Return to the Dragon

Growing Season

Summer brings many great things... including abundant sunshine and rain and their children... plants. I love the life of summer but it does take the winter cleared trails and add obstacles. This is what I was faced with last night as I returned to the outlying sections of my local Dragon Trail. I knew there'd be stinging nettle, which is why I have been scarce in that area... I love my trails but a 1/2 mile tunnel of stinging nettle in repeated loops would literally drive me mad. But, last evening it was time to take care of my single track.

In preparation for a dusky jaunt I strapped on my Sierra Design winter season gaiters, knee high and began plodding down toward the river. I hoped to just run back and forth for 60-90 minutes with my headlamp and trample all over the encroaching offenders. When I arrived at the barn turn I was in for a surprise...

Parting the Green Sea
... I stopped and stared at a 5 foot high wall of growth! This was going to take some time. I began stomping left and right and laying down the stalks to the side of the trail (which was still under there) like Moses parting the Sea. Occasionally (every 5-10 feet) I would come across the tasty brambles of blackberries. Here I would grab the ripe fruit and remove the obstacle. This section is normally a 45 second sweeping right hand turn but this time took a full 25 minutes to pass through. I was very thorough and my hope is that the major growth has taken place for the season and the maintenance will be done for now... that is the hope.

Cleared Trail in the Winter

Irony
A half a mile of smooth wooded single track brought me to a few small blow downs which I dragged or rerouted trail slightly before I came to Nettle Station... this was the area I had planned on spending time on- but since Sunday... the nettles had withered and were only shadows of themselves! On down to the river I went and splashed around in the fading summer light. While there I removed 3 or 4 ticks and then turned for home in the fading light.

I ended up cutting the run short after yanking on a vine of poison ivy... we'll see where that gets me in the next couple of days. I was pleased to have taken 60 minutes to reclaim the Dragon Trail for the summer, taste the fresh blackberries and spot a few deer in the field. Now to run through the night on a full moon??

Happy Running!

Clear Sunny Skies

After a few hints at winter the weather has turned mild again- while still chilly and below freezing at night.  I know you did not come here for a Boone weather report (hopefully)... but as runners we know weather has a lot to say about upcoming schedules.

With a 2 hour long run on the books for this weekend I can look forward to NOT running 16 miles in the rain this time around.  While track workouts in the rain can be exciting, slogging along at aerobic efforts in the frigid fall rain is less than desirable. So, I am thankful this week for the weather forecast! I plan on getting out onto the asphalt for the first time on a long run this cycle... it's gotta happen eventually. With eyes and mind free to roam with the painfully predictable running surface a runner can get lost in the wandering of the surroundings.

I love running through the old farms and meadows and the relatively recent Christmas Tree farms that make up the high country.  As the creeks bubble downhill and the fallen leaves rustle in the breeze it is easy to let miles slip under your feet and find your worries filtering into the past.

Happy running.

Crunching, Slipping and Climbing

For those that aren't aware, which would be everyone I presume, I have a bit of a trail network in my backyard, literally it is my backyard. The process is ongoing and currently I have about 4 miles on site with access to adjacent acreage allowing a loop of about 6 miles without repeating. Part of this is the Dragon Trail which I loop around a (long) mile at a time to do hill circuits occasionally.

Well, with all the winter we have been receiving this winter I have not had much occasion to get out there on the Dragon Trail this year. BUT- sometimes it just feels right to get there and slop around in the woods, so **Lil' got her "shoes" on and we ran along for an hour this weekend.

The Run:)
The course meanders through rhododendron and up to our christmas tree acreage where a loop is completed with some flowing downhills and progressive uphills. After this section, we zoomed downhill through the woods for the next 15 minutes over untouched trail, aside from a deer or raccoon and even one turkey... the cool winter air brushed us and soon we were riverside for a minute to reflect and for Silly Lily to do some swimming and drinking. What a nut!

Watauga River in Winter

The Climb!
Well, then we turned and headed back uphill to get the day's work in. Halfway up the gradual climb things felt great and we had even pushed a few times.

We then reached Aster's Ascent. Here, severe switchbacks give 500ft of elevation over the next half mile on primitive deer trail. This is the most direct route up to the highest point on our land. Severity was compounded by the slippery slope and the breaking of the underlying crust during each footfall. What great work though!

Training Effect
The power needed to run this type of terrain is normally demanding, in "ideal" conditions; and that I precisely why I run this trail. This day though, we required additional body form checks to minimize slipping, increasing (hopefully) mechanical efficiency. No matter how well we ran, the physics of the conditions demanded a greater workload. Another half mile later we were back up to the christmas trees and getting in a nice cool down as we stared out across the Watauga River valley and up toward Beech Mountain.

