Zions National Park - Mystery Canyon

I had an opportunity today to hike Mystery Canyon in Zions and I couldn't pass it up. What fun. 7 hours down slot canyons with friends and a good amount of rope work.

Going down "Death Gulch" to the canyon bottom.

Rappelling down a 120 foot wall into a cool pool.

Rappelling down Mystery Falls into Zion's Narrows and the Virgin River.

Time for some new Shoes

Workouts yesterday and today just consisted of running. I did a short 3 mile run on Friday and a 12 miler on Saturday. My feet were blistered and bloody after the 12 miler. I was a bit surprised. Time for some better shoes. Unfortunately, the last time I went to a running specialty shop, I was professionally fit, spent over $100, and the result? I couldn't run more than a mile without getting a blister in the shoes that felt big for my feet.

My knees and and feet are hoping for a recommendation.

Update

Workouts Update:

Did a couple of short pool workouts and a few jogs both in St. George and in Aliso Viejo during the past week. Looking to "up" my mileage significantly so that I'm doing more than Ironman distances every week.

Gate of Tears Swim Update:
A few weeks ago I did get additional news about the water conditions in the channel. Man-eating white tip sharks are an issue and strong winds can really make things difficult. I found a great product, SHARKSHIELD that may be a solution. I talked with a distributor of the product here on the US West Coast and it is very promising.

Recent contact with the Yemeni tourism board has continued, but we still have not identified a charter boat. I am holding out hope, but concerns about pirates and the affects of a Shiite insurgency in Northern Yemen has cast a shadow over the planning effort. I don't expect to make much progress during Ramadan, but perhaps in September will get some forward movement again.

Wednesday Workout

Did 23 miles on the bike at dusk from Bloomington, through Santa Clara and Ivins up to Tuacahn Parkway and back down Bluff St. to the Virgin River trail and back to Bloomington. Though I had a bright flasher on, going 45 mph and being unable to see the cracks and obstacles in the pavement was not safe. Thrilling, but dangerous. Next time I'll have to leave a little sooner.

Now I'm going to get in a 6-9 mile jog before hitting the sack. I have to be in LA tomorrow afternoon so I need to get a good night's sleep.

Tuesday Early Morning

Joined the Summit Athletic Club crew for the 5am work out. Did 2,600m with the group & did another 2,400m to get in a full 5k.

Monday Jog

The Southern Utah Tri Club has been doing 18 and 19 mile runs on some recent Saturday mornings. Though I think it is more for those doing the St. George Marathon on October 3rd, I should be able to do it, but I'm not sure I'm there yet. I'd better get there fast if I have any hope of doing an Ironman a few months from now. So after Family Home Evening and the kids were asleep, I ran around the Bloomington Country Club twice. It felt pretty good and I kept a sub- 9 minute pace for the whole 6 miles. I'll do 9 miles next time and 12 the time after that. I'd like to get that to a sub 8 minute speed and keep that for an entire marathon before the end of January. If my calculations are accurate, a Boston qualifying time for a guy my age is a 7:26 to 7:38 per mile. Any suggestions on a good December/January marathon?

Half of an Ironman

A sore throat a few days before the Alcatraz Race was held at bay with high vitamin C doses, but a couple of days following the swim, an upper respitory tract infection and a crazy travel schedule kept me from working out for almost 2 weeks. For a guy who never gets sick, this was a real pain.

I eased back into a couple of 3k swims followed by 3 mile runs, but a crazy travel schedule the past week (I went between Southern Utah and the LA area 3 times in 8 days- mostly late night drives.) once again kept me from anything but small jogs until today.

In honor of the many Southern Utah Triathlon Club members participating in the Utah Half today, I rode 1/2 of St. George Ironman (1 loop of the 2 loop course). The 55 miles started in Bloomington and went up to Veyo via Santa Clara and Gunlock and down the 18 back to St. George and Bloomington. The mid ninety degree desert weather was nice. For those not familiar with Utah's Red Rock country, you can click on the map to get a sense of where these places are.

Tragedy and Triumph Among Friends

First the tragedy:

With Coach Pringle at Raha International School - April 2009

While I was in Abu Dhabi, I worked out as often as I could with Coach Mark Pringle. He was so incredibly optimistic and full of energy, it was contagious. Sadly, complications from an injury he sustained while riding with the Abu Dhabi Tri Club at the end of last month make the possibility of his survival slim. It is a great loss for all of the many people that were touched by his passion for swimming and triathlons and especially his family.

Here are some recent articles on the situation:

Road Accident Leave Triathlete in Coma
How did triathlete get injured?

Now the Triumph:

Me and Jen before jumping in at Doctor's Cove, September 2008

Jen Schumacher, who was one of my escort swimmers during my Catalina crossing, bagged her own Catalina crossing yesterday. She finish the swim in an incredible 9 hours. Congratulations Jen!

Here is her blog with the details:
http://www.jenschumacher.com/

Here is a clip on KTLA about the swim:
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-channel-swim,0,7717321.story