Another wintery weekend

PART ONE: Friday: the quest to get home
The winter storm that was supposed to just be rain for us was most definitely much more. We got dumped on. I thought I played it safe and didn't go to the Y after getting out of work early... but there were no salt or sand trucks in action yet and getting home was rough. Still had to leave my car a few houses down as it couldn't get up my hill.













PART TWO: Saturday morning: a new kind of pain
I tried something new in the new year and signed up for the TN Indoor Rowing Championships. Anders has been giving me some form tips and workouts to do, so I thought, why not. I signed up on the last day of pre-reg, a mere 2 weeks to prep. Nothing like diving right in :) There's a category called Never Ever for women that have never raced on water (today's event was held on the rowing machines ("ergs") you commonly see in gyms). Unfortunately, the winter storm kept many of the regional schools from coming out. UTC, UT, Auburn and Alabama were there, along with the local high schools and rowing clubs. And me... in my Gator tri-shorts :) There ended up being only 3 of us in our race - 6 of the other pre-registered girls didn't show. (And Rebecca flew in 5 min before the start, geared to go). It was a painful sort of fun. Just 2k long, but you're going almost all out the entire time and totally fall-on-your-face worked at the end. I won with a time of 8:11 (was aiming for closer to 8:00, but it's really hard to figure out pacing - I didn't want to bonk at the end.) Looking at the posted results later, it would have had me in the top 3 of many of the collegiate women races which was cool.

I think I was the only one there old enough to legally drink from the stein.

PART THREE: Saturday afternoon: slush puppies
i joined a group this afternoon for a snowy, slushy, icy run on lookout mountain. i decided to test out the yak tracks, since they may be a mandatory piece of gear for the upcoming Mount Mitchell Challenge. it was beautiful up there - a true winter wonderland, with ice covering tree branches and lots of snow underfoot. we did hear one big tree fall which had me sketched out a bit, so we didn't venture onto the tight singletrack.





PART FOUR: Sunday afternoon: running with hard hats
ok, not really, but it might have been a good idea. i went for another long run at lookout. gorgeous, with the sun making all the ice sparkle; and, make it melt. bits of ice were falling off the tree branches far above, causing a constant windchimey sound. luckily the pieces were small and usually shattered once they hit you.

More Pics

Mullens Cove Loop

Wendy, Yoli & I checked out the Mullen's Cove loop today. It's featured in the upcoming River Gorge race as well as Stumpjump 50k in the fall. With all the recent rain, the dampness made for treacherous rock scrambles (the Blurs had great grip and handled the task like a champ!); however, the creeks were full and waterfalls plentiful!


Snoopers Rock

















Yes, that is the trail!

Running around Fort Mountain

I'm down at Fort Mountain this weekend, volunteering at the North GA Adventure Race this weekend (see: http://www.checkpointtracker.com for live coverage). I had some time earlier to get a run on the trails inside the park. The Gahuti Trail (Cherokee for Mother Mountain) is an 8+ mile loop around the park. There were some gorgeous views, although the trail itself was hit or miss - very well marked, but a few sections looked to be a bit torn up from ATV'rs or logging and there lots of downed trees. Otherwise, it was a mix of technical singletrack and some flowy doubletrack.













- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Running thru some southern snow

There was still plenty of white stuff on top of Signal when I joined Kathy & Natalie for a run 2 days after 'the big storm'. Some beautiful scenery, including an almost-frozen-solid waterfall!














- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

doing my snow dance

Wine for the Climb

SORBA Chattanooga is hosting this event to raise money for new trails at Raccoon that will run from the base of the mountain to the top. Whether you're a biker, runner, or other type of trail lover, come enjoy the evening ... (or make a separate donation to SORBA!) We need to raise $75k!

real winter running

Sure, I know all about winter running in the south. but how do the folks up in the great white north do it? Well, I got a taste of it last week up in CT. I finally made it to Sleeping Giant State Park (about 20 min NW of New Haven). (Trail Map Here) I had checked out the trail map previously (tons of routes to choose from!) but this was my first visit to the park. We had about 10” of snow 2 days prior, so this southen girl was smiling ear to ear. I didn’t know what to expect as far as trail conditions, so my expectations were light - no matter what, I knew that I’d be having fun. I found the trailhead and set off on what looked like a frequently traveled snowshoe path. Looking at my map, I decided to follow the blue tail - the most scenic, but also the most difficult. :-) The shoe prints ahead dwindled until there was just one set - which definitely helped mark the path and pack down the snow a tad. The few times I stepped off trail, I sunk well above mid-calf. (At that rate, my toes would have been cold quick! The breathabe mesh of my Vasque Blu SL’s are geat for running in the south, but let too much of the dry fluffy snow in. maybe gaiters would help some? or gore-tex?)




