Turtle Runner

Checked out how to get from our house to Jordan River Parkway and back. Getting ready for Sunday's run with Les and Maurine.

Great run with Les & Maurine!

Hiked in Draper - Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Beautiful run with Leslie and Oddie on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. I'm still a little tired and dragging the day after.

Okay Leslie, I finally got up from my lazy a and made an entry. Today was great running in the rain with you. Sorry for boring you with my drama. Hope I wasn't too negative. I'll blame it on the weather. Looking forward to our run down the canyon next week. Nice weather now.. too bad I'm too sore to go out again. Looking forward to meeting Smooth at the Ogden m. Thanks everyone for the encouragement. Signing out for now,

Slow turtle Gary

Just the tred mill - hill cycle.

What a fun adventure with Leslie. We started at the top of Millcreak Canyon and did the Pipeline Trail all the way to overlooking the valley. Then we came down the gulch and back out of the canyon only to figure out I left the keys to my car in Leslie's car so we did another 5 miles back to the top of the canyon to get the car. The extra five miles saved me a $3.00 fee.

Leslie was so awsome! It was a great run for both of us. It was cool, sunny, and beautiful. I love running with Leslie. I will miss running on the weekend and next week as we taper off for the marathon next weekend.

Went hiking with Ernie up Millcreek Canyon.

Treadmill running. Two miles on the loose weight setting and one mile on the uphill 5mph setting.

What a beautiful marathon course. We left an hour before the starting time. It was the first time that I've ever seen the fast marathon runners. It was fun to see three wheel chairs pass us about mile 7 and not long after the first two fastest runners. It was a new experience for me to be able to encourage and enjoy seeing the beautiful and strong runners since I tend to be with the slower runners at the end of the marathon.

The start of the race was freezing cold but I had bought gloves for $1.00 and they saved me from turning into an icicle. Then as the morning sun was warming up and sparkling on the water we were passing the resevour. It was so beautiful. It was so fun to run with Leslie as she always knows the right things to say to people and notices things I am missing. Everyone loves Les and she has a perfect pace for me and is always so gracious.

Going up the hill was fun since the rest of the race was downhill. What fun it was to have Harold and Ernie there to meet us at mile 17. A kiss and a few kind words and I was ready to take on the last 9 miles. I decided to try to stretch my legs and see what energy I still had so I took off down the hill. What a lot of fun. I was keeping up with the 4 1/2 hour marathon runners. Coming out of the canyon, there was an awesome little running trail with tall shade trees on both sides. I loved it as I tried to figure out what type of trees they were.

Finally about a half mile from the finish line I could hear a band and announcer. I started stretching my legs again and although I didn't think I could run anymore, somehow I got a surge of energy. The finish line was about 3 1/2 blocks down the road and I started turning it on. How fun to finish a marathon with energy and vigor. I think my timing said 4:38 so I added an hour and a few minutes onto it. After three creamcicles, two smoothies, and two pieces of home-made bread, I was feeling good enough to cheer Leslie on as she came in and we enjoyed relaxing together for the next couple hours before leaving Ogden. Thanks Ogden for a beautiful experience. Thanks Harold and Leslie for being our best friends and support. And thanks Ernie! Good job to all the other runners who participated or encouraged us.

Hiked up to the Wind Caves in Logan Canyon and back. This was a fun hike.

Did the tread mill - weight loss level 6. Made me sweat pretty good. I tried to keep it up to 5 mph and blood pressure between 140-160. Hope I can eventually loose a couple pounds.

Ran around the South Valley Regional Airport. It was fun to see the National Guard armory and get familiar with this area. Ran on side of road so was good workout for ancles but wasn't pavement.

Ran around the airfield with Ernie. Did a slightly longer run than the last time.

Just a nice long evening walk with Ernie to get a movie (Valkyrie).

Midnight run around the West Jordan airport.

Went hiking in American Fork canyon. Got a little lost so ended up doing an extra mile before we figured out where we went wrong.

Ran with Leslie on the crest trail. It is so beautiful up there looking down on Park City and Big Cottonwood canyon.

Hiking Grandeur Peak with Ernie's family. We ran all the way back down to the car and my legs were sore for the next three days.

Ran 3 hours from North Long Beach to Torrance

Ran 3 1/2 hours from Palms, West Los Angeles to Palmdale.

Two hours - ran from North Long Beach to Torrance in the Los Angeles area.

