70.3 Training

Since my Half-Ironman training has been going on for a few weeks now I thought I'd document my progress to look back on for future races. My last Half-Ironman in 2015 was completed during the course of training for a full Ironman (which didn't get completed) that same year. I basically took the same schedule from that training plan and tweaked it a bit. Instead of completing all three disciplines three times per week, I'm doing one swim, one brick, one short run, one long run, and one long bike instead. I'm also sprinkling in some strength training when I can fit it in (both time-wise and energy-wise).

My longest swim and bike were both this past weekend, and both continue to be a learning process for me. I needed 40 miles on the bike, but ended up with 47.5 since I was biking with a group whose meeting point was 4.5 miles from my condo. Now that I live so close to the city, I can bike right out the door rather than racking my bike onto the car and driving somewhere. It's super convenient, but also adds on more mileage when I'm meeting others for a ride so I have to be conscious of that.

We met at the base of the Big 4 Bridge at 8:00 a.m. and set off on the same route I did for a my 35-miler just two weeks prior. We were going a bit further than what I'm used to for our turn-around point, but I had been down this additional road once before so I was at least somewhat familiar. The pace was fairly easy - or what felt easy considering I was drafting behind some folks and holding a conversation with a fairly new triathlete named Katie. Keeping the conversation going, those first 15 miles or so felt like a breeze as we cruised at about an 18mph pace. I had brought along with me a 24oz bottle of Infinit as well as an additional 24oz of water, and 3 Gu's. Katie mentioned that the water bottle she brought didn't fit in her cage so she was riding without any hydration. Seeing as how it wasn't unbearably hot, I handed over my water bottle to her so she would have something to sip on throughout the planned ride. It was a risky decision given the distance, but I since I struggle with taking in fluids on rides anyway, I thought it wouldn't hamper my performance much.

At the 18 mile mark we crossed over a highway onto a road that contains a fair amount of rolling hills. The ride had been pretty flat thus far, and I'm never good on hills, so my speed suffered a bit. Even though I KNOW I need to ride more hills to get stronger, they are the bane of my cycling existence and unless I'm forced to do so or someone else is leading the ride, I'll avoid them at all cost. So it was probably a good thing that I let go of a little control and just went with the flow. At the 23 mile mark, Josh and Bill had pulled over onto a side street, stating that the actual turn-around point was a mile or two ahead, but contained a heckuva hill so they were opting to wait there while others chose to go all the way. Since I was already going to be over my mileage limit, I decided to stop as well and took a 5 minute breather before heading back towards our start point. I noticed that I was running out of Infinit at this point, but at the very least knew that I could fill up at the base of the bridge before finishing up my last 5 miles. Although Josh, Bill and Julie opted to wait for the rest of the crew, I headed back on my own knowing they would soon be on my tail as I was definitely bringing up the rear with this group.

Another 7 miles or so back towards home, I gave in and asked Bill if he had any water to spare - I didn't think there was any way that I could make it to the bridge without anything as the day was now getting hotter and I was beginning to feel myself at the first stages of a bonk. I've NEVER been good about getting my nutrition down on the bike, and this is something I really need to work on over the next few months. That July heat isn't going to show me any mercy and my fear is that if I don't get it straight before my race then I'll suffer another DNF - that cannot happen! Luckily, Bill had some to spare - not straight water, but Infinit like what I had been drinking, so I was able to get in some more calories as well. This was definitely a good thing as I noticed myself getting quiet on the ride back in when Bill was trying to have a conversation with me. My lack of verbal response is a tell-tell sign that I am on my way to a not-so-good place while training, meaning I have not taken in the amount of calories or fluids that I've needed to.

Once we reached the bridge I headed back over alone while Bill waited for the rest of the group to catch up in Indiana. Once I reached the base of the Kentucky side, I topped off the rest of my bottle with straight water, which was a welcome relief from the sweetness of the Infinit-filled bottles I had already downed. I had a little over 4 miles left to go and my quads were burning from the previous hills. I had one more long, slow climb up Zorn Avenue, which is always a bear as it's one of the few ways to get back to my place and is situated just 1.5 miles away from the condo. I made my way up and over, then a quick left back onto Brownsboro to my final destination.

