I see Mt Timpanogos every single day of my life and I’ve ALWAYS wanted to run it—> Yesterday was the perfect day to do it. Our coach was game with it, our bodies were happy (weirdly I was no longer sore at all when I woke up on Monday morning and I even felt a bounce in my step), the dirt and slower paces were just what we needed and the girl time was very much needed.
Jenn, Maddie and Kelsey (a friend of mine since we met in college… she just had her 4th baby too and is out there ROCKING IT).
My alarm went off at 4 and I was out the door ten minutes later. Superhero Muffins (my favorite are the original ones with chocolate chips) and a gatorade. I was a little nervous about this run because I knew we had 4580 ft to go UP (which is more elevation gain than my entire 50 mile ultra had) in 7 miles to get done but it honestly was a very runnable trail besides the spots that weren’t runnable (boulders or snow) but very hikable. My legs were very tired at the top but it was nice because the muscles that were so tired felt like different muscles than the ones I use while road running.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve needed my headlamp or my hydration vest—> the last time was for the ultra! I absolutely love my hydration vest AS LONG as I have short sleeves or long sleeves on. If I wear a tank with it then I chafe to death no matter how much anti-chafing cream I use but yesterday I wore my long sleeve top the entire time because the temperatures were perfect for one.
For the first hour it was completely dark. We started at the Timpanoeke trailhead and there were a ton of people parked in the parking lot but we didn’t end up seeing anybody for a few miles.
This sunrise was breathtaking. It was really nice once the sun came up because it was so much easier to see all of the rocks and roots. It’s a pretty technical trail so my brain and eyes were very tired by the end.
We came upon a few bog patches of snow which meant we definitely had to walk on those areas because if you slip on that, you are going to go down for a while. There was also a lot of water along those first few miles from all of the snow melting which my friends say is very unusual this time of year on this trail. We got dumped on with snow this last winter.
Also, we didn’t see any unusual animals but one of our friends did see two moose right off the trail at one point.
The final .75ish miles from the saddle to the summit is mostly hiking and using your hands to climb up in several areas.
It looks more dangerous in this picture than it felt (don’t worry mom) but we did a little running and mostly power hiking. We couldn’t believe how windy it was at the top and I definitely should have brought gloves for the top because my fingers were frozen.
The shed at the top! I’ve seen a million pictures of this shed over the years and it felt so cool to finally be in there.
We didn’t stay at the summit for too long because it was so cold but we did stop at the saddle again to eat. I brought some gels but my current favorite candy just seemed much more exciting and delicious to eat there.
On the way back down we saw a few people hiking up with snowboards to snowboard down certain areas and also a bunch of people going down this area on trash bags. You couldn’t pay me to sled down this part. They were going SO fast but I’m sure Andrew would have haha.
I’m proud to say over the 14 miles of trails I didn’t fall once but at one point we were cruising down and for some reason I stuck my hand out on the side and cut it. So that definitely did not feel nice but I’m very happy none of us fell. It took us 3 hours and 19 minutes of moving time to do the 14 miles but there were definitely breaks in there too.
PS my sister-in-law sent me this the other night hahaha… do we know about not waking up at 4 in the morning to go run up a mountain?
I was pretty much eating all day and this had to be my favorite thing from the day. Bisquick pancakes with strawberries and blackberries.
Gone in 60 seconds.
Packing + packing + crossing our fingers that the kids would sleep well on the red eye!!
I’ll have posts for you while we are gone (some scheduled and some from our trip)! I hope you like them and I’ll be posting on my Instagram while we are gone too!
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Tell me about any big hikes or trail runs you’ve done?! I want to hear! Anyone done Mt Timpanogos?
Candy lovers out there—> What is your current favorite candy?
Any last tips for Grand Cayman?
What are some things on your bucket list that you want to check off soon?
21 comments
Laura Fulks
That is just SO cool Janae!!!! I see timpanogos every day too and it’s amazing – those views from the top are unreal! You are amazing for going all the way to the summit! Such a cool Monday morning. :)
Rachael
Oh man I’ve wanted to do Timp forever, but sadly we live in Indiana and when we visit Utah our families have us totally booked!! I’m telling myself that we can totally do it when we are dropping kids off at BYU in a few years. ? LOVE these pics!
Melissa
Wow such a cool run/hike!! You make me want to move to Utah :)
Enjoy your trip!!
Carrie
Normally I do not like candy but gummy bears and Swedish fish are yummy lately. We have a protected area near us that I recently ran/walked and it was amazing. I did come away muddy and having to scale some trees that were down but that made it even more fun!!
I did 10 miles today and felt so strong, I ran 6 of them which is the longest of running and I am praying so much that my knee is ok. I keep bumping up the running miles and my knee so far (not perfect) is holding up. I finished out the last 4 race walking them. It is crazy humid and my running pace was slower then normal but maybe that was perfect since it was longer miles? I want to sign up for a half in the late fall/winter and do a 10k run in the fall so I think I should be good for the 10k.
Have fun on your trip!!
Wendy
I so want to do that hike… It looks amazing!
Have a great time on your trip!! ?
Hayley
It’s supposed to be rainy the next couple of days here in Cayman. A lot of what there is to do here is water-based, but there are some things to do that do not involve a pool / ocean. There’s a laser-tag place, the turtle center (which I believe also has dolphins that you can swim with), there’s lots of restaurants and fun treat/dessert places. When the weather gets nice, there’s some really cool things like: bioluminescent tour (it’s like you’re swimming with fireflies), concrete sculpture park, surf/skate park, splash pads, the beach (can never go wrong with the beach), stingray city, crystal caves, etc… Hope you enjoy your time in Cayman!!
