's run:

Don't think. Just run. This, in addition to being my personal and our Wasatch Back team motto, held true for me tonight. I was trying to pay close attention to my feet -- how I was landing on my heel, trying to lighten my heel strike, how my calves were feeling, etc -- it was too much attention. When I quit worrying about my feet so much, I fell into a natural rhythm that was comfortable and even. I wanted to go further, but I knew if I overdid it I could hurt myself pretty badly.

After the run my calves were a tiny bit tight, but not too bad.

Other than that, I feel really good. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run and to increase my mileage.

Mountain Man

For Father's Day the kids and I made J a coupon wallet full of coupons like: "Good for 3 glasses of water when Daddy's working in the yard" and "Good for 3 back massages (the kicking kind*)" and "Good for helping Daddy weed as much as he wants"

For Father's Day I got J a box of See's Dark Chocolate Molasses Chips and 2 whole days with just his boys while I ran the Wasatch Back. While I was running the Wasatch Back a skirt came in the mail for me. J texted me once while telling me that "It is like Lord of the Flies" when I asked him how things were going at home. Tonight for dinner we are going to have peanut butter sandwiches. This Father's Day seems a little backwards, but J seems ok with that, so I am too.

Once again blogger is not letting me post pictures of my mountain man, network engineer, amazing father, sweetie, so I'll find a good one later.

Found one:


* This involves J lying face down while the boys lay on their backs and pummel his back with kicks. I'll post a picture of that too.

Here you go. It's all blurry because, well, they're kicking. The pictures I took after this one are funny because someone is crying because he got kicked too. Life with boys...

Happy Father's Day, Grandpa Kim!

So, this morning when my parents called to wish J a happy father's day, my dad told J, "You need to convince E to have Father's Day everyday and Mother's Day just one day a year." Hmm. Mission Accomplished.



I've always been a daddy's girl. I followed my dad around helping him with projects -- building bookshelves, staining the deck (I did abstain from his tree-felling adventures though -- didn't approve of those). I love my dad's gentle nature and his funny laugh. When my first boyfriend came over, my dad proudly showed him the recently installed chin-up bar and told him to do some chin-ups. Mike did 19. My dad did 3. So then, Dad asked Mike to hit him in the stomach to see how hard and awesome his stomach muscles were. I'm glad Mike refused. Dad regularly asks guy relations and friends to hit his stomach. It's great! I love my daddy.