Trails and Jubilation

Feeling Strong in Week VIII

2012-02-27T15:08:00.002-05:00

Mon - 55min/ 6.5m/ 600' - Fisher Farm Park - easy run after resting yesterday from the weekends fun. Felt good.

Tues - 61min/ 7m/ 1500' - Crowders Mtn St Park - got there pretty late and turned a planned easy run into a tempo style effort to make it out of the park before the gates locked me in. Went Turnback, to Pinnacle, up to King's summit, Ridgeline out to first rd crossing, and back. Finished with a couple of loops around the parking lot to get the extra 4 minutes to reach an hour of running.

Wed - 50min/ 5m/ 500' - Lake Norman St Park - legs were completely dead after yesterdays hard effort. Orginal plan was to do all 9.5 miles of the Laurel trail, but decided to cut it in half to not get locked in the park. Can't wait for the parks to stay open until 7 next week. No more rushing to squeeze a run in.

Thurs - 60min/ 4m/ 200' - Latta Plantation - was planning to run for an hour, but I forgot my running cloths and instead Hannah said she would hike with me for an hour. After yesterday's dead legs, I really wasn't complaining and I really enjoy these hikes with my beautiful lady.

Fri - 55min/ 6.5m/ 1500' - Bakers Mtn Park - squeezed in a solid effort on the Bakers Dozen loop. Pushed the ups, but stayed conservative on the flats and downhills, although it is hard not to go into full Killian mode running down the trails out here. Love this small little park!

Sat - 3h10min/ 17m/ 2500' - Uwharrie - out and back of the first 8.5 miles of the Uwharrie 40. Got Stephen to join me on this beautiful day that provided views once more in the land I had never seen them in before. We could actually see Charlotte's skyline from the summit of Dark Mt.

Sun - 52min/ 6.5m/ 200' - Hagen Stone Park - returning to the sight of my first ever trail run on the beautiful XC trails of this little park near Greensboro.

Totals =

Time - 8hrs43min
Miles - 52.5
Vert - 7000'

I felt really good this week after Rattle My Heart and had good runs throughout the week. I felt really strong all week besides on Wednesday after my impromptu tempo effort out at Crowders the day before. I spent another awesome day in Uwharrie and I am so glad that I have this place close to my childhood home. I can still get vert in, which is very nice. Unfortunately this week though, I missed out on a second exploration of the Grand Loop in the gorge with the Grand Kirk. It looks like he had an awesome day out there and has the confusing northern section dialed in. Also congratulations to Scott Williams, Paul Scouten, and Tim Weed for placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at this year's Mt Mitchell Challenge. Sultan put up a solid PR time out there as well. Another congrats goes out to Mark Lundblad as well for setting a new FKT on the 77 mile Foothills trail this weekend. WNC Trailrunner was well represented this weekend.

Heart Rattling Week VII

2012-02-20T08:53:00.000-05:00

Mon - 0hr - rest

Tues - 35min/ 4m/ 300' - Easy run at Fisher Farm

Wed - 60min/ 7m/ 600' - Lake Norman St Park - nice easy run on the Monbo trail. I really don't know why I don't run here more. It's closer to my house than Latta and all singletrack.

Thurs - 0hr - complete lazy bum. Should have ran, but like I said, just being a lazy bum.

Fri - 28min/ 3.1m/ 150' - Denver XC - felt really sluggish today, but at least it was a planned easy run and I usually run extremely well the day following a sluggish run, which is good considering Rattle My Heart 50k is tomorrow!!!!!

Sat - 6hr5min/ 31.1m/ 6200' - Rattle My Heart 50k - What a day on the trails! Weather was perfect and I felt nearly perfect all day. More info on this run below.

Sun - 0hr - Body felt pretty rough after yesterday's 50k with 12,000' net elevation change throughout, so I took the day off.

Totals =

Time - 8hr8min
Miles - 45.2
Vert - 7250'

I really wanted to feel fresh for the upcoming Rattle My Heart 50k this weekend so I decided to keep my mileage during the week low. Come Friday night, Hannah, Stephen, and I headed west to Asheville to hang out with the Hill's and the Harrison's. Melisa cooked up some delicious paella and we ended the night playing "Things" which quickly got ridiculous. Saturday morning came I couldn't wait to get on the trail. This run is one that I have always put high on my list as a favorite. The weather was perfect and after the group photo, we took off and of course began climbing up the Rainbow Trail. Andrew and I ran most of the first half of the run together from Rattlesnake Mtn, over Kitsuma/Youngs Ridge, and up the road to Graphite. This is where I picked up my cousin Stephen for his first mountain run with our group. On up Heartbreak Ridge we went, at what seemed like a good pace at the time until we finally hit the toll road and realized that it had just taken us 1:50 to make it up this beautiful trail with 3500' of vert in its 7.5 miles. Once at the top, I was in a mood to take a nap and actually laid on the side of the Toll rd for about 30 seconds. Then it was time to start descending the gentle grade but horrendous terrain of the Mitchell Toll Rd. Stephen and I were both hoping that the Trestle switchbacks would soon appear. Once they did, we were flying and having a blast. I took a gel as a precautionary measure to stave off any potential bonk and not 5 minutes later after we got of the switchbacks I started bonking. With less than 4 miles left and 30 minutes to make it under 6 hours I couldn't go any faster than 10 minute pace it seemed. Stephen had dropped me and I was just holding on. I didn't get my energy back until Lookout trail/rd where I caught back up to Stephen who was feeling the steep downhill of this trail. I had already missed my goal of 6 hours by this point but still decided to bring it in fast and finished the day with a time of 6:05:30, 5 minutes faster than last year on a course that was about a mile longer this year. I have to say that I am still very satisfied with that time. After the run, everyone gathered around Tim's fire until everyone rolled in and then we took the party over to Ole's for a post run feast that my appetite didn't seem ready for. It was a great day on the trails though and another great run with WNC Trail runner.

A High Windy Week VI

2012-02-12T19:01:00.000-05:00

Mon - 0hr - rest

Tues - 45min/ 4.6m/ 1000' - Little Mtn - easy effort

Wed - 85min/ 10.8m/ 1000' - Fisher Farm Park - easy effort on the typical 6 mile route with 4 hard hill repeats in the middle, each repeat about about 1.2 miles with 100ft of gain

Thurs - 60min/ 7m/ 400' - Latta Plantation - easy run

Fri - 55min/ 3m/ 1000' - Bakers Mtn - feeling pretty weak and thought it would be nice to go on a hike with my beautiful girlfriend. Loved every second of hiking a route I usually run.

Sat - 2h12min/ 12.5m/ 2600' - High Top/ High Windy - crazy cold, super windy, and snowy run/ scramble up to the top of the High Top and High Windy peaks of the Swannanoa Mountains with Mad A and Ryan. So a couple weeks ago I said that the Cabin Trail in the Linville Gorge was the steepest sustain climb I had ever been up. Scratch that, the trail to High Top actually is. It pretty much is a class 4 scramble the entire way!

Sun - A.M. - 82 min/ 9m/ 1000' - Black Mtn Quarry - Running around the Black Mountain Quarry with Mad A on a frigid February morning (15 degress with a -4 windchill). Nice easy effort run that was mostly flat other than the big 800' climb in the middle.

P.M. - 26min/ 3m/ 100' - Davidson - shakeout run with my gorgeous lady

Totals =

Time - 8hrs7min
Miles - 49.9
Vert - 7100'

Another great week of running, but I am feeling a little worn out at the end of this week which may be due to what seems like another oncoming cold. Hopefully I want get sick again. The highlight of this week was definitely the High Top/ High Windy Loop I did on Saturday. This run definitely goes down as the funnest run of the year so far. Temps were in single digits and wind chills were in the negatives. Snow was falling at near white out conditions on top of the ridge and I scrambled my way up a trail that would have been wiser to do in sunny a dry conditions. Not freezing and snowing. Either way, it was a jovial experience and it epitomizes why I run in the mountains. Just pure mountain bliss with a couple of like minded friends on a day that most would have stayed inside and watched a movie. I LOVE MOUNTAIN RUNS!!!!!!

By the way, check out Matt's blog about his RAM adventure the same day. Makes our run look like a walk in the park. Well, condition wise.

Striding Into Week V

2012-02-05T13:35:00.001-05:00

Mon - 64min/ 8.3m/ 600' - Fisher Farm Park - first 7.5 miles ran in 56min, 8 min cool down

Tues - 62min/ 7m/ 400' - Latta Plantation - easy paced effort today on some really technical trail

Wed - 0hr - lazy bum

Thur - 75min/ 10m/ 500' - Latta Plantation - first 3.2 in 27, next 5.2 in 33:30!, last 1.6 in 15 min for a cool down. Wow, what a great work out. Didn't really know I possessed that type of speed, but I guess the recent consistency of time on the the feet is really paying off!

Fri - 35min/ 4m/ 300' - Fisher Farm Park - nice easy effort after yesterday's speedwork. Legs felt good.

Sat - 3hr50min/ 22m/ 4000' - Ridgeline Trail - met up with the Rock Hill Striders and ran from Kings Mountain State Park in SC to Crowders Mtn State Park in NC. Sweet trail for sure and a great time on the trails running with Jose and some other new folks.

Sun - 26min/ 3m/ 100' - Davidson - shakeout run around Davidson, NC.

Totals =
Time - 8hr12min
Miles - 54.3
Gain - 5900'

Pretty great week of running. I decided to take a little break from the vert side of running and decided to work on some speed this week. I've been purposely running slower (comfortable pace) the past month as I've been changing my view on training for ultras. Time on your feet is the most important thing in my opinion and speed should come second, well actually third, because vertical gain is definitely the second catalyst in successfully preparing one's self for a mountain ultra. But at the same time, I believe that you need to still incorporate speed into your training regiment or you want be used to pushing yourself in a race or a FKT attempt. Hence, this is the reason I thought it was time to test my turnover. And the test was a success! I was able to get in two tempo style efforts that really blew my expectations of what I actually could do. Especially Thursday's run! For those that don't know, running slower can also help you run much faster. It seems counter intuitive, but it is true. You just have to make sure you at least run fast a few times a month. Okay, thats enough of my coaching advise. Saturday, I joined a local Charlotte area running group, the Rock Hill Striders, for a nice run in Crowders & Kings Mtn State Park. I'm really glad I joined these guys because this run was the one I was actually planning on doing this weekend. I had a really good time and ran solidly for almost all 22 miles and 4000ft of gain of this run. The Ridgeline Trail is one of the nicest trails I have been on and contains a lot of diversity. Glad to know that we have some gems like this in the Piedmont. The Rock Hill folks are definitely a great crew of people and I look forward to joining them on future group runs in the area.

GORGEous Week IV

2012-01-29T21:07:00.001-05:00

Mon - 0hr - rest

Tues - 1.5hr/ 9m/ 1800' - Little Mtn - Up and down the 2 times for a nice easy workout with some good elevation gain.

Wed - 48min/ 4.8m/ 1000' - Little Mtn - Didn't feel too well today, so I opted for just one out and back, plus a little exploration.

Thur - 43min/ 5.1m/ 300' - Latta Plantation - Was running out of daylight on this one and finished the last mile in the dark. Good easy effort run, minus the last 2 miles pushing to beat the dark back to the car.

Fri - 30min/ 3m/ 1000' - Bakers Mtn - Thought I'd hit up a short summit run on the way out to Marion to hang and prepare for tomorrow's run with Matt. This place still amazes me by its difficulty.

Sat - 6h38min/ 23m/ 6000' - Linville Gorge - Northern section of the GRAND LOOP exploration w/ Matt.

Sun - 0hr - A well deserved rest although I was itching to get out the door, but ended up being a lazy bum. I'll run tomorrow which is my usual day off.

Totals =
Hours - 10hrs9min
Miles - 44.9
Vert - 10,100'

This week of running was pretty good, although I didn't really put in a hard effort at all this week. I finished the week with well over 8 hours, even though the associated mileage wasn't really reflective of the time, but that is what happens when you run in the gorge! The highlight this week though was definitely Saturday's run in the gorge. Matt and I have been thinking of attempting the GRAND LOOP in the near future and have both never been on the maze of non-recognized trails in the northeastern section. Just to let you know, the GRAND LOOP is an ~ 40 mile all trail loop in the Linville Gorge. Navigating and orienteering ourselves with the northeastern section of these trails was imperative for a successful attempt at this route in the future. We made a few wrong turns at a few intersections, but we pretty much immediately realized our mistake and back tracked and found the right turn. I was really impressed with the trails up in this section as they were fairly runnnable and not technical. We did run into a problem on top of Hawksbil trying to find the Ledge trail off the summit and eventually had to turn around and run down the the summit trail back to the road to access Spence ridge. We must have bushwhacked for 30 minutes trying to find the trail, but I'll get out there and access the Ledge trail from Spence in a few weeks. We were running out of our allotted time for the run on the river trail and we decided to go ahead and go straight up Cabin trail and hit Kistler instead of pretty much walking the the rest of the horrendously technical River trail, which would have probably taken us another hour to finish the last 4-5 miles of it. Plus, discovering Cabin was awesome. I had never been on this trail and it has to be the the steepest consistent climb I've ever done. I would hate to go down it, that is for sure.

View of Gorge from Sitting Bear w/my ugly mug blocking the view

Map Master Matt

Matt on Hawksbill

View of gorge from Hawksbill

Spence Ridge Bridge

Matt, Uwharrie, and I at the finish

Cabin Trail is STEEP!

View of gorge from River Trail looking north

Sultonic Week III

2012-01-22T15:50:00.000-05:00

Mon - 0hr - Started to feel a cold coming on after Sunday nights run, so I took Monday off and rested

Tues - 36min/ 4m/ 200' - Fisher Farm Park - Still feeling cold like symptoms and thought a run might help, but I think it did the opposite. Could barely breath and it obviously took me awhile to run.

Wed - 0hr - Yesterday's run was indicative enough in telling to take it easy and bust this cold by not running and chugging a full 40oz of V-8 Fusion Juice. It did the trick

Thur - 65min/ 7.1m/ 600' - Fisher Farm Park - Felt ten times better today, even though I can tell I'm not completely rid of this cold quite yet. Great run on some beautiful mb trails/xc trails. Nice park in Davidson, NC.

Fri - 0hr - I don't feel any worse than yesterday, but I didn't want to take any risk of regressing with a planned 33 mile Sultan B-Day run scheduled tomorrow. I've been looking forward to this one since last year's running!

Sat - 6hr29min/ 33m/ 6200' - Sultan 50k - What a wet day! I had ambitions of going sub 6 hours on this run and I really think I can, but it just didn't happen today. After pretty much running the entire out portion of the run, coming back was a different story. My legs were stiff as a board and running downhill was becoming a chore. Maybe it was the hard surface (gravel/jeep rd) and the steady cadence that I wasn't used to that made my legs want to stop moving in a running motion. It was still a great day running with the WNC crew and celebrating Sultan's b-day in appropriate fashion. Had fun catching up with Dennis and Jose most of the day and a big thanks goes to Lily for offering me her rain jacket at the turnaround, where I was contemplating quitting because I was freezing cold and completely drenched.