Upon my return I had planned to try a short run just to get the legs stretched out and used to moving after such a long ride. However, due to my lack of nutrition I felt a bit light headed and went inside to the cool A/C to grab a drink and relax for about 15 minutes. Although I didn't get a run in I did manage to take the dog for a one-mile walk around the block without incident - success!

Two days later I would complete my longest swim in a year. I wanted to make sure to get to the outdoor pool early enough to snag a good spot where I could relax and tan, but I also wanted to make sure the pool wasn't too crowded for me to get in 2200 yards before it was overrun with kids and families. This particular pool only has one lane open for lap swimmers, which makes sense since it's more of a recreational pool than a training pool. Somehow, getting a swim in isn't as tedious in an outdoor pool as it is indoors - something I was very grateful for given the distance I was about to complete.

I wasn't sure how I was going to break this swim up considering I needed to complete 44 total laps in 25 yard increments. 44 total laps = 88 total touches of the wall before turning back and doing it all again. And again. And again. At first I thought of breaking it up by 200 yards. Then I came to my senses and realized that would take way too long, so I decided to do two sets of 1100. Of course, by the time I reached that 1100 mark I didn't want to stop; mainly for two reasons. 1) I was already on a roll and 2) 2200 yards is 1.25 miles which is just over the Half-Ironman swim distance and I wanted to see how long it would take me to complete the entire length in one go round. Well... the answer is 1:06 - which is still within the time frame of the cut-off so I'm good there. I realize that this pace is uber-slow for most folks but, to be honest, I'm not particularly worried about the swim itself or my swim time as long as I make the cut-off. I'm not necessarily going for a PR (although it would be nice) and know that my struggles will always be with the bike and the run, so as long as I survive the swim I'm okay with whatever my time happens to be. Besides, I am always faster in open water than I am in a pool so I'm fairly certain I can crush this 1:06 time when all is said and done.

Looking ahead at my training plan, I have this same distance on the calendar every single week with the exception of two longer distance swims. At some point I will taper. Until then, I'll keep swimming along and working on my shoulder and arm strength, as well as my endurance. Just like with biking and running - swimming is one of those things that I always dread getting started, but always enjoy once I'm there. I'll just have to keep that in mind the next time I'm moving at a turtles pace for over an hour.

Chicago Spring Half Marathon

Alicia and I arrived in Chicago the day before the race to a chilly 60ish degrees and overcast sky. I had been checking the weather all week to prepare myself for what was to come, hoping that the rain would hold off at least until Sunday afternoon. Luckily, Saturday ended up being a pretty decent day as far as weather goes as we walked around downtown, accumulating a total of 10+ miles as we checked out many of the touristy things Chi Town has to offer.

After checking out Millennium Park and 360 Chicago, including all of the sites in between, dinner was consumed early as we wanted to beat the crowd This ended up being an excellent idea as by the time we left the restaurant around 7:30 p.m., there was a long line out the door. We made our way back to the hotel and were settling in for the night by 9:30. The race was set to start at 7:00 a.m., but I had to be in my corral by the 6:45 a.m. cutoff, which meant a 5:30 wake-up call. Luckily, Chicago is in the Central Time Zone so it didn’t feel as early as it was.
The next morning, I woke up after a less-than-stellar nights sleep and peeked outside – no rain, but definitely some cloud coverage. After dressing for the day in my usual running gear – shorts, t-shirt with a long-sleeve tech shirt over top, hat and race belt, I headed out the door to make my way one-mile down the city streets to the start line.

I’ve always been excellent with time-management, and this morning would be no different. I allotted myself 45 minutes to get to the start, hit the porta pots, and then wait in my corral for the officials to announce the start of the race. Much to my dismay, however, after letting the first 3 corrals go off with only a 45 second break in between, the race director shared that they would be waiting a full 4 minutes before letting the subsequent corrals cross the start. This meant 35 minutes of total waiting time in the corral – getting a little more anxious and a whole lot colder as each minute passed. While shorts and a long-sleeve tech are great 40 degree running attire, it’s not necessarily the picture of warmth for standing around for half an hour.

Twenty minutes after the official start time, my corral was able to begin our 13.1 mile journey at 7:20 a.m. My plan was to do my regular 3:1 intervals throughout the race, but because I had gotten so cold from standing around for so long I decided to run at least one mile before taking a break; I was definitely looking forward to warming up some. My plan was slightly foiled ¾ of a mile in when I had to stop for a potty break – something I hardly ever do during a race. It slowed me down by 2 ½ minutes, but I was able to make up at least some of that time as I decided to run the second mile straight through as well. Although I was going at a nice pace (9:10 – 9:30), I knew I couldn’t keep that up for long and decided to being a 4:1 interval plan from then on out. I was at least somewhat warmed up by that point, so the one-minute walk breaks didn’t feel so frigid.

