Further Down the Trail

"I felt like lying down by the side of the trail and remembering it all."

Nantahala National Forest

Nantahala National Forest

"The woods do that to you, they always seem familiar, like the face of a long dead relative, like an old dream, like a piece of forgotten song drifting across the water..."

Porters Flat-GSMNP

Porters Flat-GSMNP

" ...I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do whatever I wanted."

Jack Kerouac-The Dharma Bums

LeConte Summit #25 for 2011

 

A Man to Run the River With

Rarely is it that I get to run races. My chosen career path is a great one, but unfortunately does not allow for many free weekends. It's even rarer that I get to run a race with my Dad and Caitlin. But in a stroke of luck this past weekend everything just fell into place and we converged on Waynesville, NC for the Bethel Half-Marathon.

A Quick Pre-Race Photo

To tell you the truth, I didn't have a lot of stake invested in this race and maybe even still had a sour taste in my mouth from the last half that I ran back in February. The big excitement of this weekend for me was that 1.) It was my dad's birthday 2.) To celebrate, he decided to run his first half-marathon. How cool is that!?!  3.) Caitlin was going to make her second attempt at the distance ( I think she has a 50k attempt in her somewhere, maybe one day I'll convince her to run an ultra). So, representing the running Worth gang at Bethel we had a 13.1mile newbie, a second attempt, and a guy that mostly just runs around in the woods.

When the gun sounded to start the race temperatures were hovering around 40F and full sun. Too cold to enjoy standing around, but great running weather. The course had a few hills, namely mile 3, which was all up hill. Other than that it was a really fun, modified figure eight course. At the end of the race I found myself in 3rd overall with a new personal record for the distance of 1hr20min36sec.

The highlight of the day for me though was getting to watch Dad and Caitlin finish their races. A decade or so ago my dad could barely run a mile, much less a half-marathon.  I'm always proud of my Dad, but today even more so. As a runner, I recognize the challenge of becoming fit enough to simply START a half-marathon, much less run one as well as he did. Over the years Dad has overcome some huge obstacles and turned himself into a strong hiker, runner and cyclist. There are a lot of ways in which I could be more like the guy, but more than anything I hope to someday manage to be the Father he's been for me.

2hrs10min, Happy Birthday Dad!

A few moments after Dad crossed the line, Caitlin came in looking strong. This was her second attempt at a half-marathon and set a new best by over three minutes, even though the course was much tougher than her last race. Nothing makes running more fun than having crazies with you that like to run too!

Good times guys!

Standing Indian Loop

Kimsey Creek and Appalachian Trails
Nantahala National Forest
26-ish Miles 5hr24min

If I did anymore road and greenway running I was bound to have an identity crisis and start thinking I was a fast road runner. So to clear up any confusion I headed up the nearest mountain and received a solid beat down via the best all-day loop I could come up with. And apparently I'm not the only one who has thought this route looked like a good idea.

This was actually what I used to navigate my run... kind of scary

Beginning/End Point-  Near Standing Indian Campground

I had every intention of sleeping late and trying to run during the warmer part of the day, but found myself on trail just before sunrise. Certainly worth it, numb hands and all. The first five miles or so were all up-hill belligerence until reaching the summit of Standing Indian; a mountain that carries the distinction of being the highest point on the AT south of the Smokies and is a popular backpacking destination. I can testify to this because of the number of backpackers who were woken up by their dogs barking at some guy (me) running around in tights early in the morning.

Summit View from Standing Indian Mountain

Leaving Standing Indian I finally got to run most of the time thanks to a little gravity assistance. Unfortunately most of the really technical stuff wasn't as much fun as usual due to some dumbness known as Tabata circuits, a really terrible type of work-out that I did for the first time on Thursday (this day was Sunday.) 

Even though my legs didn't feel top notch, my trail snacks were a vast improvement over what I normally carry. Lately I've been getting away from gels and powders and trying to eat more food like substances on the run. The two things that I've had success with are applesauce mixed with lime and honey (carried in a gel flask) and some sort of bangin' energy bar that Caitlin makes out of PB, Raisins and Oats. I have absolutely no idea how to make them or why they taste so good, but they are the bomb.

View from Albert Mountain

Singletrack Leaving Albert

A fun part of today was taking a trip down memory lane. The last time I saw this section of trail was during my 08 thru-hike, right in the middle of one of the most intense storms I had ever seen. And I mean right in the middle, the pucker factor was extremely high. For about half an hour the sky was nothing but gray/black, with several patches of bright pink when the lightning would strike around us.

Today was not that day though, and Albert Mountain let me ease on by without complaint. The last 7 miles of the day were probably the most runnable, an almost perfect section of single-track with just a little downhill pitch to it. This gift allowed me to finish the run in relative comfort and not be completely begging for mercy as I suspected I would be when making it back to the campground. 

This route is definitely a keeper, and with picture perfect fall days like these one that would also make a pretty sweet three day backpacking trip.