35,000 Steps

Three years ago, I first ran up Mueller Park to Rudy's Flat, which was twelve miles round trip. It was totally exhausting. But I have also done that a few other times.

At one point I thought, "If I get in really good shape, maybe I could instead go up North Canyon to Rudy's Flat, then keep going down to Elephant Rock, then turn around." But that would be even longer and harder.

So guess what I did this week?

I did the typical seven-mile North Canyon run on Monday, but on Tuesday it was time to meet my new goal.

Past Rudy's Flat (the 3.5-mile mark), the trail is less familiar, but I've still been there enough to know what to expect. There are pockets with no shade, and that's part of why I wanted to get this done before it gets to be later in the summer. Running in the sun in the summer isn't very enjoyable.

When I made it to Elephant Rock, I felt very accomplished. I made it! It was more than six miles to get there. But I was also nervous, because I had to go uphill again for not quite three miles, and then still three and a half more miles downhill.

But I did it! In total, I went 12.75 miles, took 26,651 steps, and climbed 2,523 feet. It took more than three hours (because I am slow). Timewise, that is my longest run ever, and distancewise, it is my second-longest run ever. Only my half marathon was longer, but that was paved and mostly downhill. That means this was officially my most challenging run ever.

But the best part is that I wasn't even that exhausted afterwards. I still had enough energy to continue my day as normal, including going on a small walk in the evening to look for goathead plants. (I didn't find any.) My watch says I burned 5,000 calories, the most I've ever burned (though I think it gets less accurate the higher it gets). Fitbit gives you a badge every time you reach a 5,000-step benchmark that you haven't before, so I got a "Trail Shoe" badge for hitting 30,000 steps for the first time. (I thought it was fitting that it was a trail shoe badge, since that's what I used to get it.) I ended up with more than 34,000 steps, but I thought it would diminish the specialness if I got two badges in a day, especially if I was taking pointless steps just to get the second badge.

But despite getting all those steps on Tuesday, I still had the energy for another big day on Wednesday. In the morning, I did the usual seven-mile North Canyon run.

Then that night, I took my bookend nephews, Preston and Nathaniel, up North Canyon. It was my second time for the day, but their first time ever. I wanted to hit 35,000 steps for the day. But I was super annoyed, because my Fitbit sometimes restarts for no reason, and this time, it wasn't working for longer than usual. So there was about ten minutes when it wasn't counting my steps!

We saw this giant mushroom, the first time I have ever seen something like that!

We ended up ending our hike in the dark, since we got started later than I would have liked. When we were done, I was at 34,000 steps. If my watch had been working, I probably would have been at 35,000. Since I was cheated, I went on a late walk up the block to get 35,000, my new record.

All that exertion was starting to catch up with me. On Thursday, I didn't run in the morning, and I only did a three-mile run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in the evening. But what a run! It could not have been better. The almost-full moon was over the mountains, the sunset was one of the spectacular I have ever seen, there was a summer fragrance in the air, and the sego lilies had started to bloom. But I could feel my Achilles' tendons.

On Friday, I really felt sore, so I didn't run at all. I went on a four-mile evening hike with Nathaniel, and I was not in great shape.

Sticky geraniums

Common paintbrush

It brings me great joy to see all the sego lilies every June, since they're so iconic. In January, I had a job interview, and we talked about wildflowers. When I said sego lilies were my favorite, one of the interviewers seemed surprised that I would see them. But if you know where to go, they're pretty common (and uncommonly pretty).

But I did nothing physical on Saturday, in part because I needed to recover. (I spent a lot of time doing stuff for school.) But I hope to be back on the trails this week!