Moving right along during this out-and-back route, I felt great and was able to get into a good groove considering the somewhat congested course. The race was mostly flat which always helps and, unbeknownst to me, we were feeling the effects of a nice tail-wind which would prove to be a significant game changer after crossing the 10k turn around point. Running a bit closer to the lake on the way back to the finish, runners got a little splash from the water smashing against the rocks for the first half-mile or so. This coupled with the air that was now blasting against my torso made for an even chillier jaunt as my hands became more and more numb. Because the wind was such a force to be reckoned with, I changed my intervals to a 2:1 and noticed my pace decrease to a 9:45 pace. Since I had had such a stellar first-half, I wasn’t too concerned about how I would finish the final 7 miles – my goal was to just keep up the shorter intervals to the end, no matter how much I needed to slow down.

At some point I began to do the math, and calculated the pace I would need to keep in order to get a PR. Because I was feeling so good, despite the conditions, I was confident that I could at least beat my KDF Mini time from 3 weeks prior. My PR of 2:14 would’ve been a long shot, but if I could end this race having finished in one of my faster speeds, I would be completely satisfied. Having only a 5k left to go, I needed no slower than a 13 minute/mile pace to beat my KDF time – piece of cake.

Rounding the last corner, seeing the finish line up ahead, I checked my watch one last time to see that I would need to finished .2 miles in a little over 1 minute in order to get a sub-2:20 race. The headwind had made my legs feel like I was running through mud, so I knew that increasing my pace to complete such a finish was next to impossible. Regardless, I reached down and pulled out what I could, trying to finish as strong as my body would allow, and ended up with a 2:20:23 official time – my third best finish of what was now 36 total half-marathon races.

As cold as it was standing around at the start of this race, I am now a firm believer that the cooler weather (45-55 degrees) is exactly what I need to perform as fast as I can (fast for me, at least). My PR of 2:14 was in Indianapolis in 2014, and I recall it being in the 30’s that day. I also believe that my hiking adventures on the AT have helped with leg strength, and it will be interesting when I complete the Chicago Fall Half Marathon after another 4 days out on the trail, if this theory holds true. Regardless, I stand firm to a statement I’ve made in the recent past that I am now judging races based on how I feel rather than the time I finish. It just so happens that in this particular race, feeling great and finishing “fast,” were equally applicable. Here’s hoping I can keep up this trend for the Tri Louisville 3 weeks away!

Appalachian Trail Section Hike - May 2018

Planning for a section hike far in advance, you always take a chance on the weather. Because I tend to schedule patient’s in my office up to a month or more ahead of time, I can never just leave town on a whim because the weather looks good. Considering two out of the three days I was out on the trail last year were rainy with some severe thunderstorms, I kept a close eye on the weather for the two weeks prior to this Spring’s journey. Luckily, rain would not be an issue this time around, however, I was not prepared for just how warm Georgia May’s can become.

I used to be someone who was really anxious when it came to planning. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to plan things far in advance – whether it be dinner with friends, trips out of town, or concerts coming up. But I used to have to know exactly what was going to happen, and if there was any deviation from the plan I would get all worked up about it. Somewhere along the way I’ve gotten much better at this, as my second-ever Appalachian Trail section hike had a few snafus along with way that I was forced to navigate from day one.

Back at the beginning of the year when I was planning my trip (distance, days, shuttles and overnight accommodations), I spoke to a B&B owner who told me that a shuttle to Hightower would be free of charge as it was a short distance from their lodge. Not knowing the Georgia area at all, I had to trust in what I was told, and was ecstatic to hear that this would be one less expense to worry about. Imagine my surprise, then, when the morning of my hike the owner and I began talking about where I would be dropping my car versus where I would begin my hike. Apparently, there is a “Hightower,” and a “Hightower Gap.” One of these is a mere few miles (and minutes) from the B&B, while the other is a 2-hour, and $150 shuttle, away. Long-story short, I decided to be dropped off at a different location, which meant cutting my hike by 2 days and 15 miles. Come to find out, this was a blessing in disguise.

Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter – 11.5 miles

After leaving my car at Dick’s Creep Gap and being dropped at Neels Gap to begin my hike, I was immediately met by other hikers who had been on the trail for up to 5 days, after starting at Springer Mountain to start their own journeys. One of these folks was a solo hiker who had completed a month-long hike in Utah prior to trying her hand at the AT, and who had completed a daunting 20 miles the day prior. The other was a couple; also attempting a thru hike, as well as their female companion who was hanging it up for the time being as the mental aspect of hiking numerous miles, day after day, was getting to her. I was feeling good both mentally and physically as I turned my back towards the last bit of civilization I would be seeing for quite a while and stepped off onto the trail for a long 11.5-mile journey – my longest trek to date on the AT.

I was going at a pretty good clip, and the hills didn’t feel to be too terribly steep as I made my way up and down, up and down these Georgia mountains. As long as I’m camping at night with a group of folks, I don’t mind hiking alone – which is a good thing considering I came across very few people on this first day. The great thing about the hiking community though, is that you never truly feel alone. Everyone you pass on the trail has a friendly smile and a welcoming “hello,” as you pass one another – sometimes going opposite directions, sometimes playing “leap frog,” as your paces and breaks don’t always mesh. But always with a silent connection that says, “I am your pal, and we are in this together.”

A wonderful example of this was when, half-way through the day, I decided to take a break on a large rock next to a couple of gals who were also catching their breath and giving their backs and feet a break. One gal, trail name “Brains,” didn’t stick around long and was up the next mountain like she owned it in a matter of minutes. The other, a section hiker like myself, stopped to refill her bladder from a stream nearby. Unfortunately, her filter wasn’t working properly and I was able to offer up mine for her to use. As it turns out, I was also having issues with my own filter (more on this later), but at least she was able to get a small stream coming out, which was more than what she was getting from her own.

We stuck around on that rock for 15 minutes or so, grabbing a bite to eat (a Kind bar and GORP for me), and exchanging stories about what brought us to the AT. She was a twenty-something named Alexis who was from Florida and, being an outdoorsy type, decided that she’d like to section-hike the AT. We laughed about the inevitable questions from non-hikers about whether or not we would be carrying a gun, if we felt safe hiking alone, and what kind of bear protection we carried. I can think of fewer places than the trail where you can sit and have a conversation such as this without the concern of motive or being looked at like you’re suspect – just two gals shooting the breeze, sharing gear, and having a bite to eat in the middle of nature.

My last 5.5 miles that day were a little more daunting than the first 6, as it began with a steep uphill climb. I remember very little about this second half of the day other than the countless ascents and descents as I made my way towards my final destination and sleeping quarters for the evening: Low Gap Shelter. As I walked into the area, Brains had already set up camp and was giving me the lay of the land – where the shelter was located (we had to camp a small walk away as there were a lot of hikers in the area and not enough room to accommodate us all near the shelter area), where I could find the stream, and how to get to the privy. After setting up my tent and getting prepared for an evening’s rest, I made my way to the shelter where a number of other hikers were eating, refilling their water supply, and conversing amongst themselves about their individual journeys so far. Because there were so many people there this evening, it’s hard to recall everyone that I came across. Most were thru hikers, and the majority of those were solo – I’d say 40% were female.

Because of my earlier discovery regarding my failed water filter, I was able to enlist some help to backwash my filter (didn’t work) and then ultimately borrow one to refill my water supply for the night and the following day. This was made available by a hiker named Vortex, who had hiked the entire PCT (Pacific Coast Trail) the year before. The PCT is approximately 500 more miles than the AT, so the chances that she would complete her goal was more than possible. Later, it was found out that she got the name Vortex from hiking 50+ consecutive days on the PCT without taking a “zero,” day. This is unheard of for most thru hikers.

Wrapping up my day after a dinner of instant mashed potatoes and tuna, followed by a few miniature Snickers bars, I made my way back to the tent to do some relaxation and reading before I was both A) tired enough to doze off and B) it was dark enough for me to do so without feeling like I was wasting the evening. This is one of the few, if only, internal conflicts I’ve found when on the trail; even though the day’s mileage could end up in the double-digits, I would be done with that mileage early enough that, technically, I could hike on, but physically too exhausted to do so. When setting up camp between 2:00 – 5:00p, it’s not always easy to keep yourself occupied during that time before you feel ready to go to sleep for the evening. There’s a reason they call 8:00p “hikers midnight.”

