Hoka One One Contest!

you may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.....
I enter a lot of online contests for various things, running stuff, home stuff, hgtv dream home ( i want that one bad!).... and have never won a thing, ok my name did get drawn out of the hat for a bear bell at a race so there was that, but you can say I was a little shocked when I opened my email last thursday to find this!

Congrats Elizabeth!
You are the winner of some Hoka Mafates!
Please email me your size and shipping info.  I suggest going up half
a size from your regular shoes.
Great pics, would you be ok with us posting your entry on our blog?
Thanks!
Christine

I am anxiously awaiting their arrival! they no doubt are funny looking boogers, and will most definetly accentuate my size 10 platform, but don't judge a book by it's cover, right? and they aren't the typical "minimal" shoe on the market today, but quite the opposite with ample cushioning :) they are also way out of my price range for a running shoe, so part of me secretly hopes I don't like them because I won't be able to afford another pair, haha. I'm really excited to try them and if they make me run like Karl Meltzer then I will seek out a second job for my shoe fund :) 

http://hokaoneonena.blogspot.com/

Happy National Running Day!

It is super convenient that National Running Day falls on Wednesday which is the one day of the week I pretty much always run on : ) my weekday running tends to be nonexistent at times, so I like to be consistent on Wednesdays. I know I've said it before but I love heading to Damascus once a week to run with the IMTR gang. Our little figure 8 route on the Iron Mtn and AT just never gets old. This spring the mountain laurel have been especially spectacular. I wish I had a picture to share, but this one from a couple years ago will have to suffice. I charged the camera up last week and forgot to carry it which means I also missed the opportunity to capture Eric Grossman in all his heat training glory, pants, jacket, and all....

Mountain Laurel - AT Damascus

So a lot has gone down since my last post.... Lots of great running fun to celebrate on this "holiday" lets see...



Trestle #7 - Virginia Creeper Trail 2009

 JJ and I volunteered at the Creeper Marathon the day after Terrapin which is always fun, but on a not so fun note I should mention that a month after that weekend our area was hit by several tornado's (very odd) the bridge that is located at the 11/16 mile mark of the Creeper Marathon is where we have volunteered for the past 3 years. It was destroyed on April 28th. It was built in the 1800's, was 650 feet long and 50 feet high. I have gone over this trestle countless times and it will never be the same. RIP Trestle #7 you will be greatly missed. More pictures of the trail 2010 and the trestle after the storm. There are plans to reconstruct the trestle in some fashion TBD. https://picasaweb.google.com/Iron.Mtn.Trail.Runners/Creeper2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCNad1sHaiOHxAw&feat=directlink

Trestle #7 after the tornado April 28th 2011

4/2- Jenny and I did a loop a Steeles Creek Park- nice change of scenery
4/3- JJ and I did a new loop from FS832- Saunders Trl, AT, creeper, Taylors Valley Trl. Great new training route and always fun to explore something new, around 14 miles.
4/9- Trip to Louisville KY- ran with a local group from the Trail Store.
4/16- Cross Mountain Run - Rick, Dana, Clifton, Tammy.
4/17- Martha and Doug came over from Todd, NC to run with JJ, Jenny and I. Dam8 in reverse.
4/23- PROMISE LAND 50K - love this race. had so much fun. such a beautiful course.

Got to finish within a couple minutes of some of my favorite people

5/1- Rush Creek Loop w/ Jenny, JJ, Joey, and Mike with a great fried chicken lunch by the river afterwards.

Enjoying one of the many steam crossing going up Wrights Hollow

5/14- Massanutten 100 miler. Paced and crewed for Rick. https://picasaweb.google.com/Iron.Mtn.Trail.Runners/MMT?authkey=Gv1sRgCIvFl7mk-9HdlgE&feat=directlink

5/21- Ran from Cross Mtn to Damascus on the IMTR w/ Dennis. Mike Day and Brandon Thrower were in town running also.
5/28- Government Road Loop w/ Rick- always humbles me. thought it would be good training for Grandfather Marathon with all of the gravel road. my legs could certainly feel it on Sunday.