Sun - 25min/ 3.1m/ ~nothing' - Davidson - Nice little shakeout run through the beautiful town of Davidson. Legs really seemed to loosen up on the run after yesterday's overall stiffness lingered into today. These runs are hard to get out and do after a hard day like yesterday, but they do wonders in helping rid soreness and stiffness from the legs. Glad I stepped out the door.

Totals =
8.6 hrs
47.2 miles
7000' of gain

Being sick pretty much killed my week day runs, but I'm glad I was over the cold by Saturday to participate in the Sultan 50k. I still managed to get in my 8hrs for the week despite being sick, even though it pretty much came all in one big chunk. Huge thanks to Sultan for putting this phenomenal run on through the South Mountains and to his wife and two sons, as well as all others who volunteered at the turnaround, taking good care of us by filling our bottles and feeding us delicious red velvet cake! And as always, a big thanks goes out to the Hill family for putting Hannah and I up for the night in Asheville. Making it out that way would be a lot more difficult without the kindness they show to me on an almost bi-monthly basis. Happy trails!

Pics below by Charlie Roberts

Hannah having a blast in the rain

Den & I slogging up one of many steep climbs

Almost Cascades looking

Vonda

The Sultan 50k Crew

A Little Bit of Everything

2012-01-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

I think that it is finally time for me to join the bandwagon and give you a play by play of what I've done each day of the week. One reason for this is that I have set myself a New Year's resolution to at least (bare minimum) log 8 hours on my feet a week for the whole year. Be that in running (mostly) or hiking (only if I am injured or on a backpacking trip). Hopefully sharing this with the masses will help keep me on track throughout the year on this goal. Last week a managed 9 hours on my feet and was quite happy with that and now I will share you this weeks log, or log-o-rhythm (ala Grand Kirk).

Monday - 0hrs - Well deserved rest after last weekend's fun.

Tuesday - 1:15/ 9m/ 400' - Latta Plantation - this is one of my favorite places to run in the Charlotte area. Took it pretty easy for the first 4 miles then opened it up for the next 3. Last 2 were easy.

Wednesday - 0hrs - Went to see Anton Krupicka give a presentation/Q&A at Run For Your Life. Pretty cool experience getting to talk to some new people and of course "Trail Running Jesus" himself!

Thursday - 1:35/ 8.5m/1600' - Little Mtn - Two repeats w/Hannah on the local mountain (hill). This has been a pleasant surprise. There is only about a 3/4 mile of pavement on one repeat and the rest is trail on top of this local gem. One out is about 2 -2.5m depending on the route you take. I'm pretty sure it is private property though but I haven't been kicked off it yet. This place will become a weekly run for sure! There are technical pitches at 30% grade for half a mile on the backside of the mountain. Pretty stout place to train for a run like Linville!

Friday - 1:00/ 7.5m/ 1000'+ - Bakers Mountain Park - Got out there pretty late so I had to push the pace on my planned 6 mile route on the trails at this sweet NC foothills park. Did 45 min on the first 6 miles. I felt really good today. Squeezed in another 15 min and 1.5 miles to cool down after realizing a had a bit of daylight left. This will become another weekly regular.

Saturday - 2:20/ 12.5m?/ 2500'? - Uwharrie Trail - Headed back home to visit the family and pick up my new pair of NB MT110 and couldn't think of a better place to put them to the test than Uwharrie. Super technical trail, stream crossings, and a surprising amount of vert for the piedmont. The views today were the best I had ever seen in Uwharrie and somewhat reminded me of distant views of the Blue Ridge. Shoes performed well!

Sunday - 1:50/ 12m/ 600' - abrieviated Triple Lakes Half course - Coaxed my cousin on his 20th birthday to come out and join me for a 12 miler on his favorite trails. He hasn't ran over 4 miles in like 3 months and absolutley hung with me and out sprinted me on the last half mile of this run. Dude is a beast! I wish he would train harder and come out an join us WNC guys for some runs. I didn't feel particulary well until the last 3 miles which were practically in the dark. Good way to end the running week for sure.

Totals =
8hrs
49.5 m
6100' gain

Definitely not a bad week of running. Can't wait for next weekend's running of the Sultan 50k though. Funny how that one run will have the same vert as this entire week. Can't wait!!!!

ALTAR, New Years, & Tanawha!

2012-01-08T10:56:00.002-05:00

Life has been some kind of hectic since Christmas ended. I've searched for a new living place near my new job, found one and moved in the next day (Hickory area), one day later drive up to Canton to run the spectacular ALTAR put on by good friend and extremely talented runner Matt Kirk, come back to Hickory and work my first job for the whole week, and then head up to Blowing Rock to organize and run the Tanawha Marathon, 50k, & Half (which I only ran 20 miles of the 50k). Needless to say I have been busy! And later today I plan on joining the WNC crew for a VericALE mile! So anyway I'll just concentrate on the two runs for this post.

ALTAR

I cannot write enough about this run/experience. Matt and his family had set everyone up with some sweet lodging for the run at the terminus of our 30.1 mile adventure that lay before us the next day. It is always fun to catch up with the WNC crew the night before a run, but it sometimes leads a lack of needed shut eye for the following days adventure. After waking up on New Year's eve way to early to as to make it out to the 7 am start at the Davidson Campground, I fought through the nausea of riding in the back seat on a super curvy Hwy 276. Glad to not be moving anymore (in a car that is), we snapped the starters group photo and took off down the Art Loeb Trail for 30.1 miles and 9000 ft of vert that laid ahead. I ran with the lead group to the base of our first big climb up Pilot Mtn before they promptly left me in the dust. From that point on it was a slog fest up the 1800 ft climb to the beautiful summit of that peak. Then it was time to run down it for our second chance to fill up our water bottles. But right after the descent, the worst climb of the day starts as you ascend the trail up and over the parkway. Pilot Mtn had wounded me, but this climb destroyed me. After finally reaching the top, running the flats were beginning to become a chore. The beauty of this run really is highlighted in the last 12 miles though as you run over the bald summits of Black Balsam, Tennent Mtn, and Grassy Cove Top. The Narrows are majestic as well and I couldn't be upset by my slow hike/shuffle pace as it allowed me to enjoy the views that surrounded me more. Plus the company of Isaiah and el Guapo one the run was appreciated. We ran the majority of the trail together. By the time we reached Deep Gap and would then head down four miles to the finish, I still could barely muster up enough strength to run down hill and ended up hiking must of the descent. It didn't really matter that much, I made it to the end in 9 hours flat and feel very satisfied with my performance considering the lack of 4+ hour runs in my schedule since mid October. Huge thanks to the Kirks who made this all happen and I can't wait to tackle this run again next year! Check out the slideshow of pics below!

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Tanawha

So this year marked to 2nd time I have put this run on with the WNC crew. Last year's running was in a blizzard and this year's running was the exact opposite. High's in the upper 50's and mostly cloudy with some good breaks of sun through the middle part of the run. We had a huge turnout this year as well, with around 26 people showing up to the start. After being away from the area for about 8 months I had forgotten how ungodly technical this trail was. I guess that all of those miles I had logged on that trail during my App State year's made me immune to its difficult footing. You literally step on a root every other step and the last 4.5 miles of the trail after you summit Rough Ridge is some of the gnarliest tread you could every step foot. You practically boulder hop until the turnaround at Beacon Heights. As far as my run went, it was awesome, minus the last 4.5 miles I just described. The astonishing thing about Tanawha is that it is still completely runnable despite its extreme technicality. Although I will admit I did not run every bit of it for various reasons, mainly health to run the next day. I decided to run the first 20 miles of the 50k, which follows the Daniel Boone Scout Trail to the top of Calloway Peak that intersects about 6 miles into the out section of Tanawha. This trail is amazing as it takes you through spruce forest, scrambling over huge boulders, and climbing ladders to finally reach the summit of Grandfather Mtn. And guess what, this trail is completely runnable too, minus the ladders and the boulder scramble. The last half mile of the trail was practically an ice covered stream which was pretty cool, but since it was relatively flat it didn't pose a great risk and the use of microspikes wasn't necessarily needed. Even though we were fogged in at the summit, everyone had a great time summiting this iconic Appalachian peak. I had a blast running back down the trail to Tanawha as well. It was easily the funnest descent I had run on that trail ever. Rough Ridge was spectacularly beautiful as well and gave everyone the much needed epic Blue Ridge Mountains view expected. After everyone finished, must of us went to hang out and grub down on some delicious cuisine at Canyon's in Blowing Rock. I think everyone left the run extremely satisfied no matter what distance they completed that day. Can't wait to put it on again next year! Here is a slide show with pics from the adventure yesterday.

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A Trail Running Homecoming

2011-12-23T20:17:00.001-05:00

Over the past 6 days, I have spent about 10 hours and covered nearly 60 miles on the Watershed Trails of Greensboro. There are more than 42 miles worth of singeltrack surrounding Lake Higgins, Brandt, and Townsend and nearly all of it is within Greensboro's city limits. This trail system, in my opinion, has to be one of the best urbran trail systems in the country. It may not have huge climbs and soaring views, which is usually my favorite type of terrain to run on, but it has flat to rolling, technical at times terrain that hugs the lakes and pretty much provides a view of the lakes at all times. It is very scenic and is quite an escape from the third largest metropolitin area in North Carolina. These trails mean a lot to me, as they are the ones that started my obsession with trail running. They were also the site of my first trail race, The Triple Lakes Trail Marathon. There is just something about them that keeps me coming, no matter the low level of difficulty. If you find yourself in the Greensboro area, make sure you check them out. There are plenty of loops you can make and if your looking for more of a challenging route on them, I would suggest sticking with the Owl's Roost, Nat Greene, Laurel Bluff, and Townsend trails. They have more hills than the others and those hills come in steep 50-80 ft burst. I hope to log a few more miles out there in the next week. Happy trails and Merry Christmas!

View from Laurel Bluff Trail

New Half PR at Mistletoe!

2011-12-05T11:39:00.001-05:00

So the time had finally come. I hadn't ran a road race since my first actual race 4 years ago (a 10k before I caught the marathon/ultra bug) and this was going to be it. Now anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely hate running paved roads. Heck, even running on paved greenways sucks in my view, although it is substantially better than the roads. One disadvantage of not running a road race though is that you really do not have a clue how well you can sustain a constant solid pace over many miles. Running trails requires varying your pace to the technicality and vertical of the trail and trails can fluctuate many times over the length of the run. So this was going to be a true test of how good a runner I actually am. I felt confident enough to believe I could go sub-1:40, but my goal was to run sub 1:35.

Race morning was a cool 38 degrees and I was finally feeling ready after feeling a bit nauseous a bit early. The cannon fired and I took off (after walking about 30 seconds to get to the start line). The plan was to try and run the first half at an average pace of about 7:20/mile and the last half in about 7 min/mile pace especially trying to push the last 3 miles into the sub 7 range. Needless to say the plan went off perfectly. I had conserved enough energy through the first half to run the second half quicker. My last mile was the quickest of the day, a 6:50. My legs were feeling the pain though and I was extremely relieved once I finally sprinted over the finish line. I ran the last .1 mile in 38 seconds, crossing the finish line in 1:34:21 and setting a new half-marathon PR! Actually this is really my first official half-marathon as the other previous one was about a mile too long. I feel very satisfied with this run even though I think I can run faster if I would be able to train properly and not be hampered by injury, which luckily did not bother me too much during this race. Maybe next year I'll return and try to set a new PR at this distance, sub 1:30 would be nice!

Gobble Gobble

2011-12-01T10:06:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Hannah and I went down the road to Asheville and meet up with the good folks of WNC Trailrunner to run the annual Bent Creek Gobbler. This run is a great figure 8 loop through the Bent Creek Experimental Forest and a highlight of my fall running season. I was wanting to tackle the the full 50k this year, but some lingering injuries and an actual race in the plans for the next weekend changed my mind and I settled for running the first 16 mile loop. Needless to say, I ran the first loop pretty impressively considering I hadn't ran at all the week leading up to the run and was still feeling tight in the hips. I tried to stay with the lead pack for most of the way up the 6 mile gravel road to the intersection of the Shut-in trail. I ended up running that section in about 50 minutes, which was really solid. I ran with Matt Kirk on most of the Shut-in section, continually pushing the limits of comfortable pace trying to stay with him and his speedy turnover. I love this section of the Shut-in trail, especially this time of year because the views through the trees are magnificent. By the time we reached Bent Creek Gap Rd, Jon and Luna (woof) caught back up with us. I tried to hang with them once we reached the road, but I had obviously ran a bit too hard for those first 14.5 miles and the tank was dry. Plus, I didn't want to injure my aching muscles anymore than I already had on this steep descent. I finally made it back to the start in about 2 hours and 10 minutes, which is definitely faster than last year's effort. The real fun started though after the run, with hanging out waiting on the finishers and indulging in some select adult beverages. Huge thanks to Adam Hill for continually putting on this fantastic run each Thanksgiving weekend. Gobble Gobble!

FAC 50k Report

2011-10-21T23:47:00.000-04:00

It has almost been a full week since the running of this phenomenal race and I am just now getting around to writing a report. Kinda tells you how busy I have been lately. Anyway, I can not say enough about how awesome the course is and the organization as well. Mad A does a great job organizing this beast with perfectly laid out aid drops along the way. I never ran out of water or gels for this run and I might have come the closest to eating and hydrating correctly in a run of this magnitude. Although, I definitely did not run this race at "race" pace and very well could have bonked if I did. Well, onto the detailed report...

...Damian, Isaiah, El Guapo, and myself headed off from the Folk Art Center around 7:20 right as the sun was rising. The colors were amazing as the mornings light began to strike the golds, oranges, and reds of the autumn's leaves. There isn't a better time to run than when the leaves start to change. Usually, temperatures are going to be perfect, the skies are going to be clear, and the air will feel crisp. It sure did today. We all decided to stay together as long as we all felt good during the run and did just that for a whole marathon before splitting up as we headed over Blackstock Knob. I tried to stay on Damian's heels, but he was obviously feeling really good and I was just feeling good. Surprising considering we were 7+ hours into the run. Running with Damian and Isaiah was great for keeping the pace easy and enjoying the run instead of fighting it for a fast time. I had left my inhibition to set the FKT at the door that morning after feeling a cold coming on the night before. What a great idea. I haven't enjoyed a run this much since Rattle My Heart 50k back in February, although I have had some great runs during that time. I never really felt tired until I got to the flat Buncombe Horse Trail and realized that I would have to actually "run" for the first time the whole day. The running I had been doing before this was mostly aided by gravity. So after "running" 29 miles and 8 hours I was actually running and I could only muster out 3.5 miles of maybe 10 minute pace shuffling before I knew I was walking the rest of the way up to Mitchell. I really didn't care and was just glad to be climbing up Camp Alice trail less than a mile from the summit. As soon as I hit the paved walkway to to viewing tower though, I picked the pace back up and ran all the way to the top (maybe 100m). I asked a fellow observer of the beauty that lay before us atop Mt Mitchell the time and realized that I just finished my first FAC 50k in 9:10. This is about an hour off the time I was wanting to do going into the run, but it was exactly the time I wanted to run that day. You couldn't have asked for a better day to be running though the mountains!