Sarah
I’d love to hike Timp one day. That looked amazing. As for candy, I usually prefer chocolate but I’m loving the Cherry Sweetart Ropes. Have you tried those? Have the best time on your vacation you guys, what a blast. I am going to learn to ski this year and I can’t wait!
Baili
That looks amazing! I’m running the Pikes Peak marathon on Sunday (coming from sea level)and am pretty nervous –
But your post is encouraging!
Hope you guys have the best trip, and you survive hot running
Shelly
I love that hike!! We started at midnight and hiked so we could watch the sunrise at the top — shocked at the many many people with the same plan –definitely could have started at 1 or 2–we waited at the top awhile for the sunrise! It was awesome but a little scary to hike in the dark in some parts(never sure just how close the side of the mountain was!) Current favorite candy – Peanut M&Ms …I have no self control SOS.
Torrie
What a great run! At the shed at the top, what is that big lake you can see?? I’ve never done anything like that but it looks amazing!!
Ahhhh, no!!! No red eye!! I took a red eye with my daughter when she was EXACTLY Skye’s age and it was one of the most awful experiences ever. I hope Skye does okay!! It totally backfired on me and my daughter didn’t sleep AT ALL the whole flight and she did a lot of crying and screaming and I was so embarrassed :-(
Katie
Hi Janae,
Longtime reader here! Huge congrats on your new PR. I was thinking, I always interpreted the “Hungry” in “Hungry Runner Girl” to mean physical hunger, but now I really feel like it has a second meaning — your hunger for hitting your goals! I feel like this year in particular I can feel how hungry you are for PRs, and it’s super fun watching you improve, especially after you’ve given birth to two kids (like me!). I wonder if you’ve ever thought of this meaning?
Thanks for the inspiration!
Katie
Kathy
My husband and I have hiked 18/54 Colorado 14ers (Mountains that are 14k + in elevation). Some aren’t too bad and are relatively short, but others take all day, but the views at the top are certainly worth it every time! When I hiked Mount Massive in Colorado, we passed a runner who was going down, then he passed us going up, and then we saw him again as he was heading down… all this while we were still going up to the top! He was certainly putting in some extra work that day, we were tired and we were just going up once! I’d love to do all 54, but now that we have an almost 15 month old, it’s looking like we’ll have to wait til she’s older.
I love most desserts, especially when peanut butter and chocolate are involved! I don’t go as crazy for gummy candy, but I don’t discriminate! My husband however is obsessed with gummies! He’ll eat an entire bag in seconds!
Good luck on your trip to the Cayman’s!
Michele at Everyday Snapshot
Those pictures are gorgeous. You must live in the most beautiful state. Visiting Utah is on my bucket list since discovery your blog a few years ago. So so pretty. Good luck and hope you all have the best time in Grand Cayman. Happy travels as well !! Cannot wait to hear all about it. I was supposed to go to Grand Cayman years ago, but it was hit with a hurricane and our cruise ship brought us to an alternate destination. Which was disappointing since I had my heart set on Grand Cayman.
Kristi
The turtle reef farm at the other end of the island from 7 mile beach is really cool, especially for diving. It’s not very touristy. The kids would get a kick out of it.
Have all of the conch fritters…so freaking good. They are fried balls with conch in it. Wonderful. Now, I want some.
Kathy McElhaney
We’ve done a ton of hiking in Yosemite over the years – that’s where Les proposed. We have also hike a lot in Hawaii and one Christmas we hiked the Grand Canyon with Les’ parents and brother/sister-in-law. We hiked down Christmas Eve and back up on Christmas day. My in-laws were in their 60s when we did it – pretty impressive!
We are in Hawaii so I only eat chocolate covered macadamia nuts. My favorite is Caramacs (chocolate/caramel)
Marissa
Ugh, I’m so scared of heights. I think I would rather run an ultra than go up and down that mountain ;)
Ha, you guys are going to have SOO much fun in Grand Cayman!
Liz
Running Timp is on my bucket list! What kind of run do you substitute it for? I have another mountain I want to run but not sure how it would fit in my marathon training. My favorite candy right now is Sweet Tart Ropes in the original red packaging.?
Caroline
SO AMAZING, JANAE!!!!!
I’m a hiking novice but I love it!!!!! Getting to the top of any climb is so exhilarating!
I’ve hiked squaw and pikes peak in Colorado, Bryce and Zion in Utah and Grand Canyon, and this past Feb I summited Gros Piton in St. Lucia.
I am def too much of a coward to run or race…I would be terrified of falling.
Have a great time in Grand Cayman!
Jenni
Beautiful views!! Question for you or anyone else re: gels: I’ve never used them before, I tried one the other day when my energy was low…and couldn’t get past the sticky sweetness (it was a HUMA gel which appealed to me re: the natural ingredients). Is this something people adjust to or don’t mind? Was it the humid weather that made me despite the sweetness and want something refreshing instead? (i.e. post-run berry smoothie w/ coconut water).
Amanda W.
Have a fabulous & safe trip! Ive never heard of RIPS candy. I LOVE sour patch watermelons…and lately Peanut M&M’s are a big fave too!
Char
That sounds like a fun trip! I had a few friends go recently but I don’t know what they did for activities. It looks beautiful and one friend has two young kids (8 and 5). Had a blast! I would love to do that trail. I ran the Timp half last summer and LOVED that area!