Posts Tagged ‘Big Springs’

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.

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.

Day 5 of my smoke free endeavor started off a little slow and sore, the rain came in around 4:00 pm and gave a fresh sent to the air. Long about 7:30 pm I decided to get to Big Springs Hollow and run a 8k loop, still plenty sore from the 14 mile trip to the summit of Timpanogos the day before. What better way to deal with the pain than to push it out with more pain, yea I know but seems to work in my head. I got to the parking lot about 8:00 and knew I had about 1 hour 20 minutes till dark and I wasn’t carrying a light this time so I needed to get around the loop before the lights went out.

My lungs are recovering very well now that I haven’t smoked in 5 days and I stay very active every day I can. The ground was wet from the rain and there was a few sprinkles coming down as I cleared the first big meadow and about 2 minutes ahead of my normal time. Right away I have noticed I have better lung power going on, I don’t seem to be struggling to get air as bad as I did even just 4 days ago.

I got over the hill scramble and started down into the next meadow where there was a bunch of deer grazing and watching Sam and I very closely, just in case we got hungry. I toped out over the wood bridges of the springs in about 42 minutes and was heading down to the campground at the top when it started to rain. There were tow people kissing in the rain on the bridge at the camp site as I crossed it, scaring the hell out of them, sorry about that! The trip down only took me about 14 minutes, I was running as fast as I could to get out of the rain but at the same time it felt so good and cool.

I hit the bottom at about 1 hour 2 minutes and the rain stopped, great run in the rain!

I’m on day 3 of my new smoke free life and even thought the stress has been a little high today, the benefits have started to amaze me already. Went out to Big Springs Hollow to do my favorite 8k or 5 mile loop with Sam my German Shepard. I usually finish the loop in about 72 minutes but today when I looked down at my watch I had done it in only 61 minutes, that is an 11 minute faster run time than my normal time!

From what I understand the carbon monoxide has now left my blood stream and tissue and is now being replaced by oxygen. The oxygen is working on faster cell recovery, so when I push it over a hill my recovery time is faster. This is not only showing up in the run itself but after the run I notice that I’m less tired and recover from the run much faster than when I smoked!

I also have noticed that I’m sweating less on the run now, I use to just pour it on uncontrollably but on this past run I was pretty dry when I got back. Again I would think that the oxygen is playing a big part in that. My lungs are clearing out and I can now take a deep breath without hacking all over the place, still hurts just a little but that should get better soon.

I want to thank Josh and Susan (mom)  for your comments, you don’t know how much they have helped me already!

Day 2 was harder than the first day, I have been sick to my stomach for most the day and I’m sure it is the gum causing it, would love to go for a run or ride right now! For the past 5 days I have been running about 8k every day, I want to go for a ride but for some reason I keep doing trail runs. Big Springs Hollow is my favorite place to run. There is a 8k or 5 mile loop there that just rocks! It has a bit of everything going on for it, from grassy meadows and big open fields to tight covered in trees and plenty of water for your dog. That all adds up to a really diverse run or ride but I love to run that loop.

It looks like day 3 and 4 could be the worst of this, I have plenty of gum to back me up and I’m hoping to get out and do something to get my mind off the stress. A long ride or run/hike would work good for me.

Please leave me a comment and help me get through this, need the help right now!

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.