FAC 50k Preview

2011-10-11T20:09:00.000-04:00

Its been awhile since my last post and a lot has happened since then including a phenomenally important training run for the FAC 50k, which is coming up this weekend. The legs have felt good since that 29 mile outing on the MST a couple of weeks ago and I am ready to tackle this beast. Here is a little background info on this run for those who follow me and aren't apart of WNC Trailrunner, which you should be by the way!

The FAC 50k is the half portion of the Pitchell 100k, a run that starts at midnight on top of Mt Pisgah to the top of Mt Mitchell 67 miles away on the Mountains to Sea Trail. Here is what the info page says of the run: The Pitchell.....where to begin? This is one truly epic adventure! Hope you can be a part! Birthed by the mind of Mad A (Adam Hill) in 2004, this run has proven to be quite the challenge by the terrain layed forth in the mountains surrounding Asheville, NC, as well as the finicky weather in the month of October. Start at midnight on the summit of Mt. Pisgah and run, hike, and crawl 67 miles to the finish on the summit of Mt. Mitchell! Not ready for that much challenge? Join in for the FAC 50k...run from the Folk Art Center to the summit of Mitchell with a start time of 6 am. Almost all of the route follows the Mountains to Sea Trail and is pretty much all singletrack with the exception of about 3 miles of doubletrack! (More info here- see Section 7,8, & 9).

The weather is looking to be great this weekend with temps between 40-65 all day. As much as I wanted to run Pitchell this year, that last 29 mile training run revealed to me that I was not ready to tackle this beast. Two and half hours into the run I was already feeling pretty fatigued and this was on a much easier run. Visions of me stumbling down Shut-In and into my car at the Folk Art Center already were creeping into my head. I finally made the final decision to switch to the junior varsity race and attempt to run the FKT for the FAC 50k. This will still not be an easy feat as the record is 8:29 set by Andrew Moore who is a solid runner and seems to be right with me on all of the big runs we've done together. All I can do is hope that my body responds well to the challenge and doesn't shut down on me. Either way it will be a blast and at least I get to run through the beautiful fall foliage and summit one of the most iconic mountains in the East.

Oh yea, Matt Kirk has just thrown his hat in for the 50k and if he tries to "run" it then I can kiss the FKT goodbye. Matt just earned the title of Kitsuma Krunk! 'Nuff said!

Another New Little Hump Challenge PR!!!!

2011-09-18T16:01:00.001-04:00

Heading out Saturday morning from my new residence in Mocksville to the start of the challenge, I would have never thought I would even come close to beating my previous PR of 1:55:30. In fact, I was expecting to run no better than 2 hours on this run. I relayed the same message to everyone at the start and seeing everyone take off ahead of me was a bit demoralizing, but expected. So I just put my head down (no views today anyway), and ran at a pace that I felt I could maintain. I power-hiked all of the extremely steep stuff on the OVT, which I usually try to run a bit of and didn't really care what my watch said. In my mind there was no way I was going to climb any faster than my previous best, but when I got to Yellow Mtn Gap and took my first split, it was 2+ minutes faster than my best. I really didn't think much of it and just kept doing what I was doing the rest of the way up the AT to Little Hump.

When I took my split at the turnaround I realized I just took off two minutes from my fastest climb. Maybe it was the lack of views, as I could only see 15 ft in front of me due to some heavy fog, but it revived me and I knew I could make it back down just as fast as before. Then, I turned on the jets and shaved another 2 minutes off my time on the descent. I set a 4 minute PR and came in at 1:51:10!!! Here are the splits from my previous best 1:55:30 (48:28,20:12) - 1:08:40 (13:13, 33:37) - 46:50 and my new best 1:51:10 (45:55, 20:33) - 1:06:29 (13:05, 31:36) - 44:44.

All of this was very surprising considering I thought I wasn't in as good of mountain running shape as I was when I set my old PR. I guess all the vertical I got at Hanging Rock State Park this summer is still with me or maybe the speed sessions I've been doing is getting my legs used to quicker turnover. Whatever it is, I just got a huge confidence boost in my running. Now to go out and get some more miles on the legs on some new trail at Lake Norman State Park!

Also congratulations to Tim Weed (1:34:21), Adam Hill (1:35:20), Lindsay Weed (2:03:31), and Rick Merriman for doing an equally hard summit run, just to the wrong summit. He actually summited Big Yellow Mtn, which would have been even more of a beautiful sight if not for the fog. The bench mark has been set by Tim and Adam with their stellar times! Those are going to be hard to beat!

Montreat Weekend Fun

2011-09-13T22:48:00.000-04:00

I finally was able to escape the boring low lands of the piedmont this weekend and get some real mountain running in on the amazing trails of Montreat. It was also good to see some good friends once again on the trails. For Saturday, Mad A had planned a serious Pitchell training route for us that would send us up and down the east and west ridges surrounding the town. He dubbed it "The Triple Threatdown." Needless to say this route was brutal, with close to 4000 ft of vertical gain and 4000 ft of loss on 11 or so miles! Mad A, Jon, William, Damian, Andrew, and myself all went forth from Lake Susan to tackle this beast. It soon became clear to me that as soon as I started climbing up Rocky Head trail that I wasn't in great mountain running shape. Although, I still had a blast and coming off a cold probably wasn't helping either.

Sunday, I was suppose to run with Damian, Dave, and Terry 17 miles from the Folk Art Center to Craggy Gardens via the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. But the 8 am start was a bit too early for me and I didn't make it. I was pretty bummed too, because that would have been a great run on some unexplored trail on the Pitchell course. At least I got a few more hours of sleep in and got some more school work done. I then went back over to Montreat and ran up to the summit of Greybeard Mountain. The Greybeard trail is phenomenal, especially the old trestle switchback section. It is a must run trail as is the West Ridge trail I came down back into Montreat. This was another run was about 12 miles with 3500 ft of gain. Just amazing mountain running.

Next week, Little Hump Fitness Challenge!

A month has passed...

2011-08-04T00:23:00.000-04:00

...and I haven't written a post! Sorry for all the hold up, but it is really difficult to keep this thing up when you don't have regular access to the web anymore. Anyway, a lot has happened since my last post and here is a quick break down.

- I've sweated prefusly running up and down the hellaciously technical trails of Hanging Rock State Park and continued to get more of a tan working at the lake
- I went on a road trip out west for two weeks (helped pace and crew Mike Mason at Hardrock 100)
- Running suffered during the road trip and it was hard to get motivated when I got back because of 95+ temps with near 100% humidity everday, so two weeks with little to no running
- Finally got motivated again and will be attempting first true long run of the summer since RAM this weekend

Well obviously, the road trip is the highlight of the above mentioned list, but there is so much to share and remember to write down that I might be here for hours and would probably soon get so sick of typing a blog that I will never do it again. I don't want that and maybe you don't either (doubt it, haha). Anyway, you can check out pics from the trip here by following these links below. Sorry there isn't more to this post, but maybe I'll have more to share from this weekends adventure next week.

Out West Road Trip '11
Hardrock 2011
Stephen's Rd Trip Photos
Daniel's Out West Photos I
Daniel's Out West Photos II

Quick Check-in

2011-06-14T11:33:00.000-04:00

It has been really hard in the recent weeks to find the time to sit down and right a new post. I just started a new job at Hanging Rock State Park and I have no internet were I am living at in the park, so you can see why things have been a laging a bit. Even today, I am busy visiting family and friends on my day off, but I at least thought I could give a quick update on what has been going on in the past 3 weeks.

1. I am really enjoying the new job and have great co-workers. I've been swimming and getting a sweet sun tan pretty much everyday. Plus, I've got great trails to run in the park, with plenty of vertical. My runs have been inconsistent and of shorter length because of the heat lately, but I can defintely tell an improvement in my running just because of how tough everything is at the park. It's pretty hard to run easy runs when almost every trail is straight up or straight down on some of the most technical terrain you've ever seen. It has been a blast though!

2. I finally ran RAM (Roan Adventure Marathon) this year with the good folks of WNC Trail Runner. This is the run that caught my attention and made me want to join the group and it provided everything I expected and bit more too. The plan was to run this 28-29 milish run in around 6 hours. On the way out, I ran 2:36 and never felt like I was pushing myself as I was chating with Scott Williams almost the entire way. The scenery was outstainding as it always is though my favorite section of trail I've ran to date. I pushed myself back up Hump Mtn to try and catch up with Adam and Jeremy and that is where things started to turn downhill. I'm pretty positive that consuming two gels that had been sitting in my car for three weeks, being reheated on a daily basis, were the colprit to my feeling of illness the last 10 miles of the run. I was forced to walk everything from that point on because my stomach would cramp up something fierce and my kidneys were screaming in pain. It ended up taking my 5 hours to return back to the start. I stuck with Damian on most of the return, as we were both having some issues. At one point, I even began to get scared for my life, but I filthy water source and the sight of round bald 2 miles ahead rejuvinated me just enough to push it to the finish. It took me a good 30 minutes of laying in the parking lot with a cold wet towel drapped across my body while Hannah hand fed my salty chips before I came back to life. I'm glad I survived this one and I can't wait to take the lessons I learned from this years race and come back next year and get that sub-6 hour finish!

3. I got to help out the Grand Kirk (Matt Kirk) on his MST thru hike journey as he stayed at my place in the park a hundred yards of the trail. The Grand Kirk was looking strong and had pushed 49 miles through the last mountain range on the trail to get to my place for some brews, food, and shelter. I woke up early the next morning to join him for the last 5 miles out of the Sauratown mountains. Like, I said, he is looking strong and there is no doubt that he will be finsishing ahead of schedule and enjoying his break from the mounatins for at least a little while. Check out this page to see daily updates on how his progress is going: http://runthemst.wikispaces.com/

Until next time...

Art Loeb Trail Run Vid

2011-05-25T11:34:00.000-04:00

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I made a video of my Art Loeb Trail run from Black Balsam to Cold Mountain. I have it posted below. And a quick report on my Iron Mountain run, I got sick and only had the energy to make it 20 miles and not even all at once. So there isn't really anything to report on it other than I felt horrible and I am really upset that I didn't get to complete the run. Anyway, enjoy the video!

In an Appalachia Coma

2011-05-19T13:49:00.002-04:00

Without a doubt the past 5 days have been the most memorable and jubilant Appalachia experience of my life so far. To say that I took advantage of my two week summer break before my job starts is a understatement. I'll have to break this post down into daily sections just to keep everything from becoming a blur.

Friday - Day 1 - Warren Wilson
On Friday I headed down to Asheville to get a head start on the amazing few days I had planned ahead to meet up with Adam "Mad A" Hill around noon. Upon arrival in Asheville the temps were approaching 85 and a run around Warren Wilson College along the Swannanoa River was a must. Mad A and I tackled an absolutely beautiful 9 mile loop and ended the run with a a quarter mile drift down the river. This was the first time this year that I had gotten completely in one of the cold mountain rivers of NC and it was perfect. As we floated down the river we were greeted with the improvisation of a hippie's guitar and he even threw out some lyrics about us drifting by. Quintesential Warren Wilson! A trip to Highlands Brewing followed that evening and wrapped up a great Spring day in the mountains.

Saturday - Day 2 - May Mountain Mama's Half
Hannah made it in late Friday night to join us on Saturday for Mad A's May Mountain Mama's Half marathon out of the Turkey Pen Trailhead. Eight others from WNC Trail Runner made it out for this super sweet loop in the Turkey Pen Area. Hannah and I stayed together the entire run and I had decided to just chill and run super easy, especailly after making a wrong turn a quarter mile into the run. When I say easy, I mean a trot. The easy 13 mile loop ended up taking us 2 hours and 40 minutes. I never run that slow, but I knew it would be wise considering the next couple of days that were planned. I still really enjoyed myself and the trails were fantastic. I love exploring unknown trails and this was just awesome. Hannah and I had a blast crossing multiple creeks and strolling down beautiful singletrack. Later that day, Hannah and I went over to Jeremy's home and had a good time hanging out playing some corn hole, corquet, and conversing with new aquintances.

Sunday - Day 3 - Art Loeb Trail Run
This was the main trail run I wanted to get in while I was in town. Hannah and I had lost the trail the last time I was out here and I wanted to make sure I summited Cold Mtn this time around. Mad A and his kids joined me on the hike up to Black Balsam Knob and then we parted and it was time to run to Cold Mtn and back. The trail through Black Balsam and Tennent Mtn is phenomenal with 360 degree views the whole way. Running through this section of trail, you do not even feel like you are in North Carolina anymore. Its a different world on this section of the Art Loeb. Running through Flower Gap, Stairs Mountain, the Narrows was awesome. I was completely in love with the path in front of me no matter how challenging it was. The climb up the trail to Cold Mtn might have been some of the sweetest mountain path I have ever set foot on. Although the view from the top wasn't superb because of some typical smokey mountain fog it, was quite rewarding finally reaching the summit. The return trip back to the car was quite slow, but I had the opportunity to do some trail discovering on some proposed section of a 100 mile route I would like to put together. Although it was longer, the amount of climb was minimal and the trail was awesome and will be a must in the route.

Monday - Day 4 - High Windy
It was now time to check out the Splashdown 15k route up to the top of High Windy with Mad A. The climb up such an eclectic mix of trail was amazing. The plan was to run the whole route, but the 42 miles of running the past three days were starting to catch up with me and I tweaked my calf crossing a flimsy bridge which sent me into walk mode for a bit. After running for about 5 miles of 2500 ft of gain, it was time to return back to the car. But both Mad A's and my energy levels had plummeted because of a lack of nutrition and fatique, and I was practically stumbling down the mountain feeling like I was about to pass out. It was slow going, but we made it back and I got another amazing mountain run in. Later that day we hung out at William's mountain house below High Windy and had a blast drinking some brews, splitting wood, eating a delicious vegetarian meal, and singing songs around the fire with many new and old friends. This was definitely the highlight of the whole trip and I had tickets to see Amos Lee the next night.

Tuesday - Day 5 - Amos Lee Show
The weather today was horrible after 4 days of phenomenal weather, so i decided not run and I was extremely fatiqued from 52 miles in 4 straight days. Rest was in order while I waited for Hannah to arrive for the show later that night. The show was amazing and Amos ending up playing for about 2.5 hours, which is unheard of. It was an exellent treat and was a great way to wrap up the trip.

Passing Thoughts
Huge thanks to the Hill family for housing me during my stay. I always felt welcomed and had a great time hanging out with them. I ended up running the biggest week of my running life last week with 73 miles. Granted, I ran almost every single bit of this remarkably slow as to avoid injury and it worked. I've built a huge base for training and after this coming weekends 43 mile excursion in the Iron Mountains it will be time to start getting some speed in the legs so I can tear up races later this summer. I'll be putting up a video of the Art Loeb run once I get a chance so stay tuned for that.

Little Hump Fitness Challenge PR!!! (and more)

2011-05-02T22:14:00.000-04:00

Since school is over for me know, I thought I would go hit up one of my favorite runs and try and beat my previous time on the Little Hump Fitness Challenge. I felt that this would be an easy task to break my previous time because I was shooting footage for the video on the last attempt.

