Leatherwood Training Weeks VIII & IX

Week 8

Mon - off

Tues - off

Wed - 53min/ 5.3m/ 600' - Hickory City Park - felt blah

Thurs - 1hr18min/ 9.8m/ 800' - DART & North Meck - Decided to get in a 3.5m warm up out at North Meck Park before I joined the DART crew for the Wolf Spider run.  It was a good idea, as it warmed up my legs for the faster paces that laid ahead.

Fri - Xtrain - great workout

Sat - 2hrs/ 5m/ 1500' - Shortoff/ Olson Hike - My cousin Jessica and her husband came to visit us over the weekend so I decided to take them on hike up to Shortoff Mtn, this time using the Olson trail.  The Olson trail was amazing.  It puts you right on a ledge along the cliff of Shortoff and provides excellent views, dizzying heights and drops, a cave!  Hannah later told me that this was her most enjoyable hike ever, and she has been a lot of beautiful places with me.

Sun - 4hrs15min/ 19m/ 4500' - Wilson Creek  - I was really in the need of a good long run, since I haven't had one since Sultan 50k, so I embarked on the Wilson Creek sWEaTfest route, with a little addition to check out some more falls.  The weather was excellent and I actually wore a singlet the whole day.  In all I saw 7 waterfalls along the 19 mile route, and I might have to make this the official route of the sWEaTfest now.  It only adds a couple of miles, but adds 3 extra waterfalls, and takes out almost all the gravel.  We shall see.

Totals =

Time - 8hrs26min
Miles - 39.1
Vert - 7400' 

Week 9

Mon - off

Tues - 1hr13min/ 7.5m/ 1600' - SOMO - First time out to SOMO during the week since the week before Sultan.  The skies were especially clear today, but I did not carry my camera to capture the excellent views along the Sawtooth trail.  Can definitely see how that trail got it's name.  UHHH.  Route was HQ, Possum, Horseridge, Sawtooth, Chestnut

Wed - 1hr10min/ 7.5m/ 1000' - Hickory City Park - Got out and marked the trails for the group run that Fleet Feet - Hickory and myself are starting up there beginning March 12th.  Come out and join for 3 different options, 4m, 6m, 7.5m.

Thurs - off - lacking motivation

Fri - off - traveling to Asheville

Sat - 5hrs50min/ 25m/ 7500' - Shope Creek to Craggys - Met up with 4trunks, Action, and Dice for a great run out on the Craggys.  It wasn't are original plan for the day, but due to road closures, this is where we ended up.  It was meant to be though, because I couldn't have thought of a more beautiful route than what we did.  We started down at Shope Creek and climbed our way up to parkway.  Once we reached the parkway, we all decided to bushwhack up Lane Pinnacle!  That was a proper steep, on all fours, bushwhack!  There was a great payoff once we reached the top though and the views were outstanding!  We continued are journey over to Craggy Gardens and to Craggy Dome, a trail less traveled , but a peak above 6000ft none the less.   Along the return, Dice and I decided to make a short side trip to Hawksbill Rock along the Snowball trail to get in a bit of extra mileage and another great view.  From there we made our way back to the car at the bottom of Shope Creek.  Once at the car, MadA called and said he was about to go out for a run nearby at Warren Wilson.  So I decided to get in a few more miles with him along the Dam Pasture trails.  The flatness and lack of calories had me feeling the 20 miles and 7000' of vert I had just done.  Great run though and I got to run with some of my favorite people.

Sun - 63min/ 7m/ 800' - Hickory City Park - Felt like I needed to get some miles on the tired legs.  Started off grandpa style, but finally started to feel more like myself after a couple of miles.

Totals =

Time - 9hrs16min
Miles - 47
Vert - 10,900'

Mid-Week Treat

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!!!