May has been a training month for me, a rare month when I haven’t run in any ultra races. I’ve been trying to maintain a 10 mile per day average, even when only running 5 days per week. To do this, I have resorted to doing 3-hour runs before work. My wife thinks I’m nuts getting up at 2:30 a.m. several times per week in order to hit the trail before 3:00 a.m. I’ve enjoyed the mornings and pass the time listening to sports radio, catching up on the events from the day before. This morning, at a whim, I decided to go run a half-marathon to get in some speed work and to test my left calf to see if it can take faster paces now.
I went and signed up for the Homestead Resort half-marathon. This race starts at the finish-point of the Wasatch Front 100. The course heads to Soldier Hollow, the location of the cross-country skiing venue for the 2002 Olympics. From there it heads west above the Deer Creek Reservoir, on a dirt road above the railroad used by the Heber Creeper. It then returns back to the start on the same route. About half of the course is on soft dirt/gravel road, making it enjoyable for me.