Big Springs Up 10-22-11
Sam and I take a trip up Big Springs up South Fork Canyon in Provo Canyon Utah, trail was a bit muddy from the recent skiff of snow we had 2 weeks ago.
Provo River Parkway Trail
The Provo River Parkway weaves its way through state, city and county parks, as well as residential and commercial areas following the Provo River, then along University Avenue to the mouth of Provo Canyon. Its 15-mile length stretches from Utah Lake State Park to Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. At its northern end, the trail passes the base of Bridal Veil Falls for a spectacular view.
My Fastest Run Time Ever – Big Springs 8k Loop
I don’t really know what happened but today I pulled off a 55 minute trail run on the Big Springs 8k loop today. Normally I have been doing it in about 65 minutes but this past week I pulled off a 62 minute run and after a few days riding the bike I hit 7 minutes off my time. I stopped smoking about 40 days ago and wondering if it just might have played a big part of this? I’m sure it has! You can check out my Smoke Free Timer and see how long it has been, leave me a comment if you can.
So I’m going to slow down my run days just a little and see if maybe that will help get my time down around 50 minutes or so, it is worth a try.

Day 7 Ride At Big Springs Hollow
Ok I have made it one week now with no cigarettes and i’m doing pretty good, my stress is a bit high but livable. So I was having trouble deciding to run or ride today so I waited till it was cool long about 7:00 pm and took Sam up to big springs. I had loaded the bike and my plan was to get up there and make my choice. It was sprinkling on the way up so I was thinking running would be the way to go but when I got up there it was nice and dry. So I pulled out the bike and set it up and got ready to roll.
There was a lot of people up there today, strange for the mid of the week, a few people putting there bikes together. I knew if I rode the 8k loop clockwise I wouldn’t see a person till around Big Springs. I haven’t been on the bike in over a week now and I could feel it on the dirt road up to the first big meadow. It was feeling pretty sticky and I stopped to check my tire pressure, they are about 5 pounds low but I let them go. It seemed to take me about 20 minutes to get into the peddle. I slipped out on the first little single track I climbed.
I got through the top gate and decided to take the climb up and over instead of taking the easy way down the road. I made it up over the climb without touching the ground and started to feel better, the downhill to the next meadow was a nice fast drop. Sam was doing her thing along the way chasing things but not killing them I hope! Before I knew it I was hitting the last uphill to Big Springs and I had already passed another female rider that I had seen at the base and was working my way past a large group of scattered hikers. I hit the top and dropped around to the campground and finished the loop and was heading down when I ran into the hikers again. The trail was full all the way down so I had to be careful and not hit anyone.
At the bottom I decided to take a ride back up and cut across to the big meadow I had started with this added on about another 25 minutes putting me out just as the light was going down.
Run Fat Boy Run
Being a former fat boy gives me the right to tell the truth. Last two days I have been running the 8k loop at Big Springs Hollow up Provo Canyon. Today Bubby went with me, he is 15 and wants to loose weight and get in shape. I have ran with him before in the past and he can do it but he seems to be playing the mind game with letting yourself quit! If you run you know it takes time to develop a running style or pace and you also learn how warm up works and when you pass through it. Taking theses things into account will help you pace yourself for a run. Sometimes the run is longer and you need to work your pace and style to reserve power for the last half of your run.
Bubby is still pretty new at this and it will take a few dozen runs to start to understand it and use it to your advantage. He did push harder today than he did in our last run together. Along the way I was trying to talk to him about what was happening and why, the best ways to deal with lactic acid buildup from a steep long uphill drag. How to pound your legs and shack it out of the muscle fiber as you move over the top of the hill. He is young and probably did not understand a lot of what I said but he did seem to do better today and did the 8k loop in about 76 minutes.
He says he want’s to run the Park City Mini-Trail Series 15k on August 14, 2010 that happens to be on my birthday! I will try to push him to do a double 8k and we will see if he can run with me in the 15k.