Ran around the South Valley Airport here in West Jordan twice. 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Three laps around the South Salt Lake Regional airport. Started at 9:30pm and finished at 1:00am. That is 3 1/2 hours. That's a little under 12 minute miles or slightly more than 5 miles an hour. When I just did one lap it was 6 miles an hour so I slowed down on the second and especially third lap. The rain and sprinklers provided me with some cooling off but I guess I need to bring something to drink as I was really thirsty by the time I had run 18 miles.

Ran 9 1/2 miles from top of Big Cottonwood Canyon past Desolation Lake. It was a fun run with Harold on bike and Leslie running with me. Added 1/2 mile for my walk with Ernie to make it more even.

Ran with Leslie up Rattlesnake Gulch, up the Pipeline Trail, and up the Mount Aire trail. I felt about as dead as if we had run a marathon. Was sore for several days afterwards.

Took our dog Leila for a run around the airport.

Exploring the neighborhood with Leila. Nice run from 8-10pm. Looks like a harvest moon or at least a big full moon!

Leslie and I ran the mid-mountain trail from Silver Lodge above Park City to the Canyons. This is the route for the Mid-Mountain Marathon so I'm guessing it was 26 miles. I was running from 7:45 am - 2pm so about 6:10 - a slow marathon time but was probably fine for a fun run. My legs are sore tonight. I hope this helps me loose some weight.

Ran around the South Valley airport because I just couldn't say no to Lela, the dog. She hadn't been out for a couple days and was begging me to take her running.

Went running with my brother George in Spanish Fork for nearly 1 1/2 hours. It was nice running conditions and I really fun talking to my brother.

Ran with Lela up 6200 S. to Bacchus Hwy. Then up to 7800 S. following the railroad tracks part of the way, then back home. Lela gave me a good workout. I'm pretty exhausted. She likes to run a little faster than my normal slow pace.

Hiked the crest in Big Cottonwood canyon with a friend who is visiting from California (Joe). It was really fun since Joe is a biologist and geologist so he gave us lots of information about the geology and plant life in the canyon.

Just walked the dog and visited with a friend around the neighborhood.

Ran up 6200 S. to Bacchus Hwy. and then back along 7800 S. It was really hot. I remembered to bring some water for Lela. She stayed ahead of me the whole way but did seem to be getting tired towards the end.

Hiked Mt. Aire with our geology professor friend Joe and Ernie (4 miles) and then added another mile around Liberty park after dropping Joe at the airport.

Did South Valley airport loop with Lela

Ran past the Usana stadium where they were doing a concert. Then took the train tracks and cut across a field, coming out on 7800 S. and then home again. Lela did well and was good company - pushing me pretty good.

Did a hike/run with Ernie and Lela along the Jordan River Parkway trail. Not sure how far we went. Just guessing.

 Ran with Lela from 7:30-10:15 so I'm guessing we did 13.5 miles. Followed the train tracks towards Kennecot Copper Mine. Lela did really well.

Ernie and I hiked up Broad Fork Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon about a mile past the meadow/lake valley before turning around. We'll have to go back another time and try to do the rest of the hike up to Twin Peaks. It was a fun day hike up to the meadow and a little further.

I took Lela for four miles since she was so excited to go out but since she has been limping since our last run I dropped her off at home and did the last six miles around the airport on my own. Picked up about four handfulls of trash. I think I might get a reputation as the garbage runner for picking up garbage along the road while running.

Ran solo, so I took a lot of time to pick up garbage while running. Did three laps around the South Valley airport.

I did 6 miles with Lela and then went out again for another about 14 miles - took the New Bigham Hwy to 9000 S. and then headed north to 6200 S. and back home again.

Took Lela, leaving at 6:30pm and returning home at 10:30pm. We ran down the New Bingham Hwy to Bacchus Hwy, then up to 5400 S. Nice view of the Great Salt Lake as the sun was setting. Then back home. I hope Lela handled it okay. I am just too curious about these roads and trails out west to be reasonable when I set out a goal to explore a new area.

Ran from USC back to Marilyn's house near Santa Monica where we were staying. Stopped at the ONE archive to see how Ernie was doing. Ran along Adams and National. 2 hours.

Ran from Long Beach to Torrance, California along Wardlow and 223rd street to visit Stan from Ruben's house where we were staying. I collected several little examples of flowers and leaves to try to analyze later to figure out what type of plants I was looking at. 7:45-10am

Ran along Steamboat Canal trail from Skyline Blvd past McCaren about two miles until I hit a dead end. It was too dark and my flashlight wasn't working so I didn't go further. I want to try it again earlier in the evening so I can continue on since it looks like the canal goes a lot further. It was a lovely gravel/dirt road that follows the canal for miles on the southwest side of Reno.