After a fairly uneventful night of sleep, I got out of the tent the next morning to see that most of my fellow compadres had already packed up and began their respective long days. I made my way back to the shelter for a bite of oatmeal and some teeth-brushing, followed by an a.m. trip to the privy before breaking down my gear and setting off for my second day on the trail. I bid farewell to a few of the straggler (one of which being Survivor, who kept me awake half the night with snoring and moaning), wishing them well and looking forward to seeing a few at the next shelter.

Low Gap Shelter to Blue Mountain Shelter – 7.3 miles

Although this day would see the least mileage, it was definitely the hardest of my 4-day adventure. As I set out from Low Gap, the first 3 miles or so was fairly flat with very little hills to climb. What’s interesting about this statement, as I would find out by my 4th day, is that it’s not so much the climbing of the hills that got to me, but the descents of those hills. Imagine – day after day, mile after mile with an extra 30 pounds on your back and your feet continuously pounding the earth on a decline. There are very few people I see out on the trail without trekking poles, but for those that don’t take advantage of them, I honestly don’t know how they do it. Trekking poles turned out to be the least of my worries, however, when I came upon the last two miles of this day’s trip

Already tired at 5ish miles in, the day was shaping up to be hotter than the one before as I found myself navigating some fairly treacherous rocks as I neared the end of my jaunt. Hiking on even ground is one thing; I can even manage having to finagle my way around some roots and gravel for most of the day, but these rocks provided a whole new level of complication that I was not prepared for. I was already moving at a slow 2mph clip – knowing that I had just a few miles left to go and being forced to slow down even more was a hit to the ol’ mentality. By this point I just wanted to be done. Luckily, I spotted the last watering hole up ahead which was just a few hundred yards from my stop for the day, Blue Mountain Shelter. I meandered around for a few minutes talking with some other hikers about the difficulty of those last few miles, then headed up the last hill of the day to welcome my reprieve.

Jan (aka Slow and Steady) was the shelters only resident when I arrived and, man, was she was a humbling sight. 70-something years old, she was sporting a shirt that read “When people ask me about my retirement plan, I tell them…… I’m hiking it!” She was a spunky broad who shared with me her history of hiking with her sisters and other family members several times a year for a number of decades until the others’ lost interest. She states she is now one of the only people in her family that continues to hike. When asked if she was a section or thru hiker, Slow and Steady explained that she was out on the AT “trying to get as far as I can until I can’t go anymore.” She admitted to being slow, hence her trail name, stating she hikes no more than 5-8 miles per day, trying to go from shelter to shelter. Once again, I had to ask for assistance with refilling my water supply, and she was all too happy to oblige while handing me her filter.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, we had a number of other hikers set up camp. “Cables” was a 44-year-old solo thru hiker who shared with me, nonchalantly as we ate dinner, that he “technically still has cancer.” He explained that he was diagnosed recently and was going to try some homeopathic remedies for his ailment before succumbing to radiation or chemotherapy. He said his plan was to thru hike in order to “figure some stuff out,” in his life while his wife and two children stayed back at home in Asheville, NC. He told me that he supported himself as a cook, and that he learned this trade over time as he was homeless for two years and had to do something in order to survive.

I spent most of the afternoon reading in my tent and taking a small nap. Since I had had a rough day of it I wasn’t up for much socializing, even though a small group had gathered around a fire, while another bunch hung out in and around the shelter. That’s another great thing about these hikes – you can spend a little bit of time getting to know the others, then retreat to your own space for a while without anyone judging you or labeling you as “anti-social.” “Hike your own hike,” is a common phrase in the community, meaning you do things your way and I’ll do things mine. This pertains to anything from distance and speed on the actual trail, to how you choose to set up your camp at the end of the day. Wanna take a “zero day?” You do you, Boo. Wanna carry a gallon jug of water in your hand (true story) rather than invest in a bladder for your pack? Go for it. There is no other place I can think of that is so accepting of everyone doing their own thing their own way than on the trail.

Blue Mountain to Tray Mountain Shelter – 8.1 miles

After getting a much better nights sleep, I got started 30 minutes earlier to try to beat some of the heat. It was going to get into the 80’s that day, and I was already beginning to feel the effects of a sunburn I developed over the past few days. I headed out on my trek and began playing leap frog with a couple of young guys I recognized from the camp the night before. I didn’t see many people on the trail this day and was hoping for a faster hike now that those rocks were behind me.