Time is Running Out...
These types of runs are only available in the winter and really provide a wonderful training stimulus to the entire body. The arms are pumping, the quads are burning and the heart is pumping at maximum volume... and those lungs are doing their best to deliver sweet oxygen. 5k season is nearly upon us...

I was pleased with my body's ability to handle this run pretty easily and very proud of my mentality when it got tough. I thought, "Form, form; move ahead... up this climb. Push."

These moments will come back to us. They will benefit our racing. We cannot expect to train one way and race another. Success is a choice. Running is momentum. Once month until Leprechaun Leap 5k:) Can I make it 3 in a row?




Like winning free things??? Go see Adam at 'I am Boring'




**This was Lily's longest run ever, she extended another mile and we did not loaf as we had before. When we were finished she slept for about 5 minutes and then was running wild again. What an animal!!

Springtime (?) in Sugar Grove

After the arctic start to the year, this weekend welcomed us in the NC/TN Appalachians with spring like temps and feel. We had some rain, some sun and a little warm breeze too! I am still taking 'er easy after the recent marathon but on Saturday I did go out for a jaunt. No expectations or plans except to get in an easy 30 minutes minimum.

So in short shorts I took a few steps down the driveway, the first steps of a daily adventure! On I went down to the Watauga and back up the other side. Onto face the sketchy traffic of HWY321 and then over into Beech Mtn. community where a choice was waiting.

At 25 minutes in I could turn and head for the shed... or... there is this hill, this big steep hill, that goes on for about 2 miles. The grade pushes 25% in places and when you wind your way to the top after15 or 18 or however many inconsequential minutes has passed... you get the full lay of the Watauga River valley from below Beech Mountain.

Well, I knew before I put on my shoes I suppose that something like this was the order of the day for this run. So up I went, passing little trailers and old homes with permanent, out-of-business yard sales on the front stoops... out would run dogs, ushering me through their domain, some playing in the lingering snow, some just running frantically and barking.

I just greet them saying, "hey, pup! don't mind me... just passing through..." and the dog allows my passage up the steep hillside.

Soon enough I reach the apex around 45 minutes into the run. Being winter time, post marathon and a gorgeous day, I stopped and took in the scene. Chimneys smoking in the distance, white washed fields and grid plots of Frasier Fir covering the round mounds of Watauga County below the high ridge designating Cherokee National Forest land and beginning the state we call Tennessee.

After 2 1/2 miles of descent completing the loop I found that I had an easy 10 miler under my belt for the day. Of to study Calculus and complete the reading of Huck Finn. Not a bad day for January.

Dusting off the Cape

...and we thought it was cold.

I hardly dare the forces that be to ratchet up (er, down?) this cold spell any further. The more of the forecast I see, the clearer I know that the decision to run Disney is a good one... if only to bring some relief from the -5 to -15 degree temperatures we are being quoted with. Today is a little warmer, so they say... at 14 degrees above zero and the wind chill advisory being lifted; this is laughable but like I said about tempting fate.

So, I may, in fact don the cape today, there may be no other choice for surviving the brutal conditions. As luck would have it, I only need about 40 minutes today and maybe slightly longer tomorrow before bailing for the magical sun of Disney. I will succeed at getting both feet out the door; covered head to toe- maybe even with ski goggles as well:)


This weekend's running was done in the relative warmth of Southern Pines, NC where they experiences lows so low they hadn't been so low... since '77... the year I was born. Saturday I even could have used some gloves;) It reached down around freezing with some gusty winds.

After a quick 6 miles in Weymouth Woods, I was treated to a massage, a sauna and a whirlpool. What a weekend and what a way to start the new year!! I will spare you the details of the trunk-less wonder...

Running in the Snow!!

Here we go again. The locals are getting carried away with the prospect of a large winter weather system approaching from the Gulf. Apparently Boone and the surround area is scheduled to receive up to 10 inches of snow in the near future.

I have been trained through experience to expect about half of what they call for when the hysteria hits... and to look for twice as much when they think nothing of an approaching system... not that I am a smarty pants or anything:)

So, now that the post-marathon non-running grace period has elapsed (first run last night... easy 4 miles) it is time to get busy and get moving. This means running in the snow, in a storm!!! I just love the solitude of running through large flakes dumping down onto the road. The cars have abandoned the area, the deer are off somewhere too... nothing out there but white flakes, white puffs of breathe and the clarity of the mind. Looks like a nice 10 miler is waiting to be run!!

High Country Sampler

Watauga County, NC is my playground! Just a quick look in High Definition of where I get to have my fun. The kayaking takes place just below my house... via the Dragon Trail. The video is only a couple of minutes so check it out!