Running in the city: Recap 1

Happy Thursday!  

I figured today was a good point to stop and recap my re-intro back to running.  I have been running all summer, but never seriously and a little more here and there with the wedding and the move. 

I decided this new city, and this city where running and fitness is the way of life, was a good place and time to "re-dedicate" myself to running if you will.  I have been a little nervous about the heat, the altitude, and the elevation, but thankfully, it has been a mild week in Salt Lake City.  So that just leaves altitude and elevation...

Monday was the start of a new week.  I decided it was time to lace up my Newtons and try my luck at this running thing.  Olive and I drove to the capital and ran three miles around the beautiful capital building. 

There is a nice little crushed stone path that circles the capital (about .70 miles each lap).  I ran two laps around the track, and my last lap around the block. While it is relatively flat on the trail,  there was a hill as you went up the block which proved to be REALLY challenging.  I was already gasping for air with the altitude difference, so this hill hit me HARD. 

As you can see by my pace..... it was not my  best run.  I was gasping for air and losing the battle of the hills.  And when I stopped I felt like I was going to hit the deck.  But the weather was nice, and the view was spectacular, so after catching my breathe, I realized I was going to survive and it just wasn't my best run.  So I am going to stick with a bad run is better than no run. Wednesday i set out for some "RUNDEMPTION"  run redemption (just made that up!).  You know, that feeling after a reallly bad run where you just need a good run to prove you actually can run, and you don't always feel like a 300 lb person with Asthma. I decided to head to Liberty Park, where it was shaded and FLAT and take two struggles out of my run.  So I had a flat area to run in the shade, now I just had to battle the altitude.

This was already my second time running at Liberty Park, and my third time visiting it, so I knew it was going to be a beautiful fun.  (you can read about my first time at the park HERE) I also knew each lap was about 1.3 miles.  

AND I knew where the people and dog water fountain was so we could run our laps without having to carry water.   The water is constantly flowing from a natural underground spring and taste 100x better than the water in Thatcher's apartment.

The park is absolutely beautiful and we had a great run.  We did one mile at an easy pace, and the next three miles fast on the long stretches and slow on the corners.  It was nice to run in the park where it was shaded, different terrains, no traffic, and no stop lights.  

Laps4

View Splits

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 35:14.2 4.00 8:49 1 9:01.7 1.00 9:01 2 8:53.8 1.00 8:53 3 8:48.6 1.00 8:49 4 8:30.1 1.00 8:30

I had negative splits and an overall pace of 8:49, and a longer distance of 4 miles

 so I am feeling MUCH more confident on my altitude adjustment and running

 abilities. Well, I was feeling confident until I decided to bike to class today.

                     But that's for another day. 

Hope you are all running and enjoying the summer weather. I am hoping to 

    build up my endurance and lungs a little more so I can do some Running Club 

                                     group runs and trail runs!

Bonneville Shoreline Trail Hike and Meetups

Saturday was my first attempt at getting back into fit running active Katie.  After a wedding weekend and a road trip, I am excited to get back to a routine and workout schedule. 

First off, Thatcher and I took Olive for a hike at the Bonneville Shoreline (tease) Trail.  No, there is not a shoreline but the valley/city was once a lake I was told, so I just had to use my imagination with this one.  While there was no water to be seen, or shoreline to enjoy, the hike was gorgeous.  And HARD.   As I am huffing and puffing walking up these trails, runners and bikers are flying by me.  To say it was humbling would be an understatement. 

Today's goal is to go find some decent trail running/hiking shoes because my lovely Newtons just won't cut it on the trails.  This week will be back to road running and hoping to adjust to some trail running soon.  Because seeing these people run up the trails I can barely walk up makes you feel pretty terrible about yourself.  

After my humbling hike, I joined the Salt Lake City Runners Club on Meetup.com.  I really love the meetup website and was really excited to join a meetup group here in the city.  While there are meetups everywhere, there are more options being in the city vs. back in CT.  I figured joining the meetup was a good way to A)  meet some people and B) find some motivation to run.  Running with my friends at home was my key to success back home so I wanted to try this here.  The next scheduled run was today, at 9:30-12:30, run followed by brunch.   I am going to give myself some time to adjust to the altitude and then Maybe start joining next week.  

Off to find some shoes!  

Pioneer Park Farmer's Market

I made it to Salt Lake City Thursday night around 5:30 pm.  The road trip went well with no issues.  I am still amazed.  No animals or people were harmed or lost in the making of #katiemoveswest .  And yes you are missing out if you are not following along on instagram (RunningARagnar)

I have so much to catch up on... Rehearsal dinner, weddings, the road trip, and adjusting to life in the city. But I think I am going to start with today.  Today we went to the farmers market held at Pioneer Park, basically next door to Thatcher's apartment.

I have been to many farmer's market- all wonderful but rather small.  This one, in Salt Lake City is g i g a n t i c.  It takes up the entire park and was overwhelming, really crowded, but amazing.  So many vendors.. so many people (and dogs!).  So many goods, and so much food.  You can stop for lunch, listen to some music, and for $5 you can even take a turn on the trapeze.  

We stuck to the shopping and shopped until we couldn't carry another thing- fruit, flowers, bread, jewelry, dog treats, and so much more came home with us-- thankfully it is about a 2 minute walk.  I could have probably spent the day here if my wallet allowed. 

I am really looking forward to going there every Saturday morning.  My waistline is not.  Thankfully it is all healthy local and mostly organic.  Enjoy these little snapshots of my morning!