We are heading to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky this weekend to do some exploring so I hope to get a run in there, if you've ever been and have suggestions of trails let me know.
 I'm sad I'm going to miss the Varmint 1/2 Marathon on June 11th. It's such a special and incredibly tough race, with the coolest "trophy" around. I highly recommend it.

Jenny and I with our sheep 2010

Highland Sky 40 miler is right around the corner on June 18th!

Terrapin 50K 2011

Location: Sedalia Virginia
RD: Clark Zealand
Elevation: 7560 / 7560 ft
Shoes: Pearl Izumi Synchro Fuel XC
Socks: Injinji
Patagonia shorts and top, Nathan Pack, smart wool gloves
Consumed: 6 Vanilla Gu, some honey stinger fruit smoothie chews, 3 nuun, maybe 4 scaps, a choc chip cookie, 3 grapes, one sip of coke and a 5 hr energy.

Prelude: Rick & Tammy Gray, Will Jorgenson and myself spent a sleepless but laughter filled night at the Super8 in Bedford. I will definitely be camping @ Promise Land this year :) We met up with Jenny Nichols in the parking lot @ 5:30 a.m. and drove to the Sedalia Center. I realized after 1 bathroom trip before the ride over and 2 once we arrived at the start that I might be in trouble. I forced down some Pepto and a tums, made my way to the start, Clark hit the GONG>>>>>> and we were off on another adventure. I love the gong at the start!

The Hellgate part of the course photo-Blanks Blankinship

Start-AS1(4.1miles)  We hit the pavement and the excitement everyone has been bottling up since their last race burst down the country road. I said hellos and good mornings as we made our way to the trail and I spotted Robin Grossman in the pack. I hadn't seen her before the start so I was happy I was able to give her a good luck hug and run with her a bit. Jamie Darling came along trying to run and take a layer off and run at the same time so I offered a hand and held her pack while she ditched the long sleeves. It wasn't long before we hit the rocks and began to climb. I watched both of them disappear up the trail. I felt slow in this first section but then again it always takes me a while to get going, when I look now at the splits, compared to last year I realized that in all reality it actually was slower, 3 min. slower!

 AS1-AS3 (5.3miles) I reached camping gap and tried not to even blink. I had worn my pack to try and avoid wasting time at aid stations (yes i am very guilty of this) so I turned down the gravel road knowing I could make up some time on the downhill. I scared Marc Griffin and almost made him fall as I yelled out his name. I was surprised to see him and knew he must being having an off day if I had caught up to him. He had also observed he was much slower on the first climb this year? and was having some cramping and leftover congestion from a nasty cold he had been fighting. I knew something was up :) so we cruised down the gravel road. I enjoyed chatting with several people on the way down, then I hit the pavement and started feeling crappy. My shoulders and arms were killing me?? stomach muscles super tight and uncomfortable?? i tried relaxing just letting things flow....what in the world?? Will came by and then Grattan so i had some distraction and we hit AS#3!! a chance to walk, if only for a couple minutes, ahhhhhh :) so after some post race analyzing, the answer to feeling a little crappy in this section was easily explained by the numbers 5.3 miles @ 6:47 pace = some distress, haha. The body is smart, it knows when your trying to do something stupid and it's not afraid to speak up.

 AS3-AS5 (7 miles)  I took a minute leaving AS3 to recover from that "road race" section but quickly convinced myself that if I wanted to improve from my time in 2010 I would have to work harder in this section and not get lazy. It's gravel road that is at such an incline that it is still completely runnable but steep enough to tire you out and make you want to walk. I played the "run to that pink ribbon" game in this section to keep motivated and listened to a bit of music. Run-walk, run-walk, repeat until my favorite section of Terrapin, this stretch and is part of the Hellgate course I believe. Nice technical single track, the downhill is heavenly. I relished every minute as I knew we would soon be back on the gravel road back up to camping gap. I'll just focus on the positive things I remember about coming back up the gravel road...
1.I love that every year there is someone out on this section picking up trash, giving back. We all need to follow his example and take care of these places that are so important to us.
2. I met Mark Iscool in this section and enjoyed chatting with him. It was his first time running Terrapin and he was stoked about it. I dig his overall attitude about trail races.
3.ok there weren't a ton.



