So this year was a big year for me. In July I turned the big 3-0. For a big birthday, I wanted a fun adventure. After waffling over a few different ideas, I finally settled on a trail run at Grayson Highlands State Park with Barry. The park is gorgeous, and it’s also an access point to the highest peak in Virginia, Mount Rogers.

I spent most of our run absolutely stunned at the scenery. But the highlight was definitely the wild ponies. That’s right. Grayson Highlands State Park and the surrounding Mount Rogers National Recreation area are home to about 100 adult wild ponies. We even got to see some of them on the drive in! They weren’t shy at all, and came right up to the car looking for handouts. I should note, it’s illegal to pet or feed the ponies and they will fine you if you’re caught doing either.

The ponies are part of a grazing program maintained by the US Forest Service and Virginia State Parks. They help keep the alpine vistas and grassy balds in the High Country open and clear by grazing, which is part of conservation for the area. The two herds are actually owned by the Wilburn Ridge Pony Association. They oversee the welfare of the ponies with annual veterinary exams. The herd population is also controlled by auctioning off young stallions each year at the annual fall festival.

After our warm welcome to the park, I couldn’t wait to get started on our run and see more ponies! We parked at the Massie Gap day use area and headed out on our run. We started out down the Rhododendron Trail. About half a mile to one mile in, the trail opened up on a grassy bald in the Wilburn Ridge area.

We were about to go through the gate and leave the state park boundary, when we noticed a few wild ponies just down the way. They were so sweet and I wanted to pet them so badly, but I followed the rules.

After I was finally done turning to mush over the ponies, Barry and I got back on track and exited the state park through a gate and onto the Appalachian Trail. As we started down the trail, we encountered one of the many long horn cattle that also graze in the area.

We continued along the Appalachian Trail, which was rocky but manageable. I just could not get enough of the scenery. Grayson Highlands and the surrounding recreational area is unlike any other place I’ve been in Virginia.

After another mile or so, we came to a fork where we could either continue on the Appalachian Trail or turn onto the Wilburn Ridge Trail. I had read that the Wilburn Ridge Trail was challenging, but had some good views. So we decided to take that trail, which runs parallel to the AT.

There were definitely some incredible views on this trail and I’m really glad we decided to take it on the way out. But it was super rocky, like to the point of climbing over boulders or climbing up a rock wall, so there was very little running during this section.

I’ll trade running for the incredible 360 degree views we enjoyed on this trail, though!

 

We met back up with the Appalachian Trail and continued on towards Mount Rogers. At this point, we started seeing a lot more backpackers on the trail. I enjoyed seeing others, and it never felt too crowded to me. It was funny how many different people asked us whether or not we sprain our ankles running on trails.

Around 3.5 miles in, we arrived at the Thomas Knob shelter. I had a quick snack and talked to a section hiker while Barry refilled his water.

I had heard about a nuisance bear at this shelter. It was rumored the bear had stolen over 60 hiker packs during the spring and early summer. We never saw the bear, but we did see the extensive measures the forest service is taking to try and deter the bear.  This included a bear box (where hikers store food at night) inside an electric fence area.

We left the shelter and continued down the trail towards our goal – the summit of Mount Rogers.

There is a blue-blazed spur trail that branches off from the AT to take you to the summit, and it is about a half mile long. Entering this area is like stepping into the forest in the Pacific Northwest. It’s crazy how quickly and drastically the scenery changed. All of a sudden, we were headed up a trail through a dense, cool, moss-covered forest.

The higher we got, the thicker the vegetation got, until we finally arrived at the summit. There is no view while standing on the highest peak in Virginia, at 5,729 feet. But it was still a really neat place to hang out.

There are supposedly four summit benchmarks at the summit of Mount Rogers, but Barry and I only found two.

We only hung out at the summit for a few minutes before heading back down the trail and making our way back to Grayson Highlands State Park. This time, we stayed on the Appalachian Trail the whole way, which made for more running on the way back. It was getting later in the morning and the trail was much busier the closer we got to the state park.

We reached the final mile of our run and made it back to the parking lot with just under 9 miles total for the day. It was such an awesome run and I can’t wait to go exploring up there again. There’s also a race there every spring that has a 50K and half marathon distance. I definitely want to check that out in 2019!

All in all, an excellent way to ring in my 30th birthday!

Angel’s Rest is an overlook on the Appalachian Trail, located outside of Pearisburg, Virginia. It is notorious among thru hikers (those hiking the entirely of the AT from Georgia to Maine) for the strenuous climb to the top. But the view is worth it!

I first tackled Angel’s Rest in 2015 with my little sister. We had a great time, but I hadn’t been up there since. Barry and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary at the end of June this year, and Barry had never been up to Angel’s Rest before. I thought what better way to celebrate our anniversary than a morning of hiking and running in the woods.