View of Little Hump from South

So I headed out to Roan Mountain, TN and on the way picked up a couple of AT thru-hikers walking down US 19E to get some grub and a rest at the local hostile. Just a word of advise, pick up thru-hikers if they need a lift into town, they are generally very nice people. Anyway, after dropping them off at the barbeque place in town, I headed over to the start of the OVT.

Soon after heading up the OVT I remembered how hard this run actually was. My heart rate had to be maxed out and I was doing my best to stay in running mode, but that soon faltered after about 1.6 miles and 1000 ft of gain later. I broke into a walk for about tenth of a mile and started taking little walks breaks through the next 2 miles up to Yellow Mtn Gap (YMG). As usual, the first quarter of mile up the AT out of YMG forced me into a walk, but I was able to run the rest of the AT up to the summit of Little Hump (1:08:40).

Once I reached the top I took a quick break to enjoy the views and down a Hammer Gel. I ran into a few thru-hikers up at the top as well and chatted a little with them before I headed on down. I knew this would be the opportunity to really take some time of my previous time and hammered back down the trail. My knee felt good all the way down which is good sign considered the ramp up in training for the next 10 weeks. I got back to my car in 46:50 in a total time of 1:55:30!!! A new PR and almost 6 minutes of my previous time! It was a great day for this run! Check out the garmin data here: Little Hump Fitness Challenge

Ok, on to even more exciting news. I will be crewing/pacing Mike Mason out at Hardrock 100 this July!!! Since the race coincides around the time when I was planning my OUT WEST Road Trip, I will be able to help out a friend and a phenomenal runner. Mike ran the fastest time out at Linville a few weeks back and even ran a bit extra to squeeze in a couple of extra miles after everyone else was done. It will be an honor to pace/crew Mike, especially at the most revered (and hardest) ultra in North America.

just a sampling of the course

Plans for the Future

2011-04-22T12:10:00.000-04:00

My last "real" semester as a student at Appalachian State University is drawing to an end and because of this I have limited time to squeeze as much high country running in as I can before I start my summer job at Hanging Rock State Park at the end of May. So this post will be covering the planned adventures I have for the next month. But before I move into that, I would like to tell you that the new headline picture for my blog was taken last weekend on a run in the beautiful Grayson Highlands of Virginia. Hannah and I went out for a leisurely run/hike/ford circumnavigating Mt. Rogers. To look at more pictures taken on this run, follow this link and also check out the garmin data of the run here: Mt Rogers Circumnavigate

Ok, now on to the main premise of this post in bullet form!

- I have to get in at least two more attempts on the Little Hump & Elk Knob Double Summit Fitness Challenges

- Got to head down Asheville way to get some runs in near Shining Rock and maybe do some camping. Hanging out with the Hill's is mandatory when heading down that way as well

- Run the May Mountain Mama's Half-Marathon with WNC Trail Runner May 14th

- Hike up to the top of Rich Mtn Bald (near Boone), catch the sunset over the Roans, Beech, Grandfather, Unaka, and the Blacks, camp out for the night, wake up to a beautiful sunrise over Elk Knob and the Blue Ridge. Should have some good company for this as well.

- I will be running the ~45 mile AT/Iron Mtn Trail loop out of Damascus on May 21st as my last hooray before I have to move out of my Boone lease and start my summer job the following weekend! The good folks of Iron Mountain Trail Runner may be joining me and hopefully I can get some WNC Trail Runners to show up as well.

- Plan for my "Heading West" road trip! (to be taken at the end of July)

- Just thoroughly enjoy my short summer break!

This is pretty much what I want to accomplish while on my ~20 something day break. My summer job should be a blast as well though. I will be living inside one of the coolest state parks in North Carolina, running up a mountain most mornings, and lifeguarding at the lake during the day. My place in the park is 100 yds from the MST! Plus, I will only be 40 minutes from Hannah in Winston and and hour and 15 minutes from home. This is looking to be a great summer before the real world of career sets in.

View of Hanging Rock

Linville Gorge Madness Marathon Report!

2011-04-03T18:30:00.000-04:00

THE HARDEST RUN OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!
But I can't wait to come back next year and do it all over again!

I'll give you some background information on this run before I get into the report side. I came up with the idea of this run because I love the gorge. It is without a doubt one of my most favorite places in the world. So the thought of a run that would circumnavigate the gorge and reveal so many different aspects of its beauty had to be created. And why not make it around the marathon distance? I choose the trails we would run and made a 27ish (maybe 28) mile loop around the gorge with no thought of what the elevation gain of this run would be. I knew it would be difficult, but it wasn't until I plugged the route into gpsvisualizer.com did I know just how hard it would be. Approximately 10,000 ft of vertical gain in 27 miles! 19,000 ft of elevation change in those 27 miles!!!! It hit me that I might have just created the hardest marathon in the country.

Report:

Camping:

A few of us had decided to camp out near the start finish at Tablerock the night before and we thought, "Why not squeeze a run in before we set up camp?" So Adam, Jeremy, Rob, and I ventured up the Jonas Ridge Trail up and over Sitting Bear Mtn and Gingercake Mtn for a quick 4ish mile run (Adam and Jeremy decided to hit up Hawksbil Mtn for an extra 3.5). I had never been up to Sitting Bear and it was worth the trip. I love discovering new trails and mountains. After the run, we soon made it to the camp site and began setting up and trying to start a fire (took us about 2 hours). Hannah and Martha joined us around 7:30 that night and we spent the rest of the evening cooking, conversing, and relaxing before the day ahead. Sleep was hard to come by though. As soon as we retired to the warmth of our sleeping bags and the coziness of our tents, a violent wind and ice storm come over the west rim of the gorge. The wind was incredible to hear with gusts that must of reached 50 mph or more. I kept hoping that our tents would survive the onslaught and by morning they had.

The Run:

Everyone arrived around 8:30 except Matt Kirk who was running from his camp on the Pinchin Trail 6 miles away (plus the extra 20ish miles he ran to get to his camp the night before), but he arrived right around 8:45! Matt is a beast! We gathered for a group photo and a little after 9 we began our arduous journey around the gorge.


Back: Ryan, Andrew, Damian, Myself, Doug, Mike, Matt, Scott				Front: Adam, Rob, Jeremy

What was really fun about this run was that we practically stayed close together the entire time. Going over the Chimney's, down to Chimney Gap, up and over Shortoff Mtn, across the river, and up most of the climb to Pinnacle, we were all within a minute or two of each other. It was great having all of the camaraderie through the run and I'm sure it helped everyone stay in good spirits. The views, needless to say, were outstanding from Shortoff Mtn and it was fun running with almost the entire group through that section. The river crossing was quite comical since the footing was slick with algae.

The climb up Pinnacle was a bit tougher than I remembered it and the group soon began to disperse. Mike was running the entire thing, and putting us all to shame. Once you reach Pinnacle you hit Kistler Memorial Hwy and it still doesn't give you any relief as it steadily climbs up to our first aid station at the Pinchin trail head. I ran with Rob, Damian, and Andrew on most of this section and was elated to see the aid station. Hannah and Martha had everything set up out of the trunk of their Honda and being able to see everyone pretty much still there was another moral boost.

Pinchin Aid

After refilling the bottles and loading up on food, everyone began the steep descent down the beautiful Pinchin Trail. By the time we made it to the Linville Gorge Trail we were still pretty much all together and began what everyone agreed was the worst section in the entire run. The trail is just rocks on top of boulders, down trees, branches, and so many little steep ups and downs. It made for some really slow pace and just completely drained your energy. Reaching the Conley Cove trail, which is straight uphill, was actually a relief. This trail was beautiful by the way with generous switchbacks and non-technical terrain.

By the time we reached the gravel rd again I was bonking, as was Jeremy, and we practically hiked the entire road to our next aid station at the Babel Tower trail head. A few roadside campers offered us some PBR's and Coke's, but we denied the offer (Adam and Damian took them on that offer). Seeing the aid station up ahead was a welcomed sight and the thoughts began buzzing in my head of dropping and hitching a ride back with Hannah. But I was the creator and organizer of this run, I couldn't bail with only 6 miles to go. So after some refueling I headed down the Babel Tower trail wishing I was sitting down in the car. But after about 5 minutes, my legs came back and my energy seemed to be restored. I was glad I had decided to keep going and was really happy throughout the second section of the Linville Gorge Trail, which was much easier and runnable than the first. Andrew followed close behind me the entire way and helped my stay on the right path a couple of times.

Tablerock Mtn from Linville Gorge Trail

By the time I reached the Spence Ridge Bridge, I had caught back up with Adam, Damian, and Ryan. I wanted to hang with them the rest of the run, but I had no energy once the climbing began for the last 2 miles up to Tablerock Mtn. They soon gaped me and I was all alone for the steepest of steep climbs up the Little Tablerock trail. I felt like I was going at a snail's pace (probably was) up this steep ascent, but apparently I wasn't the only one. Right before the summit of Tablerock a caught back up with Ryan and we summited together. Adam was up there waiting on us. I stopped my watch at 7:31:05 and had just completed the hardest run of my life.

Little Tablerock from Little Tablerock Trail

Passing thoughts:
-Huge thanks to Hannah and Martha (our aid volunteers) for saving us on this grueling run. Without you two, this run would have not been such a success.
-Thanks to everyone who came out and congratulations to all who attempted this run. (Ryan, Adam, Jeremy, Matt, Rob, Mike, Andrew, Doug, Damian, Scott)
- Garmin data here: Linville Gorge Madness Marathon
- Make sure to stay tuned into WNC Trail Runner for future adventures
- Enjoy this little video I put together of the run and I hope to see you out there next year!

Pisgah Running and Camping Weekend

2011-03-27T18:17:00.000-04:00

After Hannah had been recently asking when we were going to go backpacking again, an opportunity presented itself for us to camp and then run sans backpack. And let me just say, car camping and then running from the camp site makes for a really enjoyable experience (I don't think we will be giving up backpacking though).

Yum, pasta

Haily and Damian set up the Pisgah Running and Camping Weekend for all to enjoy and a solid crew assembled for the weekend's fun. Hannah and I decided to meet Matt and Lily (check out Matt's report) at their home in Marion and follow them down to Brevard to the camp site. We set up camp and soon we were dinning on some pasta and salad while enjoying some Dale's Pale Ale (apparently the beer of choice in this group). Camp fire stories and smores were shared afterward before we all retired to our tents for the night, all of us wishing we were in the castle that Terry had set up for his family.

The crew, Sultan style

Climbing up Clawhammer Rd

We awoke to gobbling turkey's and we all hoped that the rain would hold off long enough for us to enjoy some views on the run. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, but we were running anyway. We all ran together up Clawhammer Rd before we began to separate and Damian, Hannah, I ran together for most of the run. It was somewhat disappointing knowing that we wouldn't be able to see the expansive views from the Black Mtn Trail but Hannah and I had a blast running and conversing with Damian throughout the run in the rain, fog, and thunder. We definitely will have to head back out there to do the run again in fairer weather.

Hannah and I nearing the end

Damian

With the weather looking to get worse and having evening plans in Boone, Hannah and I had to pack up soon after the run to get back on the road. We had a great time and a big thanks to Haley and Damian for putting this on. We had a great time! Now to look forward to next weekends Linville Gorge Madness Marathon! Pics by Matt.

Hayley

Nicole

Mid-Week Treat

2011-03-23T10:21:00.001-04:00

Since the days have grown longer and Spring was in the air in the high country, I thought I'd go take a trip to one of my favorite areas in the world to explore some new trail and old in the Roan Highlands. By looking at an old AT map and reading some trip reports, it looked that the Overmountain Victory Trail (OVT) to Yellow Mtn Gap would be a sweet trip. From here I could take the Appalachian Trail up to Little Hump Mtn to catch some 360 degree views before I headed back to the car. The run looked to be right around 11 miles. Perfect for a midweek run.

Start of the run

View from OVT on the way up

So I drove to the OVT trail head near Roan Mountain, TN and began my journey. The trail begins and climbs on a farm road and meanders through pastoral pastures with horses grazing on the hill sides. Along the way I had to go through several gates until the old farm road (after about 2.5-3 miles) finally surrendered itself to wooded single track trail. The single track continued to gradually climb and then took a sudden steep turn downhill. I was beginning to wonder if I was still on the right trail and then it turned right back up hill. I can definitely tell that my fitness level is currently not that great after my injury hiatus from vigorous running, such as this run. I was finding myself winded and walking on numerous occasions.

OVT singe track

After following the single track up along a stream bed, the trail took a right and I was soon back on double track. I knew that I must be getting close to Yellow Mtn Gap because the top of the ridge line was close in sight. After pushing through the climbing I finally made it, but then had to immediately take a left straight up the AT to Little Hump Mtn. The steepness in this initial climb out of Yellow Mtn Gap is quite severe and one where running does you no good. I grunted it out until the trail returned to a more tolerable grade. After about a mile of ascent up the AT, I finally reached the open balds that lay before Little Hump Mtn and a string of beaten out dirt path winds its way to the summit. It is a beautiful sight and one, in my opinion, everyone should experience.

View from the AT

The AT on the way up to Little Hump

I had finally made it to the top and began to soak in the views and felt overwhelmed by the immensity of the great expanse that laid before my eyes. I had to sit down a while and enjoy it before I made the return journey back to the car. Which was equally as beautiful as on the way up.

The OVT on the way down

I made a video of the run and have also dubbed it the Little Hump Fitness Challenge. Go here to check out the details and post your times! Little Hump Fitness Challenge. Also check out the other fitness challenges on this page. WNC Trail Runner Fitness Test. Enjoy!!!

Bouncing Back

2011-03-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

After weeks of battling aches and pains, most notoriously IT band and Runner's Knee, the pain has begun to alleviate and I was able to put in my first solid week of running since two weeks before Uwharrie. That is a long, long time and I would be lying if it did not make me a bit depressed. Looking back to those initial days after Uwharrie, I discovered the route of what caused all my pain, which was a a lack of stretching post run. I didn't stretch any after the race, no stretching the days following, none after my first run after Uwharrie, and none after a grueling and beautiful run in the Linville Gorge. I don't know why I didn't but you can definitely see how this could tighten up my entire lower body and leave me practically crippled. Lessons learned.

Ok, now onto this week. I got a new pair of shoes and was itching to get out for runs, but still trying to save the knee. So I took it comfortably hard and short for the week. The new shoes were performing well and my knee was feeling better each run. This was getting me excited for the Seven Sister Summit Run (SSSR) coming up this weekend.

So, I decided to head down to Asheville a day early and hang out with Adam Hill (MadA) and his family. We were able to squeeze in a short run around Buzzbee Mtn between board games, soccer, and ice cream. Needless to say, it was a pretty good afternoon before SSSR. Always thankful to the Hill's for putting me up in their home when I head down Asheville way.

SSSR Crew

A good crew had assembled for the fifth running of the SSSR Saturday morning and I was itching to get going. I laced up my new shoes (wondering if this would be a good choice because of a lack of grip) and after taking a few group photos we were off. Adam and Jon took off out of the gates and they both seemed ready to lay down a solid time. I followed closely for about a quarter of a mile before I realized that their pace would have me calling it quits in a half an hour. Especially with the first nasty steep initial climb. I ended up running with Damian and Scott over Rainbow Mtn and Lookout Mtn before Damian disappeared. On my way up and over the next summit of the day, Matt Kirk (Grand Kirk) and Uwharrie finally joined Scott and myself. We pretty much stayed together until Greybeard Falls and I began to hit a low point in the run. I had woke up that morning feeling pretty thirsty and not knowing how long it would be till I could access a water source, I tried to conserve as much water as possible. Once reaching Greybeard Falls my bottle was only halfway empty. I was feeling pretty dehydrated. It took about another full bottle in the next 2 miles up the amazing switchbacks of the Greybeard Trail till I was feeling good again.

