Shut-In - Greenhouse to 151

The WORKOUT:
Run 2hrs 40mins on Shut-In Trail

Sunday, I met John and Adam for a final long run on Shut-In. I got an early start and dropped 5 small water bottles w/ Accelerade (Walnut Cove Overlook, Chestnut Cove Overlook, Bent Creek Gap, Stony Bald Overlook and Mills River Valley Overlook). I met them at the top at the intersection of HWY 151, left my truck and rode down to the start with them. We were late getting out of the gates but finally got running around 11:20 AM. I thought it was a bit curious that Adam carried only a single water bottle for the potentially 3 hr run. I shortly found out he was training for his first Shut-In and was somewhat new to the long distance scene. We kept a moderate pace for the first few miles and started to get a little strung out. After a quick conference, we decided we'd just meet back up at Bent Creek Gap which is roughly the half-way point. I worked hard at staying disciplined and keeping my heart rate where I'd planned and hit Bent Creek Road about a minute ahead of John. After stretching a minute or two, we jogged back down the trail for 4 minutes before collecting Adam. He seemed to be in good spirits so we cruised on back to the Gap. Here I noticed that Adam was out of water. After a quick break, we continued up over Ferin's knob. John and I quickly separated ourselves from Adam. I controlled the pace at an easy jog to a brisk hike in the really steep sections and John stayed right on my heels. I started to get the impression he wanted to get by but at the top I got away again on the downhill. I waited about a minute for him again at Beaver Dam Gap but he'd stay with me for the balance of the run (even when I'd try to drop him). I started to question whether he'd best me this year. It'll be fun to find out! Somewhere around Stony Bald I was thinking hard about Adam's water situation but by that point my own hydration planning was about perfect and I hadn't had any extra. When I hit my next water drop at Mills River Valley Overlook parking lot I knew I was getting a bit dehydrated but that Adam would be in much worse shape after having no water for 5+ miles on these hills. I decided to leave that water bottle in the middle of the trail hoping he'd recognize it was for him. On the leg between Mills River Valley Overlook and 151, I showed John where the bear incident went down a few days ago. It was cool to see the area in daylight with no fog and to realize I was only about 300 yds from the finish of that leg when I turned back to avoid the bear. Apparently I got in a longer run on Wednesday than I originally thought by about 2 miles. Up at 151, John and I cooled down, got a bite to eat and drained another water bottle each. After about 15 minutes I decided to go back down and look for Adam. I took my phone and left John the keys with plans that if I made it to the next parking lot, I'd call and have him drive my truck down there. We'd hopscotch down the trail in that fashion until we found Adam. I grabbed an extra Gu pack and filled up a big water bottle in case he'd bonked and started back down the trail. To my relief, not too far from the top I ran into Adam jogging up the trail. He reported to be in good spirits, thanked me for leaving behind a water bottle and chugged on up to the truck. While the run took much longer than any of our families would have probably liked, it was a great day. I felt I had enough in the tank to finish the last two miles up to Mt. Pisgah parking lot but was grateful I didn't have to find out for sure :o).

Barefoot Drills

The Workout:
1 mile jog
30 minutes running drills
1 mile jog

Today over lunch I set out for a recovery run from Wednesdays S.I. trail workout. I originally wanted to run an easy 3 miles and do a long stretch session but I discovered I had left my insoles in another pair of shoes at home. With no insoles, I put on my road shoes and tip toed down to Memorial Stadium. The field there is a nice bouncy rubberized artificial turf. When I got there it started sprinkling and I couldn't resist taking off my shoes and doing some running drills. After a good stretch and warm-up I ran through some typical soccer conditioning drills around the field including two sets of full field suicides. It felt awesome to be out in the rain. With nothing on but a pair of running shorts I got that good ole running light, fast and free feeling that I rarely experience any more when plodding along with a pack in an AR style workout. I will probably pay for going so fast this weekend in my long run but it was worth it.

Da Bears... A.K.A. The end of night running on the Shut-In Trail

The Workout:
Ride from Pisgah Inn to Big Ridge Overlook (BR Parkway) - 5.5 miles
Run back to Inn

I hit the trail around 9 PM last night. The fog was dense and the laurel tunnels tight. While working around the crown of a downed tree I met a black bear coming through from the other side. We were both equally surprised to see one another. After a brief negotiation (I yelled some gibberish while backpedaling, he growled while taking a few bounds up the hill) I conceded to not run on his trail between the hours of 9 PM and 7 AM and he agreed not to whip me for startling him. I booked it back down the way I’d come, to Mills River Valley Overlook, and proceeded up to the intersection of Hwy 151 via the Parkway. The last 2 miles of Shut-In contain far and away the steepest an most sustained climbs of the trail. I worked up this section trying to establish a baseline for how long it might take on race day. I hiked a lot and ran when it made sense. The breakdown looked like this:


0 minutes - 7.5 minutes = Hiking
7.5 minutes - 11.5 minutes = Running
11.5 minutes - 14.5 minutes = Hiking
14.5 minutes - 17 minutes = Running
17 minutes - 28.25 minutes = Hiking (tough!)
28.25 minutes - 30.5 minutes = Running
30.5 minutes - 36 minutes = Scrambling/Running down technical trail

So 36 minutes is the longest it should take me to finish that section of trail. If I am to run my goal of sub 3:30, then I need to get to HWY 151 in under 2 hours and 50 minutes to be safe.