During my day-hiking trip to the area in October, I did a small section from Unicoi Gap to Indian Grave Gap, which is a steep, 2.5--mile section of the trail. This same section was upon me now and I wasn’t looking forward to a repeat performance. If I knew that it wouldn’t cost much money and I was able to get a ride from one side of that mountain to the other, I would’ve bypassed it this time around. This is where my frugality and impatience come in handy, as I wasn’t willing to both shell out money and wait for a shuttle, so I continued on this path as my heart raced continuously for a good hour straight as I trudged up one side and down the other.

When I got to the bottom I met up with the two guys from earlier who were taking a break before ascending Tray Mountain. Both were named Matt and were from the Atlanta area. They were roommates and spoke of keeping busy with a lot of outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, rock climbing and the such. They asked about my trail name, and I explained that I was given one last year (Mom), but that I didn’t like it much so was waiting on a new one. When I asked the same of them, Matt #1 said that his initials were M.D. and so he had named himself “Doc.” On the drive to the trail they had passed a road called Rancho, and so Matt #2 had decided this would be his trail name; no significance, he said, just that it sounded like a good name. We talked a bit longer, hitting on the fact that Tray Mountain was going to be another good climb, however, not as steep as the section we just completed – although a bit longer at 3 miles. They took off ahead of me and I wasn’t far behind as I finished up another Kind bar, chugged some water, and set out to finish up this day’s adventure.

The remainder of my day-3 hike was fairly unremarkable, other than a few good views. There was definitely some climbing, but the lack of steepness of this mountain helped keep me moving at a pretty good clip. I was still getting beat on by the sun, and with my arms positioned at a constant 90-degree angle due to holding my trekking poles, the tops of my forearms were getting the brunt of it. As I made my way into camp I saw Doc and Rancho relaxing in the shelter. There was a couple with them who had just stopped for a quick break and water refill, who were soon on their way. The answer I most often hear when I ask if someone is a thru hiker is, “that’s the plan.” Maybe it’s some sort of jinx to say “Yes,” when there’s so much distance to cover. When you think about it, it’s a very appropriate answer given anything can happen over a 6-month period, especially this early in the game. This couple was planning on completing their own thru hike, so it didn’t surprise me to hear this same response from them.

As the three of us now relaxed in the shelter, we were met by Bear Bag. He was a talkative fella who brought along a beer (surely hot by now) to enjoy after his days journey – a bit shorter than ours as he started at Unicoi Gap rather than Blue Mountain Shelter. After borrowing Rancho’s water filter to refill my bags, I sat down to another dinner of instant mashed potatoes and tuna – my third serving of this by now, and of which I was getting a bit tired of consuming. Vortex soon showed up with her boyfriend Nick (no trail name), who were now catching up after taking off into town the day before. Bear Bag took the liberty of sticking his foot in his mouth by asking if they were on a “Father/son or guys trip,” to which Vortex announced that they had never heard that one before. Vortex laughed it off as she explained that she often gets mistaken for a 15-year-old boy, but clarified that she is, in fact, a female. This was a mistake that Bear Bag would continue to bring up as we hiked off the trail the following day.

Since I still had a lot of time to kill before bed, I laid out my mylar blanket and was reading a David Sedaris book in the sun –which at this point felt good since a breeze had now moved in and I had changed into my long-sleeved sleepwear. Bear Bag had set up his hammock a few yards from me, and as he made his way back and forth between his home away from home and the shelter he says, “I think I have a trail name for you, but I don’t know if you’ll like it.” Intrigued, “what’s that,” I asked? “Senior Discount,” was his reply, “Because you eat dinner at 4 o’clock.” At this explanation I had to chuckle. He wasn’t wrong, and it was much more suitable to me than “Mom,” so I decided to keep it.

Tray Mountain to Dicks Creek Gap – 11 miles

My original plan for this hike was to spend a fourth night after 7.5 miles, and then hike out the next morning. However, after three nights of sleeping in a tent, it was difficult to convince myself to stay the extra night, especially knowing I could hike out on this day and be done. By this point I was sore, smelly, sunburned and ready to eat anything other than products that included the words Idaho or Starkist on the label. Additionally, one of my tent poles had broken the day before, and although this didn’t necessarily hamper my ability to sleep in the tent, my already-claustrophobic quarters were made even more so with the depleted head room. I knew that 11 miles may be tough, but I was hoping that the excitement of my completed journey, coupled with thoughts of a shower and a soft bed would keep my motivation going.