View from Lookout Mtn

View from Walker's Knob

But once I started to feel good, my shoes began to fail me on the technical terrain of the rest of the course. They are super light and feel great underfoot, but they definitely do not grip roots, rocks, and crushed leaves very well. After summiting Walker's Knob and Greybeard Mtn. I was reduced to a ridiculously slow walk on all steep technical sections. This is kinda of a bummer considering my forte is technical downhill running, but it might have been a good thing in helping me not to be too ambitious and screwing up my knee once again. West Ridge trail is a blast though and cruising over the Seven Sisters is an experience in itself.

View from Greybeard Mtn

After battling the West Ridge trail, I took a left onto Big Piney Trail to descend back to the finish in Montreat. Most of this trail was less technical but quite steep. Once off the trail I hit a section of gravel/pavement for the last mile to the finish. I ran down this section hard to finish the run strong in 3:09. Definitely will have to come back and lay down a faster time.


View from Rattlesnake Mtn on Big Piney Trail

After the run, I kicked back with the crew and waited for everyone to come in while enjoying a Highland's Brewing Seven Sister Abbey Style Ale and some cookies brought by Greg and Anne. After everyone came in we head over to Ole's for some delicious grub. Always a good choice.

Since the day was still young after the relatively short SSSR, I decided to tour around the Asheville area and then check out a section of parkway previously unexplored from Asheville to Mt. Mitchell State Park. I pulled over to take a quick trip up Craggy Pinnacle before heading to the start of the Big Butt trail. The goal was to run to Big Butt and catch the sunset and the "supermoon" rise at dawn, but I forgot my headlamp and it was a bit to cloudy to catch a glimpse of the sun or moon. So, I had to head back in enough time to get me back to my car no less than 10 minutes after sunset so I could see where I was going. This means I missed summiting Big Butt, but I did make it to Little Butt and captured this beautiful pic of the Blacks.

View of the Black Mtns from Little Butt

I took the parkway all the way back to Boone (it is actually the quickest that way) and was able to catch glimpses of the supermoon once the clouds cleared out. It was a great way to end a great day.

A Case of the Injury Blues

2011-03-03T18:43:00.000-05:00

Injuries. We have all had them and they pretty much affect us the same way. It usually leads into some slight depression at first and then turns into envy of your fellow running friends who are still running and you aren't. It just flat out sucks. I am currently having issues with what seems to be a mix of runner's knee and IT band syndrome (which is probably causing the runner's knee pain). My first bout with ITBS was last year around the same time, two weeks after Uwharrie (same time frame as this year). This resulted in a hiatus of running for the rest of February, March, and the beginning of April. Which then turned into a good month of running coming back from the issue and then another meltdown as the oppressive heat of last summer made me into a non-motivated slouch.

During the down periods between February and April, I started doing P90X and rode on a stationary bike 3-days a week to keep up my fitness. It worked and when I started running again in April, I was laying down some really quick 5 mile runs but still lacked the endurance to run solid much longer than 15k. I was pretty satisfied and figured I would be able to run the Iron Mountain 50M that coming September if I got my mileage back up. But then came the summer heat, as mentioned before, and I ran about once a week for no more than 5 miles each run. One run a week was all I was motivated to do and my fitness and endurance plummeted. It wasn't until September that I started really running again.

Needless to say, I don't want that scenario to replay itself out again this year with the same injury showing it's annoying presence again. I am so much more motivated and passionate about running this year and I don't want to fall into another slump. I have plenty of little fun runs on the calender coming up soon as well that I would hate to miss out on. I want to deal with this injury and get over it as quickly as possible, but still be able to run during the recovery. Long periods of complete rest don't ever seem to do me much good. Especially considering that last week I took the whole week off and when I went to run for the first time in 6 days the pain was still there.

So, I will probably start doing yoga again (something I probably should have never stopped doing) and start using a foam roller to alleviate the tightness of my IT band, which I am sure is the cause of the Runner's Knee problem as well. Hopefully this combined with some flat, gentle, and unshod running for the next few weeks (as well as icing) will help the problem and get me back to running 50+ mile weeks as soon as possible.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions on dealing with these types of issues, leave a comment. It will be very much appreciated and might spur a pretty good conversation.

Rattle My Heart 50k Report

2011-02-21T18:52:00.003-05:00

You know that little voice in your head that says, "Hey, your knee hasn't felt good all week. You shouldn't run a 50k this weekend." Well, apparently I don't like to listen to that little voice. This is the story of that run (and the week leading up to it).

My last post was on my Linville Gorge run and that is where the knee began to start bothering me. I took a hike instead of a run that following Sunday, took Monday off, and then ran a nice run with Dennis on Tuesday down in the Wilson Creek Area. After that run, I knew that my knee would need some rest if I was planning on running the Rattle My Heart 50k the following weekend. I promptly started taking ibuprofen and icing at lest three times a day. I also did zero running for the rest of the week. Friday night, I could still feel some slight discomfort in my knee, but I wasn't going to miss this run.

Hannah and I got to the start in Montreat a bit early and I was ready to get moving. Hannah was planning to run over to Rattlesnake with us and then go off on here own to piece together some more miles on the trails around Montreat. Slowly everyone else started showing up and we snapped a few pictures and then took off probably somewhere around 9:15. We ran some paths through Montreat over to the first trail of the day and everyone was reduced to a power hike. It seemed like everyone was in the mood to take it easy during the early part of the run and that was fine with me. I was going to take it as easy as possible in hopes of the knee surviving 30 miles. We soon made it to Rattlesnake Mt. and everyone was still together to take a few more pics from this scenic summit. It was starting to get a bit toasty at this point and I decided to shed the shirt.

The crew on top of Rattlesnake Mt

View from Rattlesnake Mt


Youngs Ridge (Kitsuma Peak far right)

We soon were headed over to hit up the Kitsuma Trail and get our first aid of the day. Everyone began to break up during the Kitsuma portion of the run and I began to run with Rob and Andrew. We all stayed together down the roller coaster that is Youngs Ridge and the 2 - 3 miles of road to the beginning of the Heartbreak Ridge Trail, the highlight of the days run. The exposed road section was really hot and the sun was blaring down on my back (have a nice tan to show for it now). We soon hit Heartbreak Ridge and the last bit of aid for the run. This trail is about 6 miles long and gains approximately 3000 ft in that time. I stuck with Rob for about a mile on the trail and then decided to go ahead and push the pace a little. But about as quickly as I decided to speed up, the grade got a bit steeper and I was reduced to a power hike for most of the climb. The trail was beautiful and really wasn't that steep, but after already running 14 miles to get to there, it was steep enough to walk. I would love to do an out and back run on that trail. I also started to suffer through a bonk session about half-way up the climb and began consuming a few more calories than I had planned. Subsequently, I was soon caught by Andrew and Rob once more for the final mile over to the junction with the Mt Mitchell Toll Rd.

View from Heartbreak Ridge Trail

Mitchell Toll Road

Upon arriving to the Toll Rd., Rick Gray was there waiting on us to give us a bit of encouragement. He and his wife were out running 2 hours on the toll rd in preparation for next weeks Mt Mitchell Challenge. It was great running into him after that brutal climb, but I couldn't hang around too long because Andrew had decided to take off. I was going to follow him down the toll rd because Adam said there were some tricky turns that a lot of people miss and I had previously never been on that trail. The toll rd was quite gnarly at times and I personally couldn't wait to get off of it. Even though that grade was perfect for flying, the rocks kind of kept you from getting into a smooth rhythm. Andrew soon disappeared (still in bonk mode) and I just decided to stay on the path of least resistance (which was a good choice) and hopefully see some flagging at some point. There were quite a few people on the trail though, so I would just ask them if they had seen any other runners heading the same way to make sure I was still on course.

At the last tricky intersection, my knee finally decided that it had enough and promptly sent me into walk/stagger mode. My energy levels were fine, but my IT Band was screaming. I was worried about a runner's knee flare up before the run because that was what was hurting me this whole week. Weird how the pain migrated over to a different region. At least I was about 2 miles from the finish and I was able to slowly stagger on into Montreat. I finished in 6:11. I was pretty proud of that effort. If I would have been healthy, I know I could shave at least 30 minutes off of that time and maybe even more.

Afterward, most of the crew gathered at Ole's for some delicious mexican cuisine and brews. Another great run with the crew and big thanks to Adam Hill for putting this amazing run on once more. Hannah and I had a great time. Here is the Garmin data: Rattle My Heart 50k

Check out a vid Adam Hill (Mad A) put together of the run! Two Parts!

Linville Gorge Run with the Grand Kirk

2011-02-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

Since I had to head down towards Hickory Saturday morning for a meeting, I decided to head down and do some recon on some of the trails in the gorge that we will be running for the Linville Gorge Madness Marathon. Matt Kirk decided that he would like to join me on this adventure since it was practically 10 minutes from his home in Marion. We decided to meet up at the trail head of the Overmountain Victory Trail to start our run. Matt would run 13 miles via the MST to the meet up, I would drive to the start instead.

I met Matt and Uwharrie around 2 pm and we headed on up the trail. The ascent up the OVT had two open fields with excellent views of the Black Mountains to the West. We soon hit Kistler Memorial Hwy for a mile of gravel road running to the entrance of the Pinchin Trail, which would be our route into the gorge. I had never been on this trail until today, but have noticed it from Shortoff numerous times and couldn't wait to descend it's burnt out surface with expansive views. This trail was everything I thought it would be and more. It was beautiful!

We were soon at the river and it was time to take the Linville trail and a blue blazed side "trail" to the MST to ascend up to Pinnacle. This section of trail was slow considering all the blow downs, lack of knowledge in trail construction (blue blazed trail), and super steep ascents (60% at some points)! It was almost a relief when we got to the MST, but then we were faced with a 1100' 1 mile ascent up to Pinnacle. The climbing of this run was starting to take its toll. Although tough, this trail was a beauty too and the views from the top of Pinnacle were awesome.

After soaking in the landscape, Matt and I made our descent back to the car down the OVT. We got back to the fields right as the sun was setting behind the Blacks and were able to get some good sunset shots before we ended the day a mile below. My knee started to hurt on the descent and I had to slow down my pace just in case something bad might happen. It seemed fine after the run, but it was a bit sore today. Matt and Lily had me over for some dinner and good conversation afterward. It was a great end to a great day. Enjoy this little vid I put together of this run and see some of the beauty for yourself. Here is the Garmin data: Linville Gorge w/ Grand Kirk

Uwharrie Mountain Run Report!

2011-02-07T00:01:00.002-05:00

Saturday started early at 5 AM for Hannah, my mother, and I to get ready to head down to the best organized and "fun" race I have ever run. I took a quick shower, ate some breakfast, and then got antsy waiting on my crew to get ready. I had a good night's rest the previous night, but I still kinda woke up in a bad mood, knowing that it would be raining at Uwharrie for the second straight year.

We left the house around 5:35 and I was trying to make it to the race as quickly as possible, but the rain just got heavier and heavier, keeping my speed to a bare minimum to avoid wrecking on the curvy back roads of Randolph County. The forecast was for light rain in the morning, not for a torrential down pour with a few claps of thunder and lightening. My mood was getting even worse. As soon as we got to the shuttle area, I rushed out of the car to get to the bathroom. My stomach was not going to cooperate with me for the second straight year it seemed. After spending too much time in the pitch black porta-john, I had missed the shuttle and needed my crew to rush me to the start before check-in closed. It was still pouring and my mood continued to get worse and worse. What a "crappy" morning. Upon arriving to the start, I was telling my crew "Let's just go home, I'm so upset right now," which Hannah responded to with a masterful tone "No we are not, your getting yourself out there right now!" Needless to say, I got out of the car, signed in, and stood in pity under the drop bag tent with at least 20 other crazy people (not sure if they were standing in pity though). A few of them I knew and some I knew of from WNC Trail Runner (Rick Gray, Brian Bedhun, Mike Mason, David Olsen, & Jason Smith).


About to start

At 7:00, the race director called us out from the safety of our tent to toe the line for the start. She gave us some pre-run info, one of which was that the military was doing a training exercise and not to be alarmed by camoed soldiers carrying automatic rifles. I finally laughed and felt my mood beginning to change a little. On the count of "GO" we were off and on to the first big climb of the day. I walked this hill last year, but managed to run up it quite comfortably this year, except for an extremely technical and steep 100 yard section that even the eventual winner was walking through. At the end of the 1 mile 400ft ascent I found myself in 11th place and with only one person I could see behind me. I thought to myself, "Not bad, your heart rate never even got close to 160 on that climb."

The first 11 miles were pretty much uneventful other than one bathroom break and a pull off to the side of the trail to empty my shoe of sand after a creek crossing (the creek crossings were deep this year, one was up to my waist). I felt solid the whole time and was hitting my splits dead on, despite the two breaks which may have cost me a total of 5 minutes. I mainly ran by myself from the 5 mile point to the 8 mile point and after the bathroom break at mile 8.5, I started to run with a pretty cool guy I met named Jonathan. We were pretty much evenly paced so it worked out running together.

At the 11 mile aid station, I got caught up and he went on ahead and I couldn't catch back up with him until mile 16 on the toughest climb of the day. The section between 11 and 15 looks pretty easy on the map, but it always kills me and I lose significant time on it every time. Its a constant roller coaster of short ups and downs and you can never get into a rhythm. On the climb at 16, a caught 2 more runners and found myself in 8th place. At the 17.5 mile aid station, I passed Jonathan and was in 7th feeling strong heading into the turn around.


Coming into the turn around

Heading back out after taking care of business

I reached the turnaround in 3:25:30 and immediately rushed to the porta-john to get rid of some more stomach issues. I got a clif bar and a new full bottle from my crew and headed out right at 3:30, right behind Jonathan and right were I wanted to be to try and make it back in uder 7 hours. Jonathan and I chatted some more and ran strong together until the climb again at mile 24. He stayed close behind until the descent when I lost him. At the base of the descent I heard someone coming up behind me and I thought it was him, but it was Anthony and he was looking strong! The last time I had seen him was at mile 20.5 and he was heading towards the turnaround. After he passed me, I was in 8th place and would never relinguish that spot for the rest of the day.


Coming into the 32 mile aid station.