This hike is no walk in the park. It climbs about 1,800 feet in just under two miles. The trail winds it way through dense forest, climbing gradually at first. The final half mile or so gets very steep, and the trail becomes more technical. It’s a good workout any day, but especially at the end of June with that Virginia humidity bearing down on you.

It’s not uncommon to see deer and squirrels along the trail. The Appalachian Trail also has a lot of millipedes (which kind of gross me out) and these cute little pipevine swallowtail caterpillars. This little guy is probably flying around as a pipevine swallowtail butterfly now.

The trail gets very steep for the last half mile, and I was definitely feeling it. But finally, Barry and I made it to the top and took in the view of downtown Pearisburg and the New River.

But here’s the secret about Angel’s Rest. For all of its hype, it’s not actually the best view. The best view is a little over a half mile along the (mostly flat) ridge line, at the Wilburn Valley overlook. If you make the hike to Angel’s Rest, it’s worth continuing along the AT to check it out.

See what I’m talking about?

This was our halfway point, so Barry and I hung out up here for a bit and enjoyed a snack above 3,000 feet. We met a group of four guys hiking along the trail. Two were thru hikers and the other two were “Lashers,” which I had never heard of before. Have you? It stands for “long ass section hiker.” Hah!

From Wilburn Valley, we headed back the way we came. We took a side trip to check out the backcountry camping area, and so that Barry could refill his water at the spring.

We ran most of the way back, except for sections that were really rocky or really steep. I love how narrow the trail gets and how dense the forest is along this section of the AT!

We finished with about 5.5 miles total. It was a great morning on the trail and the best way to celebrate 8 years of marriage. My how the time flies!

It’s funny the things you do for friends. This local race was in danger of being canceled because it didn’t have enough registrants. We just couldn’t have that. So there was a movement on Facebook, and a commitment from the masses to reopen registration and keep this race alive. 6 miles, 2,000+ feet in elevation gain, pavement. Like I said, it’s funny the things you do for friends.

It’s also funny how my first two races back just kind of happened without any planning.

My running buddy, Kim, was also running this race. We met up bright an early on race morning, July 7, to carpool over to Mountain Lake Lodge. In case you didn’t know, this is where they filmed Dirty Dancing.

I hadn’t seen much of Kim lately, since I’ve been on the sidelines, and I was looking forward to hanging out with her. I figured I would see her at the start and finish of the race, as she’s gotten speedy over the past months. But she informed me she intended to stick with me during the race and that’s just what we did.

This race is entirely uphill. Runners park at the top of the mountain and then take a fun bus ride down the mountain to the start line. The road the bus drives down is the same road we would be running up, and the longer that ride went on the more we grasped the task at hand.

After a quick port-a-john visit and some milling around, it was time to run. I decided on using a quarter mile run/ quarter mile walk strategy right from the beginning and it worked out really well. Kim and I had a good time together. I even did a little impromptu, mid-race Missy Elliott rapping (you had to be there, and no I won’t reenact it).

The run/walk thing worked well for the first 5.25 miles. By that point I was really tired and just kind of did whatever I could manage for the final mile. In all, we climbed a little over 2,000 feet during the race. Here’s an elevation profile that will make you feel like a bad ass.

We encountered a race photographer during the final mile, and he was nice enough to allow us to start running before taking our photo.

After one final push, we made it to the top and crossed the finish line in 1:30:51.

We hung out at the finish line, chatted with friends, cheered on other finishers, and enjoyed the lemonade and PB&J’s they had for us. Since most of us were last minute registrants for the race, we didn’t get shirts. However, they did have a box of extra shirts that were made available on a first come, first serve basis. We totally missed the memo on when that started, though, and missed out on a shirt. Bummer.

As with the Downtown Sundown 5K, I exceeded my expectations for this race. And you know what? It turns out climbing 2000 feet over 6.2 miles isn’t quite as bad as I thought. It was tough, but it wasn’t that bad. Honestly. Don’t tell, but I’ll probably do it again next year. I want a t-shirt, dang it!

The Downtown Sundown 5K on June 16 was my first race back after essentially 9 months off of running. And here’s the thing – I really had no intentions to run this race. I had been back to running for about 7 weeks and my main focus was just building mileage back up. But when people keep putting the idea in your head, and then all of your friends are doing it, you’ll probably do it too. (Hey kids- don’t use that logic for bad things like drugs and jumping out of moving vehicles, okay?).

But lets back up a minute.

This race is unique in that it starts in the evening, around 8 PM or so. Hence the name. So that leaves a lot of time for doing other things during the day. A certain type of crazy chooses to run a 50K during the day and then rolls in for this race in the evening (my husband, and many others). Other types support the crazy and then join in on the evening 5K celebration (me, and probably some others).

So I started my morning dropping Barry off at the start line of the Eastern Divide 50K. After seeing the runners off, I headed over to my volunteer spot at the Wind Rock aid station/mile 18. Funny story – I’m moving up in the world of race volunteering. This year I was captain of the aid station (but I’m pretty sure the other awesome folks helping at the AS are all more experienced than me).