By now, my fourth day on the trail, my feet had formed quite a few blisters and kept coming back no matter how many times they got popped. I had brought along some Trail Toes to apply the morning before my hikes, but I had somehow missed packing it back up after my second night and so it became a sacrifice to the Blue Mountain Shelter. Either that or another, needier hiker would stumble upon it and consider it just the kind of trail magic she needed. My arms and shoulders were getting more burned by the day, and my feet were feeling the extra weight with each and every step – especially on the downhills. As I approached the half-way mark I came upon Bear Bag who was taking a breather before making his way up the steepest and longest climb of the day. At 5.3 miles in I also took advantage of a break and munched on some GORP and downed some lukewarm water – another backpacking staple that I was looking forward to not consuming again for a long time.

Although he took off ahead of me, I soon caught up and it was he and I playing leap frog this time around. I tended to be faster on the up-hills, while he was well versed in the descents. I planned to take a bit of a break at the next shelter, which would have been my original stopping point, but after going 100 feet down a blue-blazed hill and not seeing a structure anywhere in sight, I made my way back to the AT and took another break upon a log. This was just 2 miles or so past my last stopping point, but my body was feeling the effects of so many consecutive days of hiking and I needed the rest.

Taking off again there was just one more hill to go up, followed by an even longer walk down the other side. This is where I slowed way down due to the pounding on my soles as well as my knees. I was trying to put as much weight on my hiking poles as I could with every small step forward, but this strategy was doing very little to ease the aching as my dogs continued to bark. Once again, I was passed by Bear Bag who decided to cut his hike short and was looking to get a ride back to his car some miles away. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to oblige him as I was staying in town that evening before driving half-way home the next morning. Besides, I was about to take my third and final break before finishing up my trip and he would’ve been well past me by the time I got out of the forest and back into civilization.

Coming upon Dicks Creek Gap I began to hear vehicles in the distance and knew I was getting close to my car. It’s fairly common to have your car parked in or near the lot where you plan to end your hike, get shuttled to your starting point and then walk back to your transportation. If anything, it’s more motivation to keep on the trail, as some gaps don’t cross busy roads, aren’t accessible to cars or don’t have good phone service, so there’s little to no chance of hitching a ride or calling a shuttle – you really don’t have a choice but to keep trudging along. Given all of the beautiful nature I had seen, as well as the disconnect from the outside world I have to admit: there was no sweeter sight that day than when I finally stepped onto the pavement and saw my Corolla - beckoning me to come sit on its soft leather seats.

Days on the trail: 4
Miles completed: 38
Blisters: 6
Overall experience: Immeasurable

Aftermath – A cousin of mine also wants to section hike the AT, and we had a plan to go out on her first venture in August. After struggling with the May heat, however, we both agreed that we would move our vacation back to mid-September to keep from making our journey any harder than it has to be. I also discovered that 3 nights on the trail, and 4 days of hiking is just about my limit, so we’ll be cutting our over-zealous plan back by a few days and completing a shorter trip just like this one. I will need to invest in a different filter as mine is still not working despite getting it home and back-flushing it numerous time. I will also be looking into a new pole for my tent – either that or dealing with the extra 3 pounds of my two-person accommodations.

Luckily, I didn’t see any ticks on my person either during or after this trip. There were also no bear or snake siting’s either, which is a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. This was a much different experience than my initial voyage in April 2017 – not only because of the two additional days, but also because of the weather; the lack of rain made for some pretty good covered distances, which is exactly what I was hoping for. As usual, I cannot mention how great of an experience it is to hike the AT without focusing some of my attention on my fellow hikers. I’ve always said that hikers are some of the kindest people you will ever meet, and this opinion still holds true. Everyone was so willing to lend me a hand when my filter went on the fritz and were great company to keep at the end of a long, hot day. We were all in this together. Some of us were out there for only a short while, as others were making their way to Maine. Regardless, I am truly blessed to get to experience this adventure with a group of like-minded people who are out there hiking their own hike. Good luck to the AT class of 2018!

