It's the Challenge! The Mt. Mitchell Challenge a 40mi. trail run. Starting from the quaint little town of Black Mountain NC. Traversing the hill side to the peak of Mt. Mitchell then returning to town. That's it in a nutshell. So whats the big deal, besides the 40 miles of running & shuffling over Pisgah's terrain. Well it will be the epic weather they have had this winter. Recently a video journal of another runners approach to the summit documented the degree of difficulty one my face. ICE, knee deep snow and more ICE. So WTF was I thinking?
This may be right up there with some other local nuts prepping for the Pisgah 36. My hats off to you fellas, take care and be safe. So what was I thinking? Really, I wanted the trifecta for topping Mt. Mitchell. To date I've competed and completed in the Off-Road and Road assaults on MM. These both by bike of course. So why the hell not try my hand at the trail run version. Why the hell not. Yeah!
To date I've been back running for 2 years now. For the last 6 months the focus has been aimed at Mitchell. The riding as of late has been very minimal. In fear of taking away mileage & time from running. WTF! So the approach has been calculated to some degree. Steadily building to longer and longer trail runs. Weekly mileage has gone from 20ish to 40+ in the last few weeks. Maybe too much too soon? Who says going out on 20ish mile training runs for 3 weeks then bust out the 30 miler is not a great idea. Got me.
So the foundation is built. Now just stay healthy for the next 3 weeks. That brings me to the Taper phase. A lost art for those obsessed with quantity over quality. I balance this thin line. It seems my build phase used too many boards and not enough nails. So this foundation is solid but this structure atop is a bit rickety. Yep I'm nursing a bum ankle. WTF! So it looks like the rollers will be getting the call up. Frustrating as hell but I have time to get it healed. Only if I'm patient, yeah we will see about that.
Oh and bye the way don't forget about V day coming up. The Silver Dog could have the perfect gift waiting for you. See link on side bar.
3 comments:
Ummmmmmmmmmmmm Good luck and stuff. You won't know the true conditions until that day!! Clay and I found out this past weekend that if conditions are right, running down in the snow can actually be faster!! Who would have thought that.
I took a look at the site. Damn! The winner last year was running almost the same average speed as my ORAMM average on a bike. 40 miles in 5 hours! Is that really a trail run or a fire road run? Either way is still FAST. I have decided that if I ever get passed by a trail runner while I am riding, I will never race again.
Anyways, that is bad ass. Good luck!
Why the hell not indeed. Here I was thinking I needed to start jogging around the new neighborhood when the weather warms... you're thinking 40 miles of Mt. Mitchell in the snow.
You survive this one and I'll buy you a beer. Hardcore.
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