Zions: High on a Mountain Top

Last weekend I was supposed to be running Wasatch Back Ragnar but do to my hip injury and subsequent lack of training I had to give up my spot. :(

Don't worry! It's not all bad news. Instead I was invited by some friends to go to Zion's National Park for the weekend. I hadn't been there is years, at least to do any real hiking. My only hesitation was that we would be camping. I don't have much camping stuff and I like sleeping in a comfy bed. In spite of that I decided to go. After all it was just going to be for one night. I could handle that.

We left Saturday morning and with a few stops along the way got down there in the early afternoon. We got to our campsite in Watchman Campground and started setting up camp which was basically just putting up our matching tents. (As you can see below one group of us was more successful than the other.) Not wasting any time we decided to go explore a bit. We drove the the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel parking on the opposite side and hiked the Canyon Overlook trail. After a quick stop at the grocery store for a few needed supplies we took the shuttle up to the Emerald Pools trail. We hit all three: lower, middle, and upper. This was nice because in my previous visits to Zions I had never hiked either of these trails. After the last hike we all were getting pretty hungry. We decided to just eat at the Red Rock Grill right inside the park. We sat out on the deck it was so nice. The Kolob Chicken was pretty tasty. We spent the rest of the evening at the campsite but without a fire since they weren't allowed. :(

The night was nice and cool but not cold. In the morning around 7 we started getting up and packing up camp since we knew we wouldn't be back from hiking in time to checkout. While on my way to the campground bathroom to clean up there was a deer grazing a bit no more than 12 feet away from me. I made an Instagram video of it but due to my phone battery and new iOS 7 I lost it. :( But I was surprised how it didn't seem to care that I was even there.

By 9 am we were on the trail heading up Angels Landing. It had obviously been several years since I did it last. I had forgotten how tough a trail it was. And this time I was not only hauling up plenty of water but also my large DSLR camera. Oh well, it was definitely worth it. We reached the summit and were back down around noon. Fortunately going up we were often in the morning shade. This was my third time up there. Each time seems to be a bit less unnerving for me.

After this hike we were all starving. We ended up eating at Jack's Sports Grill in Springdale where I got a Hawaiian Burger with sweet potato fries. It was delicious but still too much food. 

By this time we all pretty sleepy from a night of poor sleep, a long hike, and full tummies. But it was time to start heading back home. It was a great weekend with good friends. Thanks guys!

Y Hike

This last week I made my first trip up to the Y. The following weekend I knew I'd be heading to Zions National Park and hiking a lot. So when my buddy, Darin, wanted to hike the Y with me I thought it was good timing to prep a bit for the longer hikes that I'd be doing. Its a fairly short hike but pretty steep at the same time. I still find it hard to believe that the first time I ever made this hike was last year. That's a bit unusual for someone who has lived in Utah County for most of their life. But I can report that I'm pretty sure that I've hiked it a half-dozen times within the last year. So I'm making up for lost time.

Well, Hello Mickey! Nice to See You Again.

So its been a few weeks now but I thought I'd still update blog. Last month I headed to Orlando with my brother, Ben. This was my 3rd trip with him. Initially I was a little hesitant to go. After all I had been there twice already and this trip would be similar to the last two. Of course I've had a great time every time I've been there. I was just thinking that it might be nice to go someplace else instead. The only problem was that no one was inviting me to go somewhere else. So I agreed to go.

Ben & I flew out late on a Friday night (or maybe I should say Saturday morning.) It was a red eye flight. We tried to get a little shut eye because we were planning on hitting the park when we got to Orlando. We always stay on property. I'm not sure that there is really any place to stay there off property. But with a cast member in the family staying on property is nice. This time it was The Cabins at Fort Wilderness. It was a little different than the last resorts that we've stayed at. Let's just say that my sister-in-law would have had a difficult time if she came along on this trip.

The main reason we were making this trip was because it was going to be Bri's last shift on Disney World's Jungle Cruise since she was making a switch to work at Disneyland. But in the process we hit all the main parks: Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. We also got to hang with Bri's friend, Michael, who also shuttled us around a bit saving us time on the buses.

Some memorable moments:

• A Jungle Cruise for 3.
• Ben sitting in something foul and then Bri getting it on her too.
• Meeting Michael.
• A 2 quart Diet Coke refill.
• A fast pass to the nearest restroom.
• Instead of waiting an hour for Tower of Terror running into a cast member that new Bri & Michael.
• Bri's last emotional Jungle Cruise as a skipper.

Running Has Caught Up With Me

Notice how I haven't been posting much lately. Well it might have to do with this: I'm not running. I haven't been running for almost 2 months now with the exception of once about two weeks ago. You see, this is what has been going on....

Remember how I was training to run my first and only marathon? (http://doggie.borups.org/2013/01/ogden-marathon-training.html) Well, I'm sad to report that just over half way into my marathon training I started having some hip pain. When I first experienced it was after my 2nd 16 mile run. I've been of the opinion that I need to not be a "baby" and to run through any pains that I have. This time I could tell it was different and decided that I would take some time off from my training schedule. After about a week my hip was feeling like I could resume my training. I ran 5 miles, went spinning, and then ran another 8 miles over the period of 3 days. The next morning my hip was back to hurting but this time it was more intense. For almost a week I was limping around because it hurt just to walk. About a week later I realized that I had started walking a few times without thinking about my hip pain. That week I went in to see an orthopedic surgeon that had diagnosed my Jumper's Knee years ago. He did an x-ray and some movement tests. He said that we should treat my hip as though I have a stress fracture. From the x-ray he couldn't identify the fracture but sometimes it requires a MRI which would cost me another $1500. So he said that he didn't think it was worth it since there is nothing they can do for it other than me not running. So I just need to rest it for 2 months. That put me out for the Ogden marathon since it was less than a month from the doctor office visit.

Fast forward to about 5 weeks after the doctor visit... I decided to try running again. I thought maybe the doctor was wrong and that I was going to be just fine. Plus I had Wasatch Back Ragnar that I was registered for June 21st. I needed to start getting in shape again or figure out that I was not going to be able to participate this time. I did a 3 mile run and felt pretty good. No sign of any problem. It wasn't until late into the night (or early morning) that I woke up from a horrible pain in my left hip. I was super bummed out because it was obvious that I was not going to be able to run on it in time to prepare for Ragnar. Big Sad Face! :( This year I was going for 5 Ragnar medals! But now I will definitely miss out on 2 of those. Oh well. It's life and I would rather not run and be able to walk. I will resume running sometime this summer and hope that all is well. After all I'm registered for Vegas Ragnar in November!