Me, Eric Fogleman, and Marc Griffin leaving the WHOR Loop - by Blanks Blankinship

  AS5-AS6 (the WHOR loop 5.7miles)  Lots of things were good about the WHOR loop despite the name. JJJ was working camping gap and boy was I glad to see him there. He broke into a jog with me as I headed into the loop, reporting that Rick and Jenny were maybe 5 min. ahead.  After he turned back to continue his aid station duties I ran into Eric Fogleman, always nice to see a familiar face even if I did call him Todd for several miles, sorry Eric :) rest assured I will remember next time! I climbed up the loop alone and was feeling it, I got out some chewies and tried to get some down. It was fun watching the speedy guys who had already come out of the loop as we were headed in.
 I could see Guy Love up ahead, he is an abingdonian too! but as I would catch a glimpse of him, he would be gone around the next turn. Luckily Marc caught me and kept me entertained with stories of his years of competitive skating. super neat! I had no idea there was inline skating of that caliber. We came out of the loop and cheered on the other runners who were going into the loop. Eric caught us coming down the gravel road and I really enjoyed swapping stories with those two as we made our way back to camping gap for the 3rd and final time.

IMTR peeps mixed with VHTRC peeps

Finish Line photo by Eric Grossman

AS6-AS7 - I had to stop at camping gap and refill my pack. JJJ was super helpful here and I pulled out my 5hr energy in preparation for the climb up terrapin. Golly Gee and a bunch of 4 letter words later I made it to the top and out to the rock & the punch. I'm sure Marc and Eric were sick of hearing me huff and puff and sigh and moan. The view from the punch this year was great even though it was so overcast. No time to dilly dally though, what goes up must come directly back down, DOWN, yes!!thank you, thank you. Gravity is my best friend. We scooted down the trail and dipped thru Fat Mans Misery and just as I grabbed for the punch, Jenny pops over a rock??? "I forgot the punch" she said. I grabbed for her bib and punched it and followed her back over the rock. Just as we popped over the rock I realized Guy was also running back to the punch! bummer. I see people do it every year though.
 Jenny quickly informed me we were 3rd and 4th female?? really??awesome!  it hadn't crossed my mind that there would be a chance to possibly place. I'll have to say after I gave it some thought, as Annette would say, my dorsal fin emerged. I'm not super competitive but I decided I would work hard to maintain. I had hoped by this point I would have caught up to Rick and could hang on his coat tail as I have in the past. He is so awesome at the end of a race to keep you focused and hammer out those last miles. He has been running so strong lately that I haven't had that luxury. So I turned on some tunes and just focused on getting to the next aid station. Eric told me a hilarious story about he and his wife paddling when we got to the uber steep part of the rock garden that took my mind off those stupid rocks. As we descended into the last aid station I saw Rick! no way I could catch him but it was great to just see him for a minute.
I tried to make it quick at the aid station and head right back out. I love the last section of trail, how it winds around the side of the mountain at a gentle grade with wide open views of the countryside to your left, it's beautiful. I died on this section last year and felt like a zombie, but this year I felt stronger, more focused. I was digging deep, trying not to take walk breaks and one of my favorite john butler songs, ragged mile, came on my ipod. Perfect! thanks to Jenny for turning me on to this album! I ran along just happy as a clam.. Marc caught up to me and quietly passed by, we had yoyo'd back and forth so many times throughout the day, I tried to keep him in sight but he steadily moved on. **I don't typically wear a watch and if I do I tend to forget I have it on. I can never remember to start the timer at the beginning of a race. I have to say I was happy I had remembered to put it on this time. I happened to look down and realize we had been out around 5:30. hmm it would be nice to break 6hrs. I'm not sure how far we have left exactly but....**
   I caught up to Jack Broaddus and was happy to chat with him, we just recently met at Catawba. We finally "charged" thru the last creek crossing and hit the road. I tried channeling Rick, imagining him in front of me looking back giving me that come on, you can do this! We passed the mile to go sign and I glanced at my watch, we can do this, we can break 6! after turning the corner on the final stretch I remembered back to 2009 when John Bocek and I walked that last little rise before the finish. I've learned a lot since then and still have plenty left to figure out.
 I was thrilled to finish under 6hrs and 3rd female. It's still a far cry from some of the top times put down at Terrapin by fast chicks like Justine Morrison, Jenny Anderson, Donna Elder, and Sara Angel (2011 winner) but there is always room for improvement!  2009- 6:28 2010- 6:01 2011-5:53