By the time I had made it to the 32 mile aid station, my legs were feeling really heavy and I could tell I was getting noticeably weaker. I had already dropped 7 minutes behind schedule to break the 7 hour mark. The first 1.5 mile after the 32 mile aid station, I tried to push it to make up the time, but I was really just staying even at 7 minutes behind schedule. At the 33.5 mile spot, I almost caught the 7th place person, but the ensuing climb that laid before us broke me and I never saw him again. At the base of that climb, I was 10 yards away from him! I was just completely gassed and decided that I would just try and hang on to 8th place. My legs had no more speedy turnover in them to push the pace on the flats and definitely not enough to help me run up the hills. I was reduced to a walk/stagger on those remaining sections. On the final ascent 1.5 miles away from the finish, I saw the 9th place guy about 200 yards back. I picked up the pace as much as I could tolerate and blazed down the backside to the finish in a super fast 9 minute pace (I am being totally sarcastic about the fast part). I crossed the the line in 7:19:41 in 8th place! Twenty minutes behind my goal, but I still placed in the top ten for my fourth straight race! I feel pretty satisfied, and can attribute that weakness in my legs at the end to only being able to log one 30 mile long run this winter because of all the snow we've had.

Crossing the finish!

I had a great time again this year and the finisher award this year is just awesome. Big thanks to Micahel Mahan and his son for making all of these for everyone! I hung around after the race for about half an hour to talk to some friends and check on how they did. I also talked to the race director about organizing a 100 miler in Uwharrie. They said that they were really interested and for me to send them a proposed route and they would look into getting everything else together. That would be sweet! Thanks to all the volunteers who make this race possible, you do an outstanding job! Also, HUGE thanks to my mother and Hannah for crewing for me for the second straight year! They battled logistics and muddy roads to keep my bottles full and energy replenished.

Glad to be done

In parting, I really love this race, but I think next year I might be running the Mitchell Challenge 40 instead of this one, but I will definitely at least be running the 20 next year. This is one race that I just love being a part of, no matter what the conditions!

Check out the garmin info here: Uwharrie Mountain Run 40M

Sultan 50k Report and other stuff

2011-01-31T18:57:00.001-05:00

Saturday, Hannah and I headed off to run with the WNC Trail Runner group in South Mountains State Park for the Sultan 50k (aka South Mountains Crossing). Since Uwharrie is next week, I opted to only run half of the run this year and run with Hannah as she would run the toughest run of here life to date. After making a wrong turn near the start, which added another 1.5 miles to the already 16.5 mile journey, we ended up running 18 miles with about 3,700 ft of gain! The course was absolutely stunning, with many open views to waves of mountain ridges stretched out to the horizon. The trail wasn't technical and it was actually more of a dirt rd/gravel rd the entire way except for a boulder hopping and step climbing mile past a beautiful waterfall. Hannah did great and ran 5 miles more than she has ever ran before and with more climb to boot. Congratulations as well to all the other runners, 3 of which finished the full 33 miles and 6900 ft of ascent in under 5 hours! Also, a big thanks to Sultan for putting on this run! Can't wait to come back next year for the full monty! Here is the Garmin data: Sultan 50k (halfish)

After the run, Hannah and I went out to eat at Jalapenos Fresh Grill with a few other runners to enjoy some of the best Mexican food I have ever tasted. We had a great time talking and joking around with everyone. After Jalapenos, Hannah and I had one more item on the agenda to attend to. Go see Jill Andrews at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. We hadn't seen her in over a year and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see her while she was close by again. The show was amazing as she played some old favorites and some new gems that will be released this May on her forthcoming release. Here is a quick little sample of her show if you have never heard her before.

This weekend was one of the best I can remember. Big thanks to Adam Hill and family for putting us up for this night at his home in Asheville. I can't wait for the next WNC Trail Runner group run, Rattle My Heart 50k!

Also, a quick note on my January running totals:
Miles = 193
Vertical Gain = 23,000 ft
(funny how this looks like one week for Krupicka, haha)

New Mile and 800M PR Today

2011-01-27T17:38:00.001-05:00

I'm currently in taper mode for Uwharrie right now so I'm not putting a lot of mileage on this week or next, but the little bit of mileage I am getting in I want to be quality. So today, I decided since all the trails were covered in fresh snow, I would go for a little run on the indoor track here on campus. The plan was just to run a lot of slow 9 min pace laps around the track with a few 400m spurts at 10k pace just to get the legs used to some turnover. But I also had a mission for today's run. Run a mile under 6 minutes, my previous timed mile PR (I may have run a faster mile before, but it definitely wasn't timed and it was probably on a downhill section of road or trail). I know what your thinking, "a mile under 6 min is easy". It may be for someone that is training for that distance, but not for a guy that has been running long distance ever since he started running and has never even really tried to run a fast mile.

The plan was to run the first 800M in 3:00 flat and then run the second half in 2:55. I was taking it relatively easy at first and when I got to the halfway point, I looked down at my watch and saw 3:08! My first thought was, "there is no way I'm going to get under 6 minutes now", but I just started busting it out anyway. I was constantly looking at my watch just hoping I would make up the time some how. With just under 200m left, I looked down and had 30 seconds to get to the finish. I threw it into another gear I didn't even knew I had and crossed the line in 5:58! I managed to beat both my mile PR and 800m PR by 2 seconds (previous 800m - 2:52).

After today's workout, I think I have a new appreciation for the track and will probably start incorporating it into the training schedule at least bi-monthly. I really think this is about as much as I'll want to do, I just love the trails too much to sacrifice more time to running around in circles for an hour. As well, I'm going to set a mile goal this year for a 5:40, maybe even a 5:30 if the track workouts start showing some really solid gains. Looking forward to the Sultan 50k+ this weekend, although I'm only running half(16.5m). I'll have a report for you on that next time.

Running with Warriors

2011-01-22T18:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Doug and Dennis (ultra warriors) decided to join me and head down towards Wilkesboro to run the Warrior Creek Loop on the banks of the Kerr Scott Reservoir. All of us live in the Boone area and we were all ready to head off the mountain and enjoy some buttery trail and warmer temperatures after a cold and nasty week of training (very un-ultra warrior like, haha).

Nice field along the way

The trail was beautiful and we all really enjoyed it. It is intended to be a mountain bike trail and you can tell with all the sweeping turns and switchbacks on top of switchbacks. Doug said that the map looked like a small child had just made scribble lines all over the paper. After running on the trail, that would be a correct observation. The trail was all over the place, but it was really fun. Because of all the switchbacks, there was never really a steep grade to go up or down. You could really settle into a nice

Doug and Dennis cruising

pace and keep it there almost the entire run. There weren't many technical sections on the trail, and the two "rock gardens" were advertised before you reached them. Other than that the trail was buttery smooth and had some pretty sweet views of the reservoir. If you know anyone that doesn't really enjoy technical trails or someone who is new to trail running, this would be a perfect place to take them.

After about 13 miles of running the Warrior Loop, we were back at our cars and it was decision time to keep going or pack it up and head back up the mountain. Dennis and Doug decided to head on back, but I decided to stay behind and get some extra time on my feet. Instead of doing another Warrior Loop, I headed out on the OVT trail. This section of the trail was quite a surprise as it was quite mountainous at first and then completely flattened out along the banks of the Yadkin river. I ran about an extra hour and a half on an out back on the trail and finished the day with about 22 miles. This was a little shy of the number of miles and hours on my legs I was shooting for, but I needed to be back in Boone by 6 o'clock. Here is the garmin data from the run (very unaccurate because of all the switchbacks) and some more pictures below: Warrior Creek and OVT

Lakeside 25k Race Report

2011-01-17T21:13:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, I headed back down to the Piedmont to run a tune-up race for Uwharrie in 3 weeks. The race was the inaugural running of the Lakeside 25k in Greensboro on some of my favorite trails in NC. The run benefited Greensboro Youth Soccer and the Greensboro Trails. After some slow sign up rate preceding the run, people finally started to commit in the last week and registered runners went from around 60 to 110 at the race start. A pretty good amount of folks for this inaugural run.

When I heard of this race back in November, I wasn't sure I was going to run it, but as the date grew closer I couldn't pass not running it. I had ran the loop part of the course a few times over Christmas break and fell in love with it. It is such a beautiful section of trail and super fast at that. I knew that I could lay down a pretty stout time during this run. But because of the recent wintry precipitation that swung through the area earlier in the week, the trail would not be ideal for laying down a super fast time, just an average time. That is why I wouldn't be that upset with missing my goal of running the distance in under 2 hours.

After saying some hellos to a couple of friends that were there as well, I toed the line and was ready to go. The pace out the gate was a bit too fast for me, so I just settled into a rhythm I was comfortable with and decided just to race my race (keeping an average of 7:30-8:00 min/miles). The trail was a mix of hard pack snow/ice and crunchy snow with some mud/dirt in occasional sun soaked parts of the trail. Grip was minimal and made it difficult to run fast around the many short turns in the trail. I am almost completely sure that this lack of grip attributed to a loss of about 3-5 minutes on everyone's times and maybe even more.

Throughout the first half of the race, my legs weren't feeling that great and felt pretty heavy. They finally started to feel like they should about 8 miles into the run and this is when I started to pass people again. I'm not sure if I get stronger the longer I get into a run (doubt it) or if the rest of the competition just starts to break down more than me the longer into a race. No matter which it is (probably the later), I tend to pass a lot of people toward the end of runs. When I got to the last aid station (4 miles left) I had promptly 28ish minutes to make it to the finish in under 2 hours. That meant that I would have to average just around a 7 min/mile for probably the toughest trail in the run. In my attempt to push my pace, I promptly busted my butt two times by once slipping on the mud and falling on my hip at the last aid station and then again by slipping on some ice on the last bridge landing on the same hip on a harder surface a mile from the finish. I think my pride was more hurt than my body from both falls, although I would have a bruised hip and little finger for the next few days.

After falling at the bridge, I had about 5:30 minutes to get to the finish in under 2 hours. My hopes for a sub 2 hour finish was gone (the fastest timed mile I have ever run was just under 6 minutes on a flat track), but I still pushed it hard to at least get near the 2 hour mark. I crossed the line at exactly 2:02:00! I still secured 2nd in my age group (20-29) and 9th overall. I was pretty satisfied with my run although I didn't reach my goal, but I know that I would have if the trails were not covered in snow/ice.

This was a great race that was well organized and I will definitely be running it again in the future. It definitely filled my expectations of a good tune-up race for Uwharrie in 3 weeks. I hope they add a 50k option next year, which would be an even better tune-up for Uwharrie. The trails are all single track with just enough technicality with roots in sections to make a bit challenging, but not overly challenging. Plus, the trails are so flat that you can just bust out a super fast PR effort. Hope to see more people out for it next year!

The Beginning of a New Semester

2011-01-10T12:59:00.001-05:00

As the reality of the new semester dawns with this mornings unsurprisingly snowy start, it is back to the old task to try and find a balance between school and of course running. But the first order of business is to take a short break from logging the miles. I have had a surprisingly extended streak of solid training, even though it wasn't exactly what I had planned for mileage wise. The weather will sometimes get the best of you and ruin your plans.

In the past 8 weeks I have averaged just under 50 miles a week (49.8 to be exact) and that load is starting to effect my body. This is the longest streak of my running career at this volume. My legs are just feeling dead and my turnover is suffering. So a good two day break is called for with some minimal mileage later in the week. I may throw some mile repeats down on Wednesday in preparation for this weekends Lakeside 25k just to get used to some quicker turnover on this flat beautiful course. But other than those two blazing days, I'm going to take it super easy and probably only log 20 extra miles on top of that for a weekly total around 35 miles. This will probably help my aching ankle as well (a problem that is becoming quite persistent and one that I would like to see go away).


Looking towards Grandfather from the summit

View towards 3 Top, Jefferson, and Phoenix Mtns

On another note, yesterday I had a great time enjoying the only break of snowfall in Boone this week by taking advantage of the weather and getting a sweet hike up Elk Knob. The views were even more amazing in the winter. On the last pitch to the summit, snow drifts were mid-thigh deep! Elk Knob is were I usually log my hill/mountain running workout. The trail to the summit is 1.8 miles of ~10% grade. Run hard up and even harder down and repeat. No breaks really other than soaking the views in at the summit for a bit. I usually average about 19.5 minutes up and 12.5 minutes down. Here is a link to that workout: Double Elk Knob Summit.

After the hike to soak in the views, I drove back down to Rich Mountain Rd to log some actual running on the plowed gravel surface. This road has access to some amazing views as well. Its pretty darn tough too. The first 1.7 miles consist of a 800 ft climb to the beautiful Rich Mtn Gap and then gently descends towards US 421. I only ran about 3 miles of this 5 mile road and then turned around, but those 6 miles got me close to 1200 ft of gain. That's pretty stout and I averaged 8:57/mile on super tired legs. A pretty good last workout before a mini break.

Inaugural Tanawha Trail Run Report

2011-01-09T20:10:00.002-05:00

Friday, I went out to the trail to shoot some footage for the final installment of my Tanawha trail updates to send to the WNC Trail Runner group. Conditions didn't seem like they would be that bad if we would have ran that day. Instead, after getting back to my place in Boone, the bottom fell out and we were covered in 3 inches of snow in less than an hour! And it was forecasted to continue dumping all the way through Saturday afternoon. Things were not looking good for the inaugural running of the Tanawha Trail Marathon, Half, & 50k. All Friday night I was getting emails informing me that those who planned to run were bailing. By Saturday morning, the number of committed runners dropped from 20 to 6. I cannot blame them either, the roads to the trail were super nasty and the conditions were burly. Only Adam Hill, Doug Blackford, Dennis Norris, Scott Williams, Allen Meyer, and myself were crazy enough to go out and face these conditions head on.

There was no way that I would be making it out to the trail in my car, so I walked over to the Sun Inn to meet Adam and wait for Scott to come pick us up in his girlfriends all-wheel drive Subaru. I definitely will be investing in one of those in the future. It was a beast in the snow. The roads made for slow going but we eventually made it out to the trail by 9:30. I had been debating on running in my jacket or not the whole drive to the trail and eventually I decided to wear it. A decision I would regret the first 8 miles and one I would love the last 5-6.

We actually started the run from Holloway Mt Rd. just under the parkway instead of the official start at Price Lake. This really didn't make for much of a mile difference (only about half a mile less) and it would keep us off the unplowed parkway. After the first initial mile on the road, Adam, Scott, and I all began to separate once on the trail. Obviously, I was the slow one in this group and quickly fell behind the others. I started to get into a funk during this lonesome running period. The snow was dumping like crazy, and I was getting no grip in the 6-8 inch powdery snow. I thought that putting on my micro-spikes would afford me better traction, which it did, but they continued to slide off my shoe when catching a root or rock. So I was constantly stopping to adjust my spikes, still slipping all over the trail, and when I went to get a sip of water from my camel pack, the bit valve was frozen over. All of this, including me trying to catch up with everyone else (Doug, Dennis, & Allen who started ahead of us, but a bit slower) I was hating the world and the trail. I knew that as soon as I would catch up with Doug, Dennis, & Allen I would be in a much better mood.

After about an hour of running, neglecting my needs for calories, I finally caught Doug & Dennis. And sure enough, my mood completely changed and I was finally ready to run for an extended period of time. They were having the same problems with traction as I was, so at least I wasn't the only one. It was nice running with them, and considering the conditions weren't letting up, I decided that I would run with them the rest of the day. Soon, we caught up with Adam who waiting for us ahead (Scott had fell behind looking for his lost water bootle). We all decided to stick to together and run the trail all the way to Raven Rocks (8.5 miles in) and then hit the parkway and run the 5-6 miles back to the cars. Everyone was pretty satisfied with this decision. The trail past Raven Rocks gets extremely technical and would have been very dangerous in these conditions.

