This past Saturday, Barry and I headed down to Hungry Mother State Park in Marion for a trail run. We ran separately, since we had different distances in mind. Plus, our paces are dramatically different on trails (he’s a much better climber than me). I chose to run the 5.7 mile long trail that goes around the lake.

I hadn’t ever run here before, and I really enjoyed exploring some new trails. As per usual, the trail started off with a challenging hill and I was amazed at how quickly trail running can make my heart rate skyrocket, so early on.

My legs were feeling kind of tired and heavy, but I just focused on enjoying the scenery of the lake and woods around me. Eventually, after mile 2, they started to feel better. The trail wasn’t very technical, so I was able to look at my surroundings more than usual.

It was mostly shaded the whole way around the lake, which was nice. The temperature was in the low-60’s at the start of my run, but warming up quickly. Once again I ran with my Nathan hydration vest, so I had plenty of water.

The trail had rolling hills, with only one climb before mile 2 that I had to hike up. There were a lot of signs saying there was a beach overlook coming up around mile 3.6, so I focused on getting to that. But then I found myself at mile 4. I thought there would be a sign, but I guess they thought the overlook was obvious, so I totally missed it.

At this point, the trail spit me out onto a paved road and I got very confused about where to go. I came to a big parking lot a little ways down the road and saw a trail map at the end of it. It looked like I may have been on the trail the whole time, and possibly would have missed getting back on it if I hadn’t run down through the parking lot. It was very confusing, and I’m still not sure if I followed the trail correctly or not. I followed the paved path, which was marked with the navy blue blazes I had been following the whole way, over to the beach area.

The swimming area officially opened this past Memorial Day weekend. It looks like it would be a fun place to swim! And I would love to jump off of that tower. I bet the water was pretty chilly on Saturday, though.

I continued on, with about 1.5 miles left to go. I cursed myself for running counterclockwise and hitting this part of the trail at the end of my run, because there was very little shade. At least there was a pretty view.

I broke the last mile down into quarter mile chunks, taking a sip of water each quarter, until I found my way back where I started at the spillway.

Since I wasn’t quite at 6 miles yet, I did a brief out and back on the part of the trail I had started my run on. Of course, this added two extra hills right at the end of my run. Overall, this run was a good confidence boost for me and was much tamer than last week.

Once I finished my run, I headed up to the lot where we parked. I was done running (or so I thought…), but had plans to hike up to a “lake vista” I had seen advertised on a trailhead marker. I wanted to see this vista! (side note: Barry wasn’t back at the car, yet, so I knew he was still out on his run)

It was quite the hike to the top, but what else do you expect when you’re doing a 1 mile climb to a lake vista and the trail starts at the same level as the lake? The hike felt tough since my legs were already tired from running. But, as usual, the climb was worth it.

I really enjoyed getting a birds eye view of the lake I had just run around! I had planned on hiking up and then hiking back down, but instead I decided to run back down the trail. It was a net downhill, anyway, with just a few small climbs along the way.

When I got back to the parking lot, I found that Barry was back at the car as well. He hadn’t been waiting long, which was good! We got cleaned up at the campground bath house (we had both brought shower stuff and a change of clothes). Then we headed down to Chilhowie to meet up with Barry’s parents since we were in their neck of the woods.

We ate at The Riverfront, which is one of my favorite local/non-chain restaurants. After some good food with good company, Barry and I hit the road home. We avoided the interstate for the most part, and enjoyed driving through all of the towns and countryside along the way. It was a gorgeous day!

What did you do this past Memorial Day weekend?

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all those that serve our country and protect our freedom. And especially thank you to all those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, and to their families.

Monday- Planned rest day. I think all my time spent outside over the weekend really caught up with me, as my allergies tried to kill me on Monday.

Tuesday- Cross training — Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones DVD (55 minutes). My allergies were still giving me a hard time, so I stuck to an indoors workout.

Wednesday- 6 mile evening run on the treadmill while watching Jeopardy (Jan have you tried this yet??). I was still muddling through allergies, but I wanted to run. So I decided a treadmill run would be best. My hamstrings and glutes were really sore from Tuesday’s Jillian workout. I stretched a lot after this run, but my muscles tightened right back up within 30 minutes or so. Oh, and Sven wasn’t nearly as squeaky this week, but he’s still in the doghouse…

Thursday- 3 mile evening run on the treadmill. More Jeopardy watching happened (Julia is now a 15 day champion!!).