Sara Angel (1st), me, Sophie Speidel (2nd)

The IMTR Gang

Nice Green Bag to match my green jacket

Catawba Run Around

I don't know how many times we've said we need to plan a trip to go up and run around McAfee's Knob. Heck it's even on the AT license plate for my home state and I pay extra to display it on the back of my car every year and I've never even been there!  So when Sophie sent the link to the Catawba Run Around I thought it best to go ahead and take that run off the to do list, but!!!! the weekend after Mitchell??? was I really going to feel like running a 50K the weekend after Mitchell?? A 50K where some of the finishing times for fast runners were over 8 hrs!! sounds like a horrible idea right? how i made it sound like a good idea in my head...the times must be slow because they were just lolly gagging and taking pictures and enjoying the views.... It will be a fun leisurely run with some great folks and we will get that awesome shot on top of McAfee's that we've always dreamed of...it's such a great group.....and dinner at the homeplace afterwards will be icing on the cake.....




What I hadn't planned on was getting sick the week after Mitchell. Tuesday afternoon the sneezing started, then the itchy watery eyes, nasal congestion, fever, and tiredness. I started immediately trying to fight it with hot tang/russian tea (ricks cold remedy), emergenC, vitamins, zicam, mucinex, whatever I could get my hands on. Friday I was still feeling it but decided to go along even if I decided not to run I could maybe just help with aid or do a short hike? I met Rick and "Dr. Doug" and around 6pm and we made it to the hotel around 8:30. Just to add to the frustration, on the way up I began to cough and when I laid down to bed it just got worse. Luckily Rick had some cough drops, but I just worried I would keep them up all night and that it was an even worse decision to run. "Dr. Doug" assured me Saturday morning that running would be the best Medicine so with his approval I geared up and hoped for the best. Long story short, I survived and it probably was the best medicine. While running I was worried that I had made a mistake. Being wet and at times cold and exposed to the wind a lot, my throat started giving me trouble. There were so many times I wanted to talk and joke but it just wouldn't come out. As soon as I stopped running (sucking wind), got dry cloths on and out of the wind things immediately improved. It was a long tough day but we had a blast. Rick, Jenny, Doug Sullivan, Snipper and I spent the entire day together frolicking in the fog. We were disappointed that we didn't get the fantastic views that drew us to the run in the first place, but we'll keep coming back if nothing else for another opportunity to spend a wonderful day in the woods. one day we'll just get lucky and get that McAfee's knob shot we have always dreamed of :)

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Mount Mitchell Challenge 2011

Well I have to say the 1st race of 2011 went down much better than I had imagined. I've been battling nagging little pains here and there since Hellgate and have not gotten the training in I needed to tackle 40 miles with much optimism. I was hoping Mo's Birthday run the last weekend in January would be a confidence builder and solid training run for Mitchell but it was the complete opposite. I felt sluggish, struggling to keep with the group, by the time we reached the turn around I new i was toast. My ankles were killing me and I knew the return trip wouldn't be of much benefit so I called it a day. I hadn't run more than 17 miles since hellgate going into Mitchell and I envisioned reaching the parkway in pain and having to drop down to the marathon. I was ok with that and with my training it was all I could really expect.

