9 Weeks to Spartan Super

Monday

Did: 17 mi trail run

Whewwww this was an adventure of the best kind! Pushed myself physically and exceeded my own expectations. Needed these hours in the woods to ground myself. The weather was perfect, trails were in great condition (despite some downed trees), minimal people out - just ideal!

Started out on the Foothills Trail from Burrells Ford campground. We climbed a bit to start (about 1000ft in the first 2-2.5 miles) and then traversed along the ridge for a while until we got to the Sloan Bridge Access area.

Morning light over the ridge

FHT is very well maintained!

Crossing the bridge at the base of a waterfall

Waterfall :)

From there we turned onto Fork Mtn trail and enjoyed some rolling ups and downs while jumping over and under the downed trees. It's SO green though, and the mountain laurel makes a beautiful white sprinkle through the trees and on the ground. 

The final ~4ish miles was along the Chattooga river which flattened out for the most part. We still never saw Ellicott's Rock (a marker where it was thought the NC/SC/GA state lines all met) but it's around there somewhere. 

Chattooga

Finished the whole run in just under 4 hours of moving time, much quicker than anticipated. Enjoyed some snacks by the edge of the river before heading home. A perfect morning!

Tuesday

Did: 6.57 mi @ 8:28/mi

Despite yesterday's hard run (and omg my legs are sore), had to do #10kTuesday today and figured the track was worth the effort! Did some easy (10k pace) 400s and it really helped to loosen up the legs. Enjoying the last few days of cooler temps and low humidity!

Wednesday

Did: 45-min yoga + 1-mi walk + 1-mi run

Seems like my body has decided pre-5am is the new normal wake-up time, and I'm up most days by 445. It's not the worst thing ever, and today I made the best of it by setting myself up on the screened porch for some yoga at sunrise. It was quite nice and an easy flow, but definitely reminded me what I've been missing and how much I enjoyed yoga. 

Mid-morning I got in a quick walk around the neighborhood just to take a short break from work, but then in the evening I realized it was Global Running Day so I just *had* to go for a short run to 1) commemorate the day and 2) earn the Garmin badge. 😆

Thursday

Did: 6.16 mi Altamont run

The usual Thursday routine - early run up a big hill! I got there a little early so did a couple loops around the park before we got started. A tough climb as always to start the day, but feels good when it's done. I felt like I was way behind my usual pace, but I think the others were just having a really good day and I couldn't quite keep up. The sunrise painted a beautiful watercolor sky (and of course I didn't have my phone... but trust me, it was gorgeous!)

Friday

Did: 1 mile walk with D

This is the lightest workout day I've done in a while, and almost didn't get anything in but took an evening walk around the neighborhood with D when we got home after dinner. 

Saturday

Did: 8.7 mi trail run

I went out for a solo trail run at Table Rock on Saturday morning. Decided on the loop up Pinnacle Mtn trail, across on Ridge Trail, then back down Table Rock trail. I've done the up and back on Table Rock Trail before (did that with Robin a few weeks ago as a hike) so thought it would be fun to do the full loop. I got there just as the park opened and was on the trail by 7:15 a.m. It was so nice and quiet and calm!

About 2 miles into the 4-mile climb up Pinnacle Mountain, I paused to glance across a little gap where the trail did a wide switchback ahead of me, and I could see across to the other side... and what did I see but a mama bear and her little cub just rustling around for some breakfast. 👀

🐻🐻

I stood still for a while, watching them - they looked up at one point and headed up the hill, across the trail, and on up over the ridge. I debated whether I should turn around and head back down, or just continue on (y'know, towards the bears) knowing there were just as likely to be bears on my way back down as there were if I kept going. At that moment, who should come running up the trail behind me but a fellow runner who I knew! I mentioned the bears, he kind of went "eh, yeah I see them a lot... no big deal" and he kept running... so I decided I would keep going (also knowing he was up ahead of me for a while if I needed anything). 

After a while (and no more bear sightings) I came up on the bald rock overlook and was SO GLAD I kept going... this was well worth the effort and pushing past my fears.

Passed the small waterfall that I'd hiked to before with Robin, Dale, and D

Almost to the top!

THAT VIEW! 😍

After that point, the climb got ridiculously steep, especially once the Foothills Trail split off towards Sassafras Mtn and I had the (very overgrown) climb to the actual peak of Pinnacle Mtn.

Pretty flowers!

SO STEEP, it's hard to tell in the photo.

Um, yep there's a trail in there somewhere...

Made it!

Continuing on...

The next section on Ridge Trail definitely had me nervous and watching very carefully for more wildlife. 👀🐻 Thankfully it was pretty runnable but I was being cautious and pausing to look around and listen frequently. I did see a big buck at one point, but he ran away as soon as he heard me. I knew once I got to the Table Rock Trail I would start seeing more people and would feel muuuuuch more at ease... the Ridge Trail is not often used and pretty remote along the park boundary, so once I was done there I relaxed.

I made pretty quick work of the descent, but felt good enough by the time I reached the bottom intersection with the Carrick Creek loop that I decided to take it and add another mile or so to the day's run. Felt great at the end and had a nice conversation with Heyward Douglas, president of the Foothills Trail Conservancy, who had a table set up at the trailhead for National Trails Day. I told him about my bear encounter, and he offered some advice saying it's a good idea to make bears fear humans, and to act aggressive towards them if you see them (vs. my tactic of trying to be as non-threatening as possible). They are usually scared of people and it's best for everyone to keep it that way. Good to know for the future! :)

Sunday

Did: 50 min strength workout

It's been a while since I did much weight lifting or strength (other than the bodyweight workouts I've been doing) so I got in a solid strength session and felt great! 💪

Wowwww so I ended up with over 40 miles this week between runs and walks!! Heck yes! That 17-miler on Monday certainly helped tip that total higher... 😆