The trail lived up to my dreams - A true Winter Wonderland! White snow, blue skies, and great views fom the giant’s knee & leg :-) I was able to get a light running pace going a few times, although it wasn’t easy - high stepping (to minimize the snow covered shoes) and keeping a balanced center of gravity (to offset potential slipping). Had one close call crossing a snow covered creek - one foot broke though some ice, but I didn’t get too wet. Although time was getting short (the sun sets so early!!), I was stubbon and kept going to the tower - a beautiful rock structure built in the 30s. Instead of taking the orange or yellow back as planned, I played it safe and took the red trail south to Mt. Carmel Road and ran back to my parking spot off Chestnut. I didn’t see a soul out there (maybe because it was midday on a Monday), but I imagine it is a popular spot with the locals year round. (On a sidenote, the Quinnipiac Trail is on my to-do list: 24 miles in its entirety!)




In general, I dressed well for the run - temps were close to 30, but the wind creeping up over the west ridge blasted me a few times. I was glad I had a backup jacket in my pack. This was my first run with the Ultimate Direction Wink pack - normally I stick with thei handheld or the tiny Nathan pack, but needed the extra room and hydration tube insulation - quite comfortale to run in as well!

Gear:
(let me know you fav winter items, as this is still new to me!)

mountain hardwear gloves & fleece hat
icebreaker wool baselayer
TNF fleece and vest
patagonia nine trails jacket
tights
smartwool socks
Vasque Blur SL shoes
Ultimate Hydration Wink pack... with banananuun (to make me think of tropical warmness!)

Gettin’ Dirty in GA

Last weekend I made the trek down to Macon for the finale of the Georgia Dirty Duathlon Series. Originally scheduled for mid-Nov at Dauset Trails, the race had to be rescheduled due to a pesky hurricane that had blown thru the week prior. This go around was at the Children’s Industrial Home trails. (Earlier series stops were at Blankets Creek and Fort Yargo). After staying with an old adventure racing teammate in Atlanta Friday night, I drove the rest of the way the next morning. Unfortunately the threat of rain and cold temps in the upper 30s greeted us - perhaps this kept some folks at home. While the crowd was small, we were all enthusiastic to be there and ready to get started!

The format was a run-bike-run (3-9-3 miles). A bit short for my 3.5hr trek south - I usually have a “I have to race as long as I drive” rule, and that would not be the case today..... but, it was the finale and I had set an early season goal of podiuming in the series. Plus, it was a fund raiser for SORBA-OMBA, to raise money for new trails at Arrowhead. (With the original race and mountain bike festival being cancelled, I know they’ll be hurting to meet their fund raising goals for the year.)

We had a mass start up a short hill, breaking things up a bit. I settled on the trail in 3rd place, keeping an eye on the gals ahead. About 2/3 of the way thru 1 more passed me, but with lots of time ahead, I wasn’t too concerned. (With winter clothing covering our bodies, we couldn’t have our divisions written on our legs so it was hard to tell if any girls ahead were racing as a relay). The run was nice, through hard-packed, twisting trails that had you guessing who was ahead and who was behind. After I was barely warmed up, it was time to transition to the bike. I haven’t been riding much lately (concentrating on running!), so I was happy for a course that wasn’t too technical or had a ton of climbing. It was (as previously mentioned) full of tight, twisty sections where you couldn’t let up your concentration. Some areas were bone dry, with slippery pine needles; other times we were riding through huge mud puddles, fighting to gain traction on slippery roots. Regardless, it was lots of fun. The final run leg was a bit harder than the first. With temps so cold, normally I’d wear shoe covers; but in a short duathlon with quick transitions being key, using these was not an option. Therefore, I was running on half frozen toes for the next mile - not an easy task. Finally they felt alive and I had a normal stride again.

I ended up finishing 2nd overall female and first in the 30-39 age group.
Overall for the series, I finished first in the solo women's division.

Big thanks to the race directors for putting on a great event and persevering the many challenges it took to make it happen. They did a great job utilizing the available trails and recruiting top notch volunteers!