I'm guessing on the mileage since I am exploring and just go by my time. I try to be conservative so for 4 1/2 hours I'm guessing it was 22 miles (5 miles an hour). I ran to the University of Nevada-Reno which is now on break between semesters. Then I took McCarren Blvd. to the south and west, followed the Truckee River North a mile or two and then went south to Steamboat ditch trail and followed it home. I was really tired last night and couldn't sleep well after the run but feeling good the day after.

Went for a walk with Ernie along the Truckee River from downtown Reno to the west for about 2 miles and back again. It was nice to talk and evaluate how things were going.

Was walking home from University of Nevada-Reno but Ernie picked me up after only walking about two miles.

Ernie and I went hiking with Andy & Kevin (brother-in-law/spouse). It was lots of fun. We ran most of the way down but later in the day I had stomach cramps. Its been a long time since I had that problem.

Took our dog Lela for a run around the airport field. She hadn't been out running since we left for California so she was really excited but perhaps not in top condition.

Ran the Park City marathon as a pacer for my friend Leslie. I didn't register but enjoyed being a part of the race. We got an hour early start on the race and took 6 hours. It was a really fun run around the valley from Kimball Junction up the west side of the valley to Park City and up to Deer Valley, then back to Kimball Junction.

Took Lela out for nearly a three hour run along 7800 S. nearly to Bacchus Hwy. Then north to 5400 S. where the Usana stadium was. People were in line to park for a concert there.

This time I left later in the evening (8pm-12:00) and ran a similar route up 7800 S. to nearly Bacchus Hwy but this time continued along 5400 West to about 4700 S. before turning back towards home. It is fun to explore slightly different routes each time. Since I had taken a nap I decided it would be good to run a little later into the evening.

Had a nice walk over to the other West Jordan County Library to use the internet and see how far it was. I got my nephew and his friend Mike to pick me up since I was running late to being back for Jessica and Justin's birthday party.

Did a nice walk with Ernie and Lela to 7800 South and back again.

Ran with Lela down the Old Bingham Hwy to Bacchus Hwy and then north to 6800 North and back home again. 7:15pm-10:15pm 4 hrs.

Hiked up the Hickman Bridge Trail and also up to Navaho Knobs. Did some running down. It was a lot of fun. Most of the trail we were the only ones up there since it is off season and weekday. It was fun hiking along the top of the "Reef" and later reading about the Navaho Sandstone from the Jurassic period and the Moniter Butte (Chinle Formation) from the Triassic periods (layers of sentiment which seem particularly distinctive). It is fun to realize how insignificant I am compared to all these eons... Looking forward to more running/hiking with Leslie this weekend.

Ran the Grand Wash Trail, the Frying Pan Trail, and the Cohab Canyon trail at Capitol Reef. Unfortunately I didn't get back to the car until about 1/2 hour after dark and it caused a lot of worry for Ernie and Ron who were waiting for about 1 1/2 hours for me. It is really beautiful running up here because around each corner seems to be a new amazing view. It has been fun learning about the geological features and layers, etc. Hopefully Leslie will be up for some running tomorrow!

Had a really fun hike with Leslie/Harold and Ernie. We hiked the Peek-a-boo/Spooky loop hike which is touted as one of the best slot canyons. With peer pressure fromm about five Utah Valley young adults, Leslie was pressured into overcoming her fears and go through with it. I'm not sure she would have done it without the encouragement. It was pretty amazing. Harold tore his shorts open. It was a pretty amazing memory I don't think any of us will ever forget. To get there we take the Hwy 12 to the Hole in the Rock Road through the Staircase National Park area.

I'm probably rounding up for this one but we did a short excursion to Grandpa's rock behind Leslie's parents cabin and earlier in the day made an excursion to the Gorilla face or Lion head formation rocks to the north. There was a third hike we contemplated but we will have to save it for another trip since we were all in need of a Sunday afternoon nap and needed a day of rest to reenergize!

Hiked and ran with Ernie along the Scarlet Ridge on the north side just as you are getting close to the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park. Harold and Leslie were good enough to wait for us for the two hours it took. I think it might have been more like 10 miles but since they said it was six miles, I am making a compromise. It was sure exhilerating as we ran along a cliff edge for half of it and then saw the beautiful sea-blue, green, and yellow hillside colors of eroding dirt and the microorganisms. Ernie and I were both so high from this run, but a little stinky for the ride home. Thanks Harold & Leslie for dropping us off and picking us up and waiting for us...