Before we headed down the parkway, we all tried to rehydrate and fuel up for the return trip. It started getting really cold, especially since we were now exposed to the vicious wind on parkway. Something we had only heard while running on the trail, which sheltered us with the thick forest and rhododendron. There was a good 8 inches of snow on the parkway all the way back to the cars. But at least it was all down hill from Raven Rocks. Being exposed to the wind made me appreciate my jacket and I was glad I was wearing it. My legs began to feel very heavy on the way down the parkway, probably due to the extra weight of the spikes and snow accumulating around my ankles. It was just hard for me to push though and run the whole section, but I did.

Upon arrival to the cars, we noticed that Scott wasn't there and we hoped that he would follow our tracks back down the parkway. Adam and I decided to run down to the start with Doug, Dennis, and Allen and hoped that Scott would make it back to our car by the time we came back. Adam chose to run back, I decided to hitch a ride with Doug.

When we got back to the car, Scott was waiting for us. He never found his bottle, but did follow our tracks back down the parkway and was thankful for this as the rest of us were. We all ended up running for about 3.5 hours. We only covered about 13-14 miles during that time. That gives you an idea about how slow going it was out there.

We all meet at Canyon's afterward and enjoyed some tasty grub and brew before parting ways back to our warm homes. This was by far the craziest, most extreme, and most epic run of my life. Even though it was on a section of trail I have run numerous times. The conditions were by far the most extreme I had ever ran in. None of us ended up doing are respective distance for the inaugural running of the Tanawha Trail Runs but we had a great time still. Hopefully the conditions next year will be better and everyone will be able to make it out to this amazing run!

Here is a vid I put together of the run:

Epic Run Set for Tanawha Tomorrow

2011-01-07T19:06:00.000-05:00

Stone Mountain State Park to Devil's Garden Overlook via MST

2011-01-02T19:23:00.001-05:00

Wow! This week has been pretty intense for me even though my mileage and vertical gain was minuscule (50m & 7k ft). Lets just say that I want be doing 3 tempo runs in one week again. But the week did end really good even though my body wasn't feeling that great. I met up with some friends from Winston-Salem (everyone from the Hanging Rock snow run plus some new faces) and we headed up to Stone Mountain State Park to charge up the the Mountains-to-Sea trail (a.k.a. MST) from the park to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Devil's Garden Overlook and then hammer the trail back down to the cars. It would be 6 miles up and then 6 miles down.

After an hour drive and some good conversation with John, we arrived at the starting point for our 12 mile adventure. We all piled out of our cars and made final preparations with our gear and then took off. The first mile of the trail was a wide gravel road that criss-crossed a stream until you turned off the gravel and onto dirt double-track. This also marks the brutal climbing that lay before us and the first mile of it is the worse! Abran had told me last night that most of the climbing was around a 10% grade. He was right other than this first hill which was more like 25%!!! Needless to say, I was walking this section even though Abran and John kept pushing through it somehow. After the first initial climb though it was at or just above 10% the rest of the way and I was able to run the rest of the climb. I really enjoyed this climb because it was almost entirely soft double-track dirt. It helped cushion a lot of impact on the short down hill sections, which were hurting me less after Friday's blasting down Moore's Knob at Hanging Rock State Park. I could definitely tell after the first initial climb that my body still hadn't recovered from that day and it showed as Abran and John blazed by me. I was still having a great time though and the weather was perfect. After about each mile, Abran would wait up for me to catch up and then blaze on up the trail ahead of me again, which he pretty much repeated the entire day. It was fine with me because it helped me stay on the trail and have someone to run with for a little while, even if it was only about 30 seconds. Haha. With about a mile to go to the turn around, I finally mustered up enough strength to keep Abran behind and captured the moment with this picture to the left. This would be the only time today that I was taking the lead. After about two-thirds of a mile of gentle climbing we took a right onto the single-track trail that would lead us to Devil's Garden Overlook. We cruised down the trail and made it to the turn around in 1:11. But when we arrived there, we didn't see John who had been in front of us almost the entire climb. He must have missed the turn and went straight. On the way back up, we ran into the rest of the group and asked if they had seen John or Derrien. They said that they hadn't so Abran and I decided that we would make a short look for them. After about half a mile of going down the suspected trail they were on, we decided that we would go ahead and turn back to go to the car. We were sure that they would realize there mistake and would make it back ok.

The steep descent back to the car wasn't to bad because of the soft footing, but my body still did not want to respond to the demand I was placing on it so the going was quite slow. I passed a few hikers out on this beautiful day and said a quick "hello" and went on my way. All I could think about was that last hard descent down to the gravel road and how bad it was going to hurt. It didn't end up being that bad and I met Abran at the bottom and we both started waiting for everyone else to come in. Sure enough, less than 5 minutes later John came cruising down the hill. We asked him what happened and sure enough he missed the turn, came back up, met Derrien, went back down the wrong trail, and then him and Derrien decided to turn around and take it home minus Devil's Garden Overlook. I think Abran's face in this picture says it all regarding our reaction to this quite humorous story.

Everyone eventually showed up and we took it back to the cars. Everyone's day was finished except mine and I contemplated not running any more. I wanted to try and get in around 22 miles today but I just didn't know if my body could take it. After about 20 minutes of eating and conversing in the parking lot I decided that I would at least go up to Wolf Rock and check it out. Apparently, Wolf Rock and Cedar Rock warranted pretty good views of the surrounding peaks and Stone Mountain. This would add about another 4.5 miles on the day for a total of 18.1. Definitely not 22 miles, but more than 13.1. So, I said my goodbye's to everyone and drove to the Wolf Rock trailhead, because it would have been another two miles of pavement otherwise.

My energy on the climb up to Wolf Rock was solid after eating quite a bit at the parking area, but the residual soreness in my legs was still there. So again, more slow going. As I reached Wolf Rock and Cedar Rock I was awarded with great views represented in these two pictures. I'm glad I decided to tack on these few extra miles. The views were worth it! Stone Mountain is so unique and the views of the Blue Ridge were outstanding.

Well, after dragging my body back to the car it was time to head back to Boone for the school year. But before school starts, I've got one more big run. The Tanawha Marathon, Half, & 50k! This is a fun run I am throwing with the WNC Trail Runner group, so if you haven't checked it out do so now and send me and RSVP if you want to join!

A little video for your viewing pleasure

2010-12-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

I had a really great week of running last week! I got to explore some more technical and tough singe-track in the Uwharrie Mountain region of the Piedmont and head out to some of the very places that got me loving trail running. One of these places is highlighted in this video I made. It is Southwest Park, the newest member of the Guilford County Park system that borders Randleman Lake. The trails aren't the greatest in the world, but it does have a lot of up and down and can be a bit of a challenge at times. Still nothing compared to the Boone area, but the Park has a nice, very natural vibe. Hope you enjoy the video!

Uwharrie 50k - ish

2010-12-20T13:19:00.000-05:00

The original plan this weekend was to go run ALTAR (Art Loeb Trail Adventure Run) with the WNC trail runner group, but after being stuck in Boone with snow everywhere for the past two weeks, I placed my money on some super deep snow and icy conditions on that beautiful trail. So, I backed out and retreated to the rolling hills of the piedmont. Huge mistake considering those that did brave the suspected conditions were met with only patches of ice and snow. Since I wouldn't be running one of the most memorable runs of my life, I decided that I could still get out in Uwharrie for a solid 30 mile training run on Saturday. This would be great training for the Uwharrie Mountain Run coming up in February and would give me an extra training run on the course. So, the weekend wasn't a total loss. Hannah said that she wanted to join me a for the last 10 miles and I was all for it, knowing that by the time I would meet up with her, I would be ready for some aid and emotional support she could bring.

Saturday morning, I made the long drive down to the 109 trailhead to stash a jug of water and a couple of gels for the 8 mile and 22 mile points of my run and then headed over to the Jumping Off Rock trail head to begin 30 grueling miles in the back country of Uwharrie. Right from the start, you tackle the longest climb and high point on the course to the top of Dark Mountain. This climbs get really rocky in some sections and you start to wonder if you are still in the Piedmont while you skirt by Mountain Laurel. After running across the ridge for about a third of a mile, you descend down the back of the mountain to the 2 mile point at Tower Rd. The ascent up Horse Mt. isn't a stuff as the first, mainly because it just skirts the side before descending down to the first creek crossing at Panther Branch. The next 4 miles to the 109 trail head are a rolling mix of short ascents and descents and seems to last forever.

After 8.4 miles and 85 minutes of running I made it to 109 and promptly refilled my water bottle and chomped down on my favorite lemon-lime flavored Clif Blocks. I lingered around a bit to talk to some hikers and then called Hannah to tell here that I was running on time. I then busted it down the trail for the next rolling 6.6 miles to the turn around at the base of Dennis Mt. During this section, it had began to sleet, snow, and rain on me all the way back to the 109 trailhead. This added slipperiness to the trail was not boding well for my ankle that has been bothering me for the past 3 weeks when I go longer than 15 miles. Actually, by the time I meet up with Hannah with 1 mile to go to the 109 trail head, I was fighting the pain. Once we reached her car (~22 miles in), I sat down and begged for some food and meds. I've been weary of taking ibuprofen on a run since I read what happened to Eric Skaggs, but my ankle was literally throbbing in pain and something had to be done. I will admit, at this point I was ready to throw in the towel. Hannah encouraged me to go on and said that if the ankle started to feel even worse we could always turn around and come back to the car and cut the run short, but at least we could get a few extra miles in even if it was only two. I agreed to this plan and we took off.

About a mile in, my ankle pain disappeared (thanks to the meds) and I knew that I would make it back to the Jumping Off Rock trail head. Hannah and I ran and were trying to beat night fall, considering our pace had fallen off quite a bit due to my ankle and her unfamiliarity with the trail. Shivering, wet, and cold we finally made it back to my car and totally skipped stretching and jumped right in to crank up the heat. We had made it. I ended up with 30.1 miles of running and covered all but 5 miles of the course. Next week, I'll be heading out to run the whole course one time through for a solid 20 miles. Here is the Garmin data for the run: Uwharrie 50k - ish

PR at Kitsuma!

2010-12-10T17:42:00.000-05:00

Ever since my first attempt out at Kitsuma, (first fun run with WNC Trail Runner) I've been longing to get back out there and better my time. My time of 1:44:45 was, needless to say, disappointing. Granted, I did have a few excuses as to why my time was so slow. First off, the trail was utterly destroyed when I went out and ran it the first time. Someone had been contracted to "improve" the trail and they destroyed it a day or two before the Kitsuma Kookout Challenge. The run was the equivalent of running in the sand! Secondly, my fitness was just beginning to develop after a lazy summer of almost zero running. Thirdly, that was my long run for that week. I know what you are thinking, "It is only 9.25 miles long, that's not a long run." Granted, but like I said, my fitness was still developing. Yes, these are some valid excuses, but I know that even then I could have done better than 1:44:45! I really just did not give it my best effort.

So, since I was done with this semester's load of school and my fitness had obviously improved since September, it was time to take the trip back down to Kitsuma and lay down a time I would be proud of (somewhere between the 1:30-1:35 mark). I got up with Adam (a.k.a Mad-A), to see if he would want to join me for the klimb. He suggested that I head down and hang at it his place the night before and then wake up and drive the short 20 minutes over to the trail head and give it a whirl. It sounded like a solid plan to me, so that's what I did. Wednesday night consisted of some good brews and some definite "ultra-nerd" talk between Adam and I before we finally got some sleep for the spectacular day that lay ahead.

Thursday morning greeted us with ideal conditions for trying to put down a solid time. Temps were in the low 40's and the skies were clear. After taking care of some pre-run "stomach issues" I was ready to go. The plan was that I would lead on the first miles descending down into the Old Fort Picnic Area and then Mad-A would take the lead at the turnaround and pace me back up the near 2,000 ft of gain to the car.

The first mile of the the trail out from the Ridgecrest trail head is up to the top of Kitsuma peak. I decided that I would push it up hard and let my body recover on the long descent afterward and let gravity do some work. I might have pushed it a little to hard, because I was completely anaerobic (actually Adam told me after the run that he couldn't breathe on that first climb and he is a much stronger climber and better overall runner than me) all the way to the top and it took awhile for my body to recover and it sent my stomach into a fit all the way to the turn around. I just never could let my legs turn over as quickly as I wanted on the descent because of my stomach. Even with this problem, I made it to the turn around in 37:49! That was almost 10 minutes faster than my last split in this direction! All I had to do was hang on through the climb back and I would definitely be posting a time in the range I was shooting for.

Adam began to pace me up the long climb and allowed me a much needed walk break. I tried to get down a GU at this point, but my stomach was still giving me a fit and just the taste of what seemed to me, an overly super sweet energy concoction, almost made me throw up right there on the trail. I could only stomach about a quarter of the GU. Soon, Adam had me running again, which was actually welcomed. Although my stomach felt off, my legs were feeling really good at this point. I was also looking forward to getting back to the water we dropped about halfway up the trail to get the super sweet after taste of the GU out of my mouth. This definitely provided some extra motivation to get up this climb as fast, but comfortable as possible. It was also great having Adam right there in front of me telling when to run hard, when to lay back, and when to just push through. This really helped me from getting over taxed like I did on the first climb of the day and keeping a solid steady pace.

Adam had mentioned trying to get sub-50 at the turn around and I thought to myself that I probably couldn't, but I would give it my best. When we came around a bend in the trail that would signify one last short but extremely steep climb, Adam yelled out that I had about a 30 second cushion on going sub-50 if we kept up this pace. This news acted like a rejuvenating factor to my body and I bombed it down the short descent to the base of the day's final climb back up to Kitsuma peak. That extremely short climb though about killed me! Granted it is about 30%, but it is only like a couple of hundred feet long at that. After grunting my way up to the summit, I had just a bit more than 3/4 of a mile of switchbacking trail to the car. I did my best to push it down the switchbacks as fast as possible. When I got to the last bit of slight downhill, it was all straight an non-technical trail to the end. At this moment Adam yelled out that sub-50 was almost in the bag! Again this news lit a spark in me and all the sudden I became a track runner and about half-way down this stretch reality hit me and I was forced to settle back down into a more tolerable 5:30/mile pace instead of the 4:40/mile I was trying to muster up. Either way, it was still flying for me.

I finally hit the pavement at Ridgecrest, stopped my watch, gave Adam a high-five, and looked down at 1:27:36 displayed across the screen. 1:27:36!!!! I had made the return trip in 49:46, breaking the sub-50 barrier! Adam was more ecstatic than me, but that was because I was still trying to catch my breath and gather myself. I had just smashed my old time and completely smashed my expectations for the day! I didn't even think I was going to get under 1:35 . Obviously, my recent training routine of climbing notable peaks around Boone has paid off. I also cannot thank Adam enough for helping pace and motivate me today. I've joined the rank of Kitsuma Kid's with this run, but now it is time to try and get into the Kitsuma Klub. This would mean I have to shave another 7:37 off of today's run. This definitely seems out of reach in the immediate future, but we will see what another few months of solid training will do. Here is the garmin data: Kitsuma PR run

P.S. If you haven't got out to do this challenge, do it as soon as possible and post your times up on the WNC Trail Runner Kitsuma page!

