What Can't You Do?!?

If you've never been to Salt Lake City and wondering what there is to do....here is just a one weekend sample...

1.  Bingham Canyon Mine....While the Great Salt Lake gets all the attention for it's massive size and being seven times saltier than the oceans it is this copper mine located just south of the lake and west of downtown SLC in the Oquirrh Mountains that is the only man made thing on earth that can be seen from outerspace.  The mine opened in 1903 and has been producing copper, gold, and silver among its many metals.  Today the mine is 2 3/4 miles wide.

2.  City Creek Mall....SLC's newest mall spans two full downtown blocks.  It has over 70 retailers with Macy's and Nordstrom serving as the anchor stores.  Porsche, Tiffany's, and Coach are among the many high end retailers in this new mall that features several fountains and a retractable roof.

3.  Concert City.....SLC has several incredible concert venues including three outdoor amphitheaters and two large arenas.  The top acts from around the world always find their way to SLC.  Imagine sitting at an outdoor garden in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains on a warm summer evening watching your favorite artists play their best songs.  I have done this twice in the last two weeks.

All of that in a weekend and I haven't even mentioned any of the outdoor recreational activities (hiking, biking, running, climbing, skiing, etc).

Camp Closes With Excellent Progress

We had our final run at camp this morning before returning to campus.  It was a perfect morning for a relaxing recovery run on a great single track dirt trail near the reservoir.  Although, a little tired from our hill session yesterday I thought everyone had a great run.

With camp coming to an end I am excited to get the school year started.  Our team did a great job during the summer with their training.  I feel like we could be as deep as we have been in my seven years here at Utah as long as we can stay away from the injury bug.  I'm really proud of this group for the time and effort they have all put in.  It should be a fun and exciting year for them.

After our run I served pancakes (regular and blueberry) along with all the other usual distance runner breakfast items.  Finally, it was get cleaned up and packed up.  We will begin our regular season training early tomorrow morning with another great trail run not far from campus.  School starts Monday.  I hope everyone enjoyed the camp reports. Be sure to check this site regularly throughout the season for updates and results.

Afternoon Hill Workout Goes Well

This afternoon's workout session was our best thus far.  I thought everyone gave a terrific effort and worked well together.  Like every team we have some who can count hill running as a great strength and we have others who are still developing the skill.  The goal was to get some quality work in, but not too much as all of our gals are running the most miles they will run all year as they finish their summer training and transition into the racing season.  We were at North Fork Park along Cold Water Canyon running up a gravel road in the camping area.

The afternoon was not without a few laughs and lessons.  We had a group of our most experienced runners go for their cooldown which lasted over 40 minutes by the time we found them.  They weren't lost, but rather there was a small communication gap that led to the pick up vans being in the wrong pick up spot.  Fortunately, a little bit of driving around in and out of the park allowed us to all meet up and get back to camp for dinner.

Dinner was good as usual as I grilled up some very lean burgers (beef and black bean).  I forgot how hard it is to perfectly cook a really lean (96/4) hamburger.  They go from rare to well done very fast.  The black bean burgers were surprisingly very good as well.  Lots of fruit, veggies, and salad as well.

Our head track/xc athletic trainer, Hanah,  led the evening session with girls.  She spoke about nutrition and the importance of not being iron deficient (especially with endurance athletes).  It turned into a great discussion with our girls asking questions and adding input about their own particular situation when it applied.

It's hard to believe we only have one more run in the morning before returning to campus.  It's been an outstanding camp in a new spot that we have all really enjoyed.  Check back tomorrow for my final camp report.  I'll continue to add more pictures throughout the weekend and next week.

Utes Show Well on Day 3 Morning Session

Our morning run up to Green Pond and Snow Basin Ski resort was outstanding.  The single track pictured above was the trail we followed which included a couple of cows meandering on the mountain side. I was pleased with how everyone handled the extra elevation and ran in groups.

The other pictures are from our picnic lunch at Cemetery Point Beach.  Although, we forgot cups for the chocolate milk so Lauren and others resorted to plates.   It was a perfect way to end the morning session.  We have a big hill workout planned for this afternoon where I hope to have video and pics to post later this evening.

Camp Report Day 2

Day two at camp was very productive for everyone and as a team.  The workouts went well for most everyone.  We did some threshold running and several of the girls were running at paces that were where they were at the end of last year.  That always makes a coach feel good.

Kory M was back taking more video and pictures for a team video that will appear on our website later this season.  As usual Kory brought his crazy sense of humor and a lot of energy to a 7am morning run...fun stuff.  The pics he took were amazing again.

We had a couple of team activities.  One (Footsteps) was quite competitive.  It included dividing into two teams of seven and getting each team member from one side of our driveway to the other using only multiple sizes wood.  Each team had six pieces of wood to cover about 40 feet.  They each had a different strategy which made it really fun to watch.  They all worked well together which was the point of the exercise.