We set up an awesome aid station complete with water, Tailwind, salty & sweet snacks, watermelon, potatoes, pb&j, etc. And as always, we had the music cranked up.

It wasn’t long before the runners started rolling in. From there the day passed quickly and soon I got to see Barry on his way through. He looked strong and was in good spirits.

I think we closed the aid station around 2 PM or so. From there I met back up with Barry and his parents at the finish line and we hung out for a bit. Then it was time to head home. I may not have arun a 50K, but volunteering can be hard work, too, so I snuck in a nap before we headed over to Blacksburg.

I wore my running clothes, but I still wasn’t committed to running the Downtown Sundown 5K Sometimes an idea gets into your head, though, and a decision is made before you even know it yourself. Once we got there, I knew I wanted to run. I was nervous about racing and I didn’t know what to expect, so Barry agreed to run with me. My running buddy, Kim, was also there and we got to hang out pre-race.

We lined up for the race start, and before I knew it we were off and running. The first mile or so is mostly uphill on a gradual grade and I was surprised that I felt really good. I was running faster than I expected. I was having fun. We cruised through the second mile and before I knew it we were in the final mile. I was really starting to feel it during the final mile, as we wound our way through a neighborhood. But we finally took that last turn and it was a downhill cruise to the finish line. I expected to finish this race in 34 to 35 minutes, but surprised myself by coming in at 32:07. It. Felt. Great!!!!!

I was (and still am) so happy to be back to doing what I love and the Downtown Sundown was the perfect way to kick things off.

So. It’s been awhile. Two years and thirteen days, to be exact. My last post was about taking a summer break and if you ask me I basically just lived the childhood dream of a never ending summer vacation. But I’ve slowly been making my way back here.

A lot has happened since the last time I posted. Some good, some awesome, and some not so good.

Barry ran his first ultra at the Mountain Masochist 50 Miler in November 2016. You read that right. His first ultra was a 50 miler, and it had the words mountain and masochist in the name. He kicked butt and I had a great time crewing him, along with his parents.

I was fortunate enough to travel to Richmond in both November 2016 and November 2017 for with my running buddy, Kim, for the annual Megs Miles reunion. I ran the 8K in 2016 and was on the sidelines in 2017 (more on that in a minute).

We went on a couple of annual beach vacations, and saw Collective Soul in concert (they brought the house down!). I got bangs and taught myself how to play guitar. We celebrated a couple of wedding anniversaries, the usual holidays, and a few birthdays. Barry and I have been married for eight years now. Our oldest dog, Hank, is 8 years old and Scout is about to turn 6. I cracked 30 this year and Barry will soon celebrate his birthday in mid-September.

I realize this is first and foremost a running blog, so lets change course and talk about running. I talked about the fun stuff first, because this part isn’t as fun. Things were pretty rocky from October 2016 through April 2018. I dealt with a number of running injuries that were progressively more serious – from nagging plantar fasciitis, to peroneal tendonitis and a partial tendon tear, to a tibial stress fracture. The second two each put me in a walking boot for weeks.

I managed a few trail races in the spring of 2017 until the plantar fasciitis got completely out of control. Only then did I stop ignoring it and actually sought help for it. However, it still took until this year for me to figure out how to keep it under control.

My last hurrah was the Ragnar Trail Relay in South Carolina in October 2017. I know I said I was in Ragnar retirement after the last one. but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity for a fun weekend with my Roanoke trail running turtle buddies on some new-to-me trails. It was par for the course as far as a Ragnar goes – there was rain and mud, highs and lows, and we all left sufficiently sleep deprived and ready for a hot shower and bed. But I promise, Ragnar trail weekends are an awesome experience.

So after that is when the tendonitis and tendon tear mess started. It took months away from running and some physical therapy to get things sorted out. I dealt with it pretty well – and even went to Richmond during that time to cheer on Kim as she ran her first full marathon!

I finally started easing back into running and hiking in early 2018. I was so ready to put 2017 behind me and crush 2018. However, I was overzealous and a little too good at denial (aka ignoring pain in my leg) as I made my comeback.

By the end of February, I had run myself in to a stress fracture. No one to blame but myself on that one, but I have to tell you I was devastated. I had completely let my guard down and this one really crushed me. I had a pretty hard time for a few months. But I did come out the other side stronger and smarter, as so many told me I would (though I didn’t believe them at the time). I spent some of my time volunteering at races, did my fair share of moping, and threw myself into the cross training.

Finally on May 1, I started easing back into running.

Since then I have been taking it fairly slow and have been cautious in my build up. I do not want to deal with any more injuries! I just want to run, dang it. I have actually run three races since I’ve been back, but I’ll tell you about those in a few upcoming posts. For now, I think I have written quite enough. If you made it this far, my hat is off to you.

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Happy Trails.