At the top I ran about an 8 min/mile pace back to the Pisgah Inn and my truck. I should note that I will likely go faster on race day since I had an extra 8 lbs of pack w/ rain gear and an extra headlamp.

3 mile recovery run & long stretch session

THE WORKOUT:
Jog 1.5 miles
Long Stretch
Jog 1.5 miles

Today I jogged down through Montford to a little park, had a nice long stretch and jogged back. Everything feels pretty good considering this past weekends long run. My chest is pretty sore but that's to be expected since I've been hitting up the "Perfect Pushup" thingies Jason and Lisa got for my birthday. AM/PM Yoga (when I make time to do it) has really improved my flexibility and will hopefully help stave off any injuries by keeping me limber.

Ran first 2/3 of Shut-In Trail

THE WORKOUT:
Biked from Stony Bald to Hard Times Parking Lot
Ran w/ Pack from HT PL to HT aid station area
Ran to Stony Bald

Sunday I hit it pretty early getting to Stony Bald parking lot on the BR Parkway around 6:00 AM. I stowed 4 water bottles in my backpack and got all bundled up for the cold ride down the mountain. I hid 3 of the bottles in the woods at Bent Creek Gap, Chestnut Cove Overlook and Walnut Cove Overlook respectively. A highlight of the ride was descending down into a lake of fog that accumulated below 2400', hiding the valley floor.

The Arboretum was still locked up but I rode around the main gate and in to Hard Times parking lot. There, I thankfully used the porta-john, locked up my bike and changed into light running garb. It was cold but I knew I'd warm up fast going up the mountain. It was just barely getting light when I started running but I still took a headlamp for the first bit. When I hit the outer boundary of the Arboretum I ran into the surrounding 15' high chain link fence with a locked gate. You're technically not supposed to be in there before daylight. Mid way into sizing up the task of scaling the fence, I heard the rumble of an automobile engine coming up the FS road behind me. I dashed off into the woods and hid behind a tree barely in time to escape view of the forest ranger in his truck. Luckily, he was just there to unlock the gate and left. What great timing!

I stopped and stretched a bit at the intersection of Owl Branch Trail and once again to stash my backpack and headlamp in the woods up at the Hard Times terminus. The rest of the run went well. I kept my heart rate in check fairly well when I thought about it (excluding steep inclines), ate about every 30-45 minutes and took a mouthful of liquid every 8-10 minutes. While I didn't necessarily burn up the course, I did sustain a good pace without need to rest and had gas left in the tank when I finished the 12.3 mile run. I think I'll shoot for 14-15 next week.

Only 3 weeks to go until Shut-In!

Lunch Run - Trail Efficiency

THE WORKOUT:
Run to UNCA Fitness Trail (added several hills en route)
Run 4 extended laps
Run back to work

I was torn about what to do today in lieu of actual Shut-In time. Bethany has to work a homecoming football game and won't be back until late. Since I'm doing 12 on the trail Sunday and I'm just coming off of a hill day I decided to just spend some time on trails getting my brain back in the groove of running efficiently through a sea of roots and rocks. I sort of made this one up as I went and originally intended to do 5 laps but ran out of time. It was a good workout. I have been paying close attention to my left knee to see if the big increase in running specific mileage is going to cause any problems. Everything seems OK so far. The key words for this weekend are LSD and UTM, "Long Slow Distance" and "Up the Mountain". Hopefully I can get some shut eye tonight!

Light Run, Yoga & Stretch

THE WORKOUT:
Easy jog to Memorial Stadium
Take a couple of laps bare foot on the turf
Roll through some Yoga and long stretching
Take a couple more laps (at speed)
Put on shoes and jog back to work via Charlotte Street

Today over lunch I needed a place to go stretch. Once I got going I felt great and did a little more than I set out to do but I still feel pretty fresh. Fall has struck Asheville in full force and the cool crisp air and blue skies is wonderful. I had the whole stadium to myself while running and stretching which made it easy to really focus. The run back was slow because I kept thinking ahead to tomorrow's trail run.

Shut-In day replacement - City Hills

THE WORKOUT:

5.42 miles
5 Hill repeats on Trade Street

Bethany had the hall pass for the evening so I wouldn't be able to do my first focused Shut-In training run. Instead, I opted to do a first hill workout in town. The loop took me through South Montford to River road and then South to the hookup steps and up and around to Trade Street. There I did five loops up Trade St. and down Haywood St. Trade is pretty steep and just long enough to give a good quad-buster workout. I finished up by jogging back up the steps and into town.

It was no Shut-In, but sometimes you just have to be flexible. ;o)