Ran with Lela for 2 1/2 hours to 5400 S. 6400 W and then west to 7800 S. and back home again.

Ran 5 miles down and back to Winchester Park and then 8 miles along the parkway with Leslie. I crashed afterwards and then my stomach hurt so I basically wasted today in recovery.

Ran the last 25 miles of the 100 mile - Wasatch 100 race from Brighton to Homestead. It is the longest run I've ever done. We averaged about 2-3 miles an hour and it was lots of ups and downs on rocky trails in the dark night. We ran from 11pm Friday night until 11:30 Saturday afternoon. I was so exhausted that it has taken me all weekend to recover! I don't think I'll ever be running a 100 mile race unless it is spread out over a week because I don't like the idea of having to deal with fatigue of not sleeping for two days on top of a long run. This is for super-humans or people who don't mind abusing their bodies. I need to take care of mine, but it was fun to see the route and experience a significant part of the run.

Went for a walk with Ernie, our visiting friend Rod Foster, and Lela our dog. It was nice to stretch our legs after the marathon on the weekend.

Walked around the airport with Rod Foster (6 miles). We then did a walk with Ernie in the evening over to Walmart with the dog (Lela).

Went for a walk with Rod to see two of the houses where he used to live here in West Jordan. Since I discovered George wants to run the Top of Utah marathon in Logan this weekend I decided to just do walking trips with Rod this week so I'm good to run a long one on Saturday.

Walked with Rod to 5400 South checking out grocery stores and dropping a book off at the post office. We were looking for a coconut cake mix. We are learning they are extremely rare in the west coast but apparently something that they have in Indiana.

Went to Alpine, Utah and did a hike. We (Rod, Ernie, & I) had to get back early so we didn't make it to the lake but hiked to some beautiful vistas and then came back. Picked up some beautiful vegtables from Pam Gonzalas, Jessica's mother-in-law.

Wonderful marathon in Logan (Top-of-Utah). George and I ran bandit and his friend Ranjan was an official runner. I had registered for this marathon a couple years ago but had to skip it as it conflicted with an academic conference so it was fun to get a chance to run it. George was not in good shape so I ran a little slower than my normal pace and we stuck together until mile 20 when I took off and let out a burst of energy for the last 6 miles. I then hiked back about 1/2 mile to meet George and follow him in to the finish line. It was mostly downhill and a very pleasant run for the fall time! George's brother-in-law (Kim's brother) hosted the three of us the night before and George and I drove up the canyon and left a car up there about 4am before they closed the canyon to traffic.

Trying to get ready and see how I feel about the 50 miler (Pony Express Run) with Leslie that we are planning. I think it will work out fine but I am thinking after the first 25 miles in the morning I might take a couple hours off during the heat of the day and then start walking again about 4pm until it starts getting cooler and then do a slow jog for the last 15 miles or so. At least a strategy is forming in my mind...

Ran to school from Marilyn's house. Ernie joined me and we had lunch together before he went to the archives and I went to USC for meetings.

Ran to school again from Marilyn's house. I had left my stuff there so didn't have to carry anything except clothes to change into.

Decided to run to school again for my final day in LA.

Ran to the lake on Lakeside Dr. in Reno. Then down Virginia Street  which permeated with Harley Davidsons as they are doing "Street Vibrations" or something like that - a convention for bikers. Then along the Truckee River past McCarran Blvd. Then up the hill to the Steamboat Ditch trail. And finally back home again. Took almost 4 hours mostly in the dark. Ernie was up late doing books (amazon.com).

Took the dog for a walk about a mile this morning and then went on a walk with Ernie around a lake here in Reno for a second mile.

Did a mile with the dog and Andy this morning. Then spent about 3 hours and did a loup from Steamboat Ditch trail in Reno to the downtown and along the Truckee River.

Hiked with Ernie about 10 miles. We did the west end of the Steamboat Canal Trail. It was windy and cold. Made a loup.

I wanted to try a back to back 25 mile run Friday and Saturday this week to see how well I could do before the Poney Express 50 miler. This was a fun run from Andy/Kevin's house in Reno along the Steamboat Ditch Trail way to the west of Reno up the canyon near where the Trucky River & I-80 come down the canyon before hitting Reno.

Not so good today. I wasn't too sore and made a good start. Ernie was determined to run with me but he was hungry so we changed our route to go by a food place and towards the end of the afternoon the wind picked up and I was freezing. Ernie made some jokes about now being ready to start the race after eating and after my run yesterday and being so cold, I was not in a joking mood and told him I would probably have to quit early. It was a lovely run and if the weather had been nicer I'm sure we would have continued until after dark... Another time I guess.