Friday- Rest day. I had intended on doing a 30 minute cross training session after work, but I was whipped.

Saturday- 6 mile trail run at Hungry Mother State Park, immediately followed by a 2 mile hike (that turned into a 1 mile hike, 1 mile run). So I guess 7 miles total of running with 1 mile of hiking between miles 6 and 7.

Full recap (and plenty of pictures) on Wednesday!

Sunday- 5 mile run with Kim on the Dora Trail. We had a new, cute friend join us right at the beginning of our run. He was pretty excited to tag along!

He didn’t have a collar on and we have no idea who he belongs to. Surprisingly enough, that dog ran with us the entire way. He even technically did more than 5 miles, since he would run ahead and then run back to us.

Once we got back to the train depot, he found a shady spot to lay down and rest. When I opened my car door, he ran over and tried to get in. Then, as Kim was leaving he stood in front of her car to block her. Eventually he went on his way and we were both able to leave.

He sure was a cute little guy. Maybe we will see him again sometime.

Total Miles: 21 miles

There’s a race in our area in October called the Brush Mountain Trail Run, which takes place at Pandapas Pond in the Jefferson National Forest. It has 6.5 and 12 mile options, and it used to be called the Brush Mountain Breakdown. Last Saturday, I created my own Brush Mountain Breakdown, with a 13.2 mile long run that went up Brush Mountain twice.

It was a cool day for mid-May, with temperatures in the high 40’s at the start and mid-50’s by the finish. I went with a t-shirt and shorts, but as I walked over to the trail from the parking lot I worried I was underdressed. It ended up being fine, though, and I warmed up after the first half mile. I had a plan in place, and I started up Horse Nettle Trail for the 3 mile climb up Brush Mountain.

I focused on taking it slow and steady up the inclines, and switched to hiking when needed to keep my heart rate under control. I knew I had a long way to go. I’ve also decided that walk breaks during a trail run (especially one that goes up a mountain) will furthermore be referred to as “hiking.” Soon I found myself back on the fire service road.

I did better at the 3 mile climb up Brush Mountain than I did last time. This time I covered mile two 1 minute and 40 seconds faster, and I made it to the top about two minutes faster overall. Work in progress. Once I crested Brush Mountain, I headed down Jacobs Ladder Trail which goes down the mountain. Barry had warned me this was a trail I would rather run up than down, and he was right.

The trail started with a few switchbacks, and then plummeted down the mountain. It had a lot of roots and rocks, and seemed washed out from the heavy rain we had last Thursday. But I need practice running down this kind of terrain as much as I need practice running up it. So I think it was beneficial, and I made it down with all my bones in tact.

At the bottom of Jacobs Ladder, I had my first creek crossing of the day to get over to the Poverty Creek Trail. The water was icy cold and came up about mid-shin, but it felt very refreshing.

I hung a right on Poverty Creek Trail and ran the 2.5 miles back to the parking lot where I had started from. When I got back to the lot, I was 6.6 miles in. I took a short break, stretched, had a gel, and drank some water before heading back out.

This time I headed back down Poverty Creek Trail, with plans on catching a different trail back to the top of Brush Mountain for summit #2. I enjoyed the gentle rolling hills of Poverty Creek, knowing I still had one more major climb. It’s a good thing I didn’t know what was in store or I may have just headed back to the truck. My legs were feeling pretty gassed.

I arrived at the intersection of Poverty Creek and Snake Root Trail just after mile 8, and hung a left on Snake Root to make the second climb of the day up the mountain.

Snake Root covers the climb up Brush Mountain in just two miles, instead of three, so I knew it would be very challenging. I also knew it was good to practice doing a tough climb late in a run, because this is the elevation profile for the Conquer the Cove 25K:

The trail started gently for the first quarter mile or so, and then things got serious. I had to do a lot of hiking and not much running on the way up.

I also saw my first random thing while out on a trail run. From what I’ve read of folks who run trails and especially ultramarathons, it’s very common to see oddities out in the woods. Anyone want to explain this one to me?

When I was almost to the top of Snake Root (and nearly 10 miles into my run) I looked over my right shoulder and realized there was a pretty spectacular view from the trail. You wouldn’t miss it if you were going down the trail, but you might miss it on the way up if you were just focused on getting up the trail.

