July 29, 2013

Deseret News 10K

Opening mile of the Des News 10K. Miles Batty (Asics, red) won it.

A little belated since we left for vacation in Jackson immediately after the race, but here is the link to my full race report from the Deseret News 10K. The short story is that I ran 29:45 for 5th place, holding on for dear life after a ridiculously quick opening two miles. A positive takeaway is that I was finally able to out kick someone in the final stretch, which has been my weakness over the past month. Results.

I'm taking a couple weekends off from serious races and to get in a good chunk of training. Aiming for an Altitude-5K PR at the Dart 5K on 8/17 and then I'll be defending my title at the TOU Half Marathon on 8/24.

Around 3.5 miles into the race, running w/ Brad Osguthorpe.
Final stretch. Josh held me off by a second (for the third time this month!), but I was able to pass Brad.

After my race was done, we got back out on the course to cheer on one of our best friends (Allie!) who ran 2:51 to win the marathon!!!


Allie bringing it home

July 28, 2013

Ski Lake from Teton Pass


This is a short hike that can be accessed from Teton Pass (Philips Canyon). Only about 4 miles r/t and the trail is actually good for running. We did this on our way home... always sad to leave Jackson, but no matter what we do on vacation here, we think of ten more things we want to do on the next visit. And there will definitely be another summer visit in 2014!



Always packing the bear spray in this part of the country

Jackson Lake


Last year Andrea and I went kayaking on Jackson Lake. This year, our friends Rachel and Greg were able to borrow their friends' boat for the afternoon.

I can't think of many other lakes in the USA that have a mountain backdrop like this.





We skipped camping due to the rain, so we made smores indoors!

Amphitheater Lake


Amphitheater Lake is an awesome hike. Starting from Lupine Meadows, you climb about 3000 feet over 4.8 miles up to the lakes. Yeah, there's two lakes - Amphitheater and Surprise. Classic Teton landscapes...









Grovont aka "Mormon Row"


Mormon Row is an awesome spot to stroll around and take cool photos. The light is generally best in the morning (since the Tetons face East from this perspective), although we were here in the late afternoon this year, so the pictures are a little washed out. Still, its such a neat place and always worth checking out if you are in GTNP.









Jenny Lake, Hidden Falls, and Inspiration Point


We weren't sure what to do on our first day in Grand Teton National Park, since Andrea's longest hike post-surgery was ~3.5 miles. Its really easy to push yourself HARD in the Tetons, so we attempted to avoid that. Since we hadn't spent much time at Jenny Lake before, we decided to do the classic tourist hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. It ended up being a great time - we saw a moose swimming in a pond, and enjoyed the views from the Inspiration Point area.

This was our second consecutive summer trip to Jackson. For 2012 photos and whatnot, go here.



There's a moose in the center of the photo






Post-hike ice bath in Jenny Lake

July 22, 2013

Alta Wildflowers


Not much text needed for this post... just a bunch of photos of the wildflowers GOING OFF at Alta (and throughout the Wasatch Mountains) right now. Andrea and I went for a hike up through Albion Basin yesterday. The colors are spectacular...