The other activity as you can see above was a petting farm.  It featured all kinds of farm animals that we could feed and pet.  They also had a 700+ lb pig!  Lots of fun and great learning about the world of agriculture.  The owner was very impressed with our team and all the great questions they asked.

The dinner menu included baked chicken, salad, bread, and watermelon.  Check back tomorrow for a Day 3 camp recap.  Tomorrow we have two runs, a picnic, and swimming in the reservoir.

Utes Open Camp

With seven returning letter winners we should have a great nucleus in place as we open the 2012 cross country season with our annual preseason camp.  We have moved to a new location this year.  Our camp headquarters are now just north of Eden, UT.  Pineview Resevior and the surrounding parks and trails will serve as our training ground this week as we begin year number two in the Pac-12.

Although we have several runners in different places with their training right now due to extended track seasons, youth, and a couple of injuries I feel very good about this years group of young women.  We have the talent and discipline to challenge for the NCAA Championships if everyone can stay healthy and we can have a breakthrough or two from some of the younger runners.

Today featured a couple of easy recovery runs with travel (including grocery shopping at a very difficult bulk chain store that will not be named here).   They almost lost $600 because they wanted to fight over who could use a specific membership card.  Rule one in business...the consumer is always right!  No wonder the economy is in the tank.  People WANT to buy goods, but some businesses quibble over small details.  (Another discussion for another time:)  Spaghetti dinner prepared by the team was also very good.  Our evening run was at North Fork Park which is along the Ogden River.  The girls really enjoy looping through the campground and trails with dirt/gravel roads. We even had our New Media videographer, Kory with a K Mortensen up here shooting video and taking pictures as part of a new Utah cross country multi media package that he is putting together.  (Look for that later this season at www.utahutes.com.

Ok...a long, but fun and productive day has come and went.  I can't believe that summer is over and cross country season is upon us....awesome!!!!

Check back for a Day 2 update tomorrow.  Tomorrow will feature two runs (a recovery run at the reservoir in the morning and some threshold training in the afternoon).  Lot of fun team building activities including a local petting zoo are scheduled for tomorrow.  I'll try to get some pics and video of that posted as well.

Go Utes!

Where Olympic Champions Are Made

At the University of Utah our athletic slogan is "Where Champions Are Made".  It might be time for a one word addition to that slogan....

"Where Olympic Champions Are Made"

Athletes training on the University of Utah campus at McCarthey Family Track & Field combined for four Olympic medals including a pair of golds in the men's 5K and 10K by Mo Farah of Great Britain.  Galen Rupp and Leo Manzano of the USA added silvers in the 5K and 1500m, respectively.

All four of these men along with several other Olympic competitors (men and women) trained at MFTF this spring as part of their Olympic preparation.  Their coaches (Alberto Salazar and John Cook) brought their groups of Olympic hopefuls to the University of Utah and Salt Lake City to take advantage of the benefits of altitude training.  That training included running on the trails in nearby Park City and on the newly built MFTF at the University of Utah.

I think the best runners in the world coming to train in SLC and at our track says it all.  Our altitude and our climate combined with the great trails keeps them coming back.  Rupp and Farah came for a eight week stretch last year as well.  This was Manzano's first time coming to SLC and he loved it as well.

Between our track, the Utah Olympic Oval (our indoor track), and all the trails and parks it will be very tough to find a better place to train than the University of Utah and surrounding area.

Pictured is junior Rebekah Winterton with Olympic silver medallist, Galen Rupp.

More Silver...

The University of Utah's McCarthey Family Track & Field produces another Olympic medal as Leo Manzano who trained here in June brought home the silver medal for the US in the 1500m race at the London Olympics.

Manzano bided his time at the back of the lead pack most of the race before moving into fifth around the final turn.  He stalked the leaders with his patented kick and caught all but one runner.  American Matthew Centrowitz who also trained on our track in June was just off the medal stand as he finished fourth.

The MFTF medal count is now up to three with three more chances to go in the women's 1500m (Shannon Rowbury) and the men's 5K (Farah and Rupp).

The world's best come to the University of Utah and Salt Lake City for their altitude training!!!

Gold AND Silver

Mo Farah and Galen Rupp (seen above training at our outdoor facility) went 1-2 in the 10,000m run at the London Olympic Games on Sunday.  Both are trained by Amercian distance running icon, Alberto Salazar, who brings his two runners to the University of Utah to train six to eight weeks in the spring each year.  Farah represents Great Britain while Rupp became only the third Amercian to win a medal (and the first since Billy Mills won the event in 1964) at the 10K distance.

Three other Americans (Matthew Centrowitz, Leo Manzano and Shannon Rowbury) who also trained at the University of Utah this spring have all qualified for the semi finals in the men's and women's 1500m races.  Centro is also coached by Salazar while longtime coach John Cook oversees Leo and Shannon.

McCarthey Family Track and Field at the University of Utah has become a training hub for some of the world's best distance runners!!!