Here is what it would look like going down the trail, where the above view would be to your left.

Finally, I made it back to the top of the mountain and got back on Horse Nettle. I snapped a quick picture of the sign for Snake Root, which is designated as a “most difficult” trail, and that it was.

I did a brief out and back to the end of Horse Nettle, and then I started heading for home. Back onto the fire road I go. As I made my way down the gravel road, I could hear the echoes of gun shots from the nearby shooting range. Funny how you don’t hear them on the backside of the mountain.

I covered the last 3+ miles without any walk breaks. It was a net downhill, but there were still a handful of inclines. My legs were very heavy and I was very tired by this point, so I’m proud of digging deep to finish the run strong.

I got exactly what I was looking for on this run: trails and lots of climbing. I also managed not to have any ankle rolls, and only one major trip (no blood, at least). That’s a record for me. I still love my new trail shoes, too.

I needed this run, both to train my body and my mind for the Conquer the Cove. All I’ll have to do on race day is run two miles further! I know the race is going to be incredibly challenging, but I hope I’m a bit more prepared for it after this run.

Have you ever seen random things in the woods or on trails?

This month’s Runners Tell All link up is all about sharing a running picture. It can be a favorite running picture, an official race photo, a snapshot, or even a selfie. When I read this month’s topic, a particular picture that many of you have seen before popped into my head immediately.

I snapped this picture last October during a 20 mile long run, as I prepared for my first marathon. I was running across one of the many bridges on the New River Trail and decided to pull my camera out and snap a quick picture. The crazy part is I had no idea this is what I had captured. I didn’t even look at the camera’s display, I just shut it off and put it back in my handheld water bottle pouch.

When I got home and uploaded the photos from that run, I was really surprised to find the above picture. It really captures the beauty of the region I live in and the sights you’ll see as you trek along the New River Trail.

Have you ever captured an amazing picture, purely by chance?

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This is a monthly link-up for runners that poses a different topic each month. If you missed last month’s post, you can find that HERE. This link-up is hosted by Amanda @ The Lady Okie and Beka @Sunshine to the Square Inch. Click the icon below to get all of the details about these monthly link-up’s.

This week started off a little slow, but I ended up having a pretty good week of training. There was lots of running on trails, which is good since I was hoping to make this week a “peak week” of sorts (although I’m not following any training plan) for Conquer the Cove on June 1.

Monday- Cross training day. I did a 30 Day Shred level 3 workout in the evening after work.

Tuesday- Rest day. For some unknown reason, I was exhausted when I got home from work so I ended up taking a rest day.

Wednesday- 7 mile trail run at Claytor Lake State Park. I had a few firsts during this run: the first time I got lost on trails, and the first time I ran further than planned. I guess the two kind of go hand in hand. I didn’t so much get lost, as I missed my turn… twice. I was planning on 4-6 miles, leaning towards the lower end of that, but ended up with seven. So be it.

I also managed to run the entire 7 miles without taking any walk breaks, which is another first for me on trails. My pace was about 30 seconds per mile slower than the last time I ran here while taking walk breaks on some of the hills, but it was also hotter today (82 degrees). The only downside was running out of water during the last mile.

Thursday- 3 mile trail run at Randolph Park. My legs felt super tired, so this run still felt pretty tough even though it was shorter and Randolph Park isn’t as hilly.

It had rained heavily on and off throughout the day and the sky was looking ominous during my run. Just as I made it back to the truck the heavens opened up on me. I was only out in the rain for about a minute, but it was enough to soak me to the bone.

Friday- Cross training. AM 30 Day Shred level 3 workout. I was really sleepy during this workout. During the first circuit, you spend about a minute doing ‘superman’ (where you’re on your stomach, and lift your arms and legs simultaneously for a few seconds at a time). I was very close to putting my head down on my yoga mat and just going back to sleep, but I didn’t. 🙂

Saturday- 13.2 mile long run on trails at Pandapas Pond, including two climbs up Brush Mountain. Full recap coming later this week.

Sunday- 4 miles with Kim on the Dora Trail. It was another unusually cool day for mid-May, and Kim and I both knew to enjoy it while it’s here.

Before we know it, we’ll be thrust into the heat and humidity of summer. My legs felt like lead after Saturday’s run, and it felt like a very long 4 miles. But I know it did me good to get moving.

Total Miles: 27 miles