Training/Race Reports for April and May

Obviously, I have had a horrible time keeping up with this blog for the past month-and-a-half. April was a bad month as far as weather is concerned. During the Papa John’s 10-miler it was 30 degrees and snowing the whole race. Despite the cold weather, I had a great time and my mentor, Jeff, kept me company and finishing strong with 4:1 intervals the whole way.

The KDF mini (my 35th half-marathon) came next just three weeks later, and we saw some beautiful temps in the mid-sixties throughout the day. I felt like I had put in some good training runs leading up to the race, and gave a solid performance, coming in at around 2:26. I know this time is considered slow for a lot of folks, but with my PR days long behind me, I’m happy to get ‘er done in under 2:30 for a race of this distance.

Ironman 70.3 training officially started last week, and I’m off to a stellar start so far. My first swim consisted of 1500 meters at a 3:00/1000m pace. VERY SLLLOWWW – but…. at least I know that I can get in a distance such as this on my first time out all season. Now I just have to keep it going for the next 2.5 months in order to finish Ohio within the cut-off time. My last 70.3 (and 70.3 attempt before a DNF on the bike) resulted in about a 55-minute 1.2 miler, so if I can pull that off this year then I’ll be okay with that time. What’s the saying? Nobody wins a race with the swim?? Not that I’m winning any races regardless, but… you get the point.

Throo The Zoo 5k was just this past Saturday, with an additional 5 miles tacked on afterwards on what had to have been one of the hottest runs I’ve ever completed. Despite starting at 8 a.m., the race was warm from the start and only got hotter for the additional hour after the finish. Given the heat and mild humidity, I was able to pull out a 12 min/mile pace – something that I’m almost embarrassed to admit but, considering I had just ran a 5k race and had a 35-mile bike the next day, I was accepting of since I wasn’t planning to push myself too hard. During the first week of official training my goal was to simply get in the time/miles – and that I did.

What really solidified some confidence for me this first week of training was my bike the following day. I had only done two days of biking leading up to it (15 and 25 miles, respectively), and planned on a 35-miler with my training partner, Ericka. Cycling from my condo, I put in about 4.5 miles before reaching the Big 4 Bridge where we met up for an additional 12.5 out-and-back on a long, straight path with very few obstacles such as turns or stop-signs to slow us down. It wasn’t until the last 3 miles or so that we saw some minor hills.

I am historically horrible at keeping my nutrition up on the bike – I cannot seem to force myself to eat, and have a hard time remembering to drink if I’m not feeling the heat, so I can bonk pretty quickly and out of nowhere if I’m not careful. Because I know this about myself I made an effort during this ride to be more aware of my intake. I had a banana prior to the ride, and then sipped on 24 ounces of Infinit throughout the journey. I did have an additional water bottle that I also took in, but that bottle was still mostly full when I arrived back home. At the turn-around point I took in a GU just for good measure. I was so in awe with how good I felt as we headed back home, however, I also know that feeling good at the half-way point doesn’t always mean I’ll be feeling as great near the end, so I didn’t want to take it for granted. Luckily, I did feel about as good as I could have hoped to feel on a 35-mile route, and even managed to keep an even pace up the last hill about a mile or so from the condo.

I had mentioned to a few people this year that I may be retiring from triathlon after Ohio in July. With my new goal starting last year of hiking the Appalachian Trail, as well as wanting to focus on strength training and continued long runs, I wasn’t (am not) sure I want to take away from those things to put towards the time and effort that triathlons require. I may feel differently after my Olympic race in June, followed by my “A” race in Ohio, but right now I’m feeling so good during my training that I don’t know if it’s something I’ll ever truly give up. Spoken like a newbie during just the first week though, right? Ask me again in 3 weeks and I might be ready to throw in the towel. Regardless of what I end up doing overall, I’m enjoying it for what it is right now, and am committed to putting in a real effort to finish my second 70.3.

Now that we have the race/training report out of the way, I will need to spend some time gathering data for my Give it Up challenge for the month of April. I wasn’t nearly as diligent in that area this past month as I should have been, but I’ve had a lot going on. No excuses, though. I also need to write about my second section hike of the Appalachian Trail, from which I just returned less than 2 weeks ago. Even with all of the difficulty of that goal, I still plan to finish the entire duration one slow, small section at a time. Details of that trip are to follow soon.