I'm Dreaming of a White Trail Adventure

2010-12-05T13:11:00.000-05:00

Since I was in Winston-Salem for Hannah's first half marathon (which she rocked by the way in 1:49:07) I thought it would be a good idea to go run at Hanging Rock State Park close by. So I got up with Abran, a friend I made at my last race, and he got a group together (John, David, Darren) to head out to the best state park in the Piedmont.

Surprisingly, on the drive to the Tory's Den trail head it started to snow! Looking at the forecast minutes earlier, the weather was looking to be cloudy with occasional snow flurries, not heavy snow showers. By the time everyone arrived at the trail head and we were ready to go, there was at least a 1/2 inch on the ground. We all started heading up on the Sauratown Loop trail and the footing was a bit hairy. Mainly because all of the trails on this side of the park are a bit primitive and very technical. Technical terrain and wet snow that hides all the technical features in the trail make for one "roll you ankle every few steps" type of run. Despite this though, it was really fun and beautiful to be running through the snow.

After coming off the Sauratown Loop and joining the Moore's Wall Loop trail, we were soon charging to the top of the 2550 ft Moore's Knob (the highest peak in the Sauratown Range) . It was nice catching up with David on the easy climb up to the top. Upon arriving to the summit, the view was like looking down onto a winter wonderland. It was beautiful, but it was starting to get a bit cold standing on the exposed summit. So, Abran, John, and I speed down the never ending stone steps to park visitor center. By the way, I hate those stone steps!

At the visitor center, we all huddled into the lobby to try and warm our wet and cold hands. This is where Abran and I would drop John, David, and Darren and head down Indian Creek trail for an extra 7 miles before following there route back to the car. The first part of the Indian Creek trail goes down a series of wooden and stone steps and the inevitable finally happened. I completely ate it on one of the steps and landed hard on my right side. It was a shocking blow to the system, but I did what you must always do in those situations, get up and keep going and the pain and shock will soon disappear. After the steps, the trail evens out and becomes a nice graded path with a few cold stream crossings. This section would have been a lot more enjoyable if the continually falling snow wouldn't have changed into a mix with rain. The run was starting to go from extremely fun and enjoyable to just down right miserable. Abran said he was feeling the same way.

Coming back up the trail, I was trying to get back to the visitor center as quick as possible. I longed to get warm and dry out my gloves that were soaked. Abran and I probably hung out in the visitor center a bit to long. Even though I dried out my gloves, my hands were never colder than when we headed out for the last 5 miles back to the car. I thought that they we heading towards being frostbite and then Abran told me a good tip of balling up your hands inside your gloves. This definitely worked! After the first two miles, the trail began to become primitive and technical again on the descent down Tory's Den trail.. My left ankle, which has been bothering me the past few weeks, did not like this slippery terrain. I was practically walking down this section and Abran got a good ways in front of me. I was glad when we hit the tarmac again that would lead us up to the warm car.

The 22 miles of snowy trail running was finally over! I had a blast, but I wish the snow would have been a dryer one than what we had, but that is typical of piedmont snow. Other than that, it was a great run with some new trail running buddies and an epic one at that! Here is the garmin data: Snowy Hanging Rock Run

A Thanksgiving Journey to the Archaic Hills of Uwharrie

2010-11-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

For the past few years, I've made it a tradition to head out to the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness Area in the Uwharrie National Forest for a Thanksgiving morning run on one of the more challenging 7 mile trail routes that the Piedmont has to offer. Today would be no different, even though it is the middle of hunting season and the Uwharrie's are the Mecca of deer hunting in North Carolina.

The Uwharrie's are a string of ancient and most definitely dormant volcanoes that stretch through most of Montgomery and Randolph counties. They are believed to be the oldest mountain range in North America and it shows, since they have been whittled down over millions of years to mere 700 - 1000' stumps. These "mountains" are still pretty darn steep and offer some climbs of 500' or more, so it is the closest thing to actual mountain running you are going to get in the Piedmont. Actually, there is an annual 40-mile ultra held in these "mountains" that boasts a good 7,000 ft of vertical gain! That is pretty impressive.

Well, lets get on to the run. I arrived at the Robins Branch Trailhead and there were already 5 cars and trucks there. Along with one of the trucks, was a freshly cleaned deer hanging on a tree! I had thought while driving out there, "there are probably going to be some hunters," but I would have never imagined this greeting. Undeterred by the sight that laid before me, I laced up my MT 101's and took of down Hannah's Creek Trail. Not even a minute into the run I heard two gun shots of in the distance. Thoughts went racing through my head; "Am I the one being hunted", "Should I run faster", "I'm wearing orange, that should keep me safe right?" Not but a few minutes after the gun shots, I saw some bright pink ribbon tied to a branch and immediately thought, "That must be the ribbon that the hunter is using to help him find his way back to the trail." I was right, because as soon as that thought left my head, I saw the camoed, orange caped hunter stepping out of the woods. I said a quick "How ya doin'", with a cold non-response from the hunter, and headed on my way. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything, because that might have "scarred away" the deer?

Anyway, after the early barrage of all things hunting, things settled down and I felt that I was deep enough in the woods that no hunter would be out this far. My logic being that it must be pretty difficult to drag a deer 3 miles out of the woods. With this sudden feeling of safety, came the hills. On all of my previous runs on this loop, I had to walk up the two big climbs of about 300 ft each. This time that would not be the case, I mean I've been running up actual mountains this fall! These big hills are dwarfs in comparison. It paid off in my time as well. I had never ran this loop in under 1:05 before, but today I ran it in 56:36. I can definitely tell that my training is paying off. I'm becoming a much stronger runner. Not necessarily faster, but definitely stronger. Well, after passing by camp sites, old homesteads, and many minor creek crossings, I was finished. Here is the Garmin data: Birkhead Moutain Loop

I really cherish this loop, because it was the first serious hike that I ever went on and it paved the way to me doing what I do now. I'm glad that when I do return back to my hometown, that I have this rugged slice of North Carolina to keep me honest in my running. I really miss the mountains though, and I'm looking forward to frolicking around in the Bent Creek area this Saturday with the good people from WNC Trailrunner! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and lets remember to be thankful for places like Uwharrie and other nature playgrounds that we get to enjoy. Gobble, Gobble!!!

Roan Highlands Run to Big Yellow

2010-11-20T18:02:00.000-05:00

After I finished my race last weekend, I was immediately thinking about this run and how I couldn't wait for this weekend to come. I have such a deep love for the highlands of Roan and have day hiked and backpacked there many times, but I had never attempted a run there. Also, after my last trip to the beautiful balds, I found out that I had missed one of them that was off the beaten path of the AT called Big Yellow Mtn. So after many hours of researching how to get out there, this weekend I was going for it! Huge pay off by doing so, but I'll get to that later.

The original plan this morning was to get up around 7:30 and then leave at 8:00 to make the hour long drive to Carver's Gap and arrive at the trailhead by 9:00. Well, getting home around 1:00 am and then having insomnia, which kept me up another 2 hours, pretty much put that scheduled wake up time on the back burners. So, eventually I arose from bed at 9:30, ate a couple bowls of cereal and headed of towards Carver's Gap at 10:10. I would be arriving at the trailhead a good 2 hours behind schedule, but at least a got some sleep.

As soon as I arrived, I shed my fleece, strapped on my water bottle, and pushed myself up through the majestic fir forest to Round Bald. It was a very easy climb and then the trail quickly descended down to Engine Gap and back up the shorter but steeper climb to Jane's Bald. Then came the long descent down the muddy switchbacks on the backside of Grassy Ridge to Yellow Mountain Gap. When I got there, I took a quick breather, a sip of water, and downed a couple of Clif Blocks. I knew that the climb going up to Little Hump was going to be quite strenuous at the beginning, so the quick rest was welcomed.

I tried to maintain a jog from Yellow Mtn Gap to Little Hump Mtn, but the grade at one point was so steep I could walk up it faster, so that is what I did for about a tenth of a mile and as soon as the grade settled back into a more tolerable 10%, I continued jogging to the intersection of the side trail that would lead me to Big Yellow. Trouble was, I couldn't find the trail once it entered back into the woods so I had to bushwhack my way for half a mile until I finally spotted the trail again. Let's just say that bushwhacking is something I would rather not do without a map. The trail was nice and it was a gentle climb to the wide expanse of grassy goodness that laid before me. This picture does not do it justice, but at least you can get a feel for what I was seeing. This was without a doubt the most beautiful bald in all of the Roan Highlands. Upon reaching the summit of Big Yellow, I let out a primal howl of pure astonishment! The views from the mountain were amazing! I could practically look down into Linville Gorge and see Grandfather Mtn and Grassy Ridge towering to the East and West of me. I stopped at a rocky area and started to assemble a rock statue at that location all while the wind was whipping through my sweat drenched cloths. Obviously, I started to get a little chilly and I figured that it was time to stop playing and get back to summit Little Hump before I turned back for the day.

It was easy going back down the side trail to meet back up with the AT. The side trail starts basically right below the summit of Little Hump, so as soon as I got back on the AT, I took a quick right to grab one more peak before I turned around. Upon reaching the summit, there is a fantastic view of Hump Mtn to the East, which is another one of my favorite mountains. If the training plan would have called for an extra 4 miles, I would have climbed to its peak as well. But, it was time to turn around and I was almost out of water.

I began to race back down the AT towards Yellow Mtn Gap to fill up my bottle and was welcomed with a pleasant view of the Overmountain Victory Shelter below me. This barn/shelter is about 200 yards from where I refilled my bottle with some cold mountain spring water and downed the remaining of my Clif Blocks; Needed energy for the 1200' climb back up to the flanks of Grassy Ridge. I was beginning to feel the fatigue in my legs from the weeks running at about this time and decided to employ a strategy of alternating walking and running on each switchback. It worked out pretty well and was greatly appreciated by my aching hip flexors. As soon as I reached Jane's Bald, I decided to take one more good look at the beautiful mountains and valleys that laid before me. I've often stopped at this spot and just soaked in what was around me for extended periods of time. This section of the AT is without a doubt the highlight of the whole trail. Well, after a couple of minutes, I raced back down to Carver's Gap to finish the day, pushing my fatigued legs as hard as they could go for the last 1.5 miles of crushed gravel trail that laid before me.

Today was such a great run in both beauty and my personal performance. Minus the time playing around on Big Yellow and the soaking in of my surroundings at the peaks, I ran 17.4 miles in 2:56:33. Pretty good considering that there was close to 3900 ft of gain throughout the run. If I can average a 10:07 mile on this run, I know I can at Uwharrie and achieve my goal of running that race under 7 hours. Here is the garmin data from the run: Carvers Gap to Big Yellow/Little Hump

Next week, the Bent Creek Gobbler!!!!

Overmountain Victory Trail Race Report

2010-11-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

The morning started off way to early with me having to get up at 6 am (which is early for me, haha) to get ready to drive 40 minutes down the road to the beautiful rolling trails of the Overmountain Victory Trail along the banks of the Kerr Scott Reservoir in Wilkesboro, NC. This was the inaugural running of this race and it looked to be a great one! After reading the weather forecast for this morning, the temps looked like they would be perfect for shorts and a t-shirt. But once I got to the packet pick up at 7:20, it was still 32 degrees and I was freezing, just waiting to start the race and get my body warmed up.

After listening to the pre-race talk, informing us that the race would actually be 17.25 miles, not the 25K (15.53 m) advertised I couldn't wait to go. This didn't bother me, since I knew going into the run that this would be the correct distance. So, right before the start, I shed my fleece and toed the line ready to get going.

I probably took off a little to fast as I discovered that I was in first place after the first 3 miles, but I felt pretty comfortable and stayed in a comfortable, but still hard pace to the turn around in 2:06. I had one guy on my heels the whole way to the turn around which helped me give myself that push that I needed. We stayed close behind the lead group by about 30 seconds until the turnaround but I soon lost sight of them and the guy (Jose) following close by fell back and I was alone for the last 7 miles of the race. I asked him what happened after the race and he said his knees started to give out on him. He still ran a great race for him being a road runner at heart. So, I was in third place with no one around me and decided to run smart from there until the 2 miles left aid station to kick it in to high gear and try and catch the lead group. But, my legs just couldn't muster up the steam on what is probably the toughest part of the course. Oh well, I new I had 3rd place in the bag and was completely satisfied with my run in 2:16:47!

After the race I hung out and met some pretty cool people while waiting for the awards ceremony. This race was great, and I would definitely recommend it to anybody looking for a fast trail race or a beginner trail race. The course only had about 1,700 ft of gain over 17.25 miles, so not to hard. Just a lot of rolling hills! Check out the garmin report here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/56539787

Brandon

One crazy week sep. 20-26

2010-09-29T12:29:00.000-04:00

Well, a lot happened this week in regards to running so I'll start off with the best news. I signed up for the Triple Lakes Half Marathon on Oct 9th! Second best news, I will be heading up a race on January 8, 2011 on the Tanawha Trail here in the Boone area. This will be a marathon, half, and a 50k.

Ok the runs this past week:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/49994464
http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=828664
http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=828664
http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=828664

Sep. 13-19th Week in Review

2010-09-19T23:04:00.000-04:00

So the week started out with Monday and Tuesday off due to work, but by Wednesday the itch to get out and run was strong so I decided to do a nice little 5.5 mile run on the Boone Fork Trail. It had been awhile since I had ran this, and I definitely wasn't used to it. This trail was a bit more technical than I remember. Any way here is a look at it: Boone Fork Trail Run.

Thursday saw my first attempt to run up Howard's Knob. It was pretty awesome and I actually enjoyed the heart pounding, calve killing ascent and did not enjoy the quad torture of the descent. The elevation gain in the two miles up is 12oo ft. Pretty brutal but tolerable.

Saturday definitely saw the highlight of the week running the Kitsuma Kookout Challenge with the good folks from WNC Trail Runner. The Youngs Ridge/Kitsuma trail had been pretty much demolished in the last week and was a bit hairy to run on. It was like running in sand up a mountain. I wasn't completely satisfied with my time because I know I could have run more of the trail if I would have pushed myself a little harder. I just walked to many of the hills. Check out the run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/49572523. What was great about the run was the potluck afterward. I got to meet some really cool people and enjoyed some delicious food and beer (thanks Adam and Matt).

To end the week I went on a pleasant recovery run with my beautiful girlfriend Hannah along the trails around the Boone Greenway. It was a perfect end to a perfect week of running.

First Post

2010-09-06T19:39:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, this is my first post and I would would like to tell everyone what it is all about. My name is Brandon Thrower and I like to run, on trails to be specific. I have been running for about 3 years now and have run a marathon and a 40-mile ultra event. The marathon was the Triple Lakes Trail Marathon in Greensboro, NC on some beautiful rolling single track and the 40-mile was the Uwharrie Mountain Run, a very popular ultra in the Southest that takes place in the ancient Uwharrie Mountain range near Charlotte, NC. So this blog will be about my training and the beautiful trails that I run along the way. I will also include any hikes that I do as well. Hope you find this interesting and keep checking in. Thanks everyone.

Brandon