Ran around the airport field with Lela and then back to the gas station to rent a DVD (old Sylvester Stalone movie). Its getting colder!

Around the airport field with Lela again. I have to remember not to eat peanut butter sandwiches before running as it creates gas and bloating in my stomach that is uncomfortable with running. Also it gets so dark so early now that I need to dress warmer and try to get out during daylight hours instead of running at night (which was refreshing during the summer. I guess it helps to be flexible and have multiple options for running. I kind of hope perhaps I will be back in California in January as I'm not looking forward to the Utah winter.

Stopped to get an ink cartridge at the office supply store and then continued around the airfield with Lela.

Took our friends Lee and Ruben for a walk around temple square. Ruben found four documents about his uncle in Puerto Rico at the genealogy library and enjoyed seeing views from the top of the church office building. The tour guide asked me if I was Mormon since I said my mom was on a mission at temple square. I told her I was raised Mormon but wasn't anymore. I didn't tell her I did a mission for the church, graduated Ph.D. from BYU's marriage and family program, and was now married to a husband. I think it might have given her a heart attack.

Did a walk around the airfield with our guest Ruben who is 70 and visiting from Los Angeles. Then tonight he and another visiting friend Lee and Ernie & Justin (Ernie's son) all did a hike to the Pipeline Trail (Grandier Peak Trail) and west to the mouth of the canyon. The guests went down at rattlesnake gulch and Ernie & I ran back to the car and picked them up on our way down the canyon.

Took our guests to the Timpanogous Caves tour (3 1/2 miles) and the boardwalk at Cascade Springs while we went around the Alpine Loop.

Walked downtown from parking to Tabernacle for Sunday broadcast and toured the Conference Center downtown SLC (2 miles) and then walked over to Walmart and back to get some sleeping pills since I couldn't sleep (2 miles). The pills did the trick wonderfully! Taking it easy otherwise this week as we have a 50 miler scheduled for Friday.

Did the Pony Express 50 miler yesterday. I hadn't slept the night before and we started at 6am and finished at 7:30pm. It was so awesome!!! Jana, our support person would drive 1-3 miles ahead of us and give us water, food, or whatever we needed and lots of positive encouragement. Leslie, my super-girl girlfriend runner buddy took off after her son Chris started encouraging her and zipped ahead of me and past the finish line! Her son is really cool and her awesome two daughters and son-in-law Paul were great support.

The weather was perfect. I think it was my funnest run yet since there was a pretty constant cool breeze and the sun shone all day making it awesome fall temperature. It wasn't too cold at the beginning/end and it wasn't too hot during the early afternoon and I've learned to moderate on the sweets, sugar, chocolate, and peanut butter so no stomach problems at all.

The real surprise and biggest thing to report though was about my "pacer" Ernie who was going to run with me. He hadn't done any training and has never run a marathon and yet he wanted to see if he could run with us for about a marathon length. I thought he would probably start to fade out about mile 13-18, but when he found he had already run 15 miles, he became more determined than ever. Then he thought he would run at least a 50K length (31 miles), and after passing that marker decided he just had to run 40 miles. He finished his 40 miles about 10 minutes after I finished. He was awesome. We have both been convelescing all day today. It has been fun waddling around the house together. Pretty amazing experience!!! Thanks Leslie and your kids for making this unforgetable event possible and memorable.

Ran around the airport in the rain with Lela. Got one bag of garbage along the north side. It was fun to stretch the legs again and helped me get a good sleep. Now I need to quit procrastinating and get back to my statistical work.

Did a hike with Ernie & Lorraine Horstmanshoff up at Albion Bason. It was beautiful while the sun was up and got super cold once the sun went down but then we went to the Cliff Spa and spent a few hours enjoying jacoosi, steam room, etc. It was awesome. Only $10 for locals and during the off season doesn't have many people there! Definitely need to trty this again as a reward after a good workout!

Did my service project for the day by picking up a dead cat that was full of maggots and stinky, and after putting it in two bags, carried it a mile to the gas station to dispose of it in their garbage. Did a trip around the airport and a little more as I had to run back home to get a video I was going to return on my way. Thinking I need to find a route that is 10 miles instead of 6 miles. Either that or do two 6 mile runs a day...

Sunday night run along the Jordan River with Ernie & Lela. It is sure getting cold. I'm not sure if I can make it through a Utah winter.