The weather forecast was looking very promising after 2 years of epicness I was ready for a break. The trail was to be clear except for a few areas of ice at the top, reports were that what was there was bullet proof and might warrant the use of traction devices. I was looking forward to not wearing a pack but decided to use one to carry the microspikes, a wind shirt, extra perpetuem, gels, etc. it is much lighter without the bladder and it came in handy once I shed a layer. I decided on capri's, short sleeve shirt, arm sleeves, fleece headband and a light capilene long sleeve. smartwool socks and pearl izumi syncrofuel xc.

It was strange to make it to the starting line feeling comfortable, not worried about the weather. Hugs all around and before I could blink we were off on another grand adventure. I was feeling relaxed and happy to be surrounded by so many people I love and the chance to meet new people along the way. One of my WNC favorites Dave Pryor and I ran down the road thru montreat admiring all the wonderful houses and catching up. Dave dropped at the summit in 2009, volunteered last year, so 2011 was his year! i knew he would have a good day and run strong. I hadn't been able to keep up with him on the last couple of training runs I'd seen him. He moved on ahead as I heard a "bear" behind me, a bear by the name of Dennis Norris. I was beginning to feel I had gone out to fast at this point and my legs were feeling heavy. Dennis and I both struggle to stay injury free and have trouble passing up fun for any type of serious training, haha. Dennis is super speedy and soon he was out of sight. I met a nice first time trail runner from Florida doing the marathon on the way up the last of the pavement before we turned onto the trail.

 This first section of trail is great, gentle runnable, beautiful, much more enjoyable than running up Appalachian Way which we had to do in 2010.  I tried to just get in a rhythm but it's hard because everyone bottlenecks into the single track and tend to get backed up when there are obstacles to pass. Downed trees, stairs, tricky footing. Before long we were headed up the toll road and things began to spread out, I did a mix of hiking and running, just enjoying all the rocks ; ) I came across Ashley Funderburk and another Charlotte runner and chatted with them which was nice as I was about over the toll road and ready to head up the state park rd and get a break from the rocks.

 I took out a hammer bar and munched as I climbed up the road, stopped and took a picture for someone, the views were incredible. nothing like the scene last year where we had to stay on the road all the way to the summit, fighting insane wind and freezing temps. so this year it was back on the buncombe horse trail, they guy in front of me pointed out a cut in the trees off in the distance that marked the spot where we would climb to the summit. As we ran along the horse trail he spotted a cell phone on the ground. I recognized it as the one I had used earlier to take a picture for someone. He picked it up and two steps later I looked to my right and saw the same guy in the woods taking a "break". We informed him we would leave the phone there on the trail for him :)  I was just relieved those award winning pictures I had taken weren't lost, whew. It wasn't long before a familiar set of legs came by, they were so familiar yet something seemed odd? the shorts, they were so short?  my eyes had not deceived me, it was in fact Doug, but dressed in a pair of Henrys shorts! then another great surprise came up the trail, Kathleen! I had been looking over my shoulder for these two all day. Doug motored on looking strong as Kathleen and I chatted it up, then another surprise, Dave was hot on our trail. We made our way up Commissary Ridge, waiting for all this bullet proof ice so we could break out the microspikes. We had a great little conversation about life and Dave and I reminisced about our 2009 adventure up Mitchell. It began to get slippery and we decided to slip on the microspikes. Luckily Kathleen had put hers on at the hotel because I never would have figured it out in my oxygen deprived stupor. They weren't totally necessary but did lessen the fear of falling. We popped out at the top and headed to the summit, got our numbers marked and decided to go all the way up to the observatory. I couldn't pass up the view. We were advised to keep the traction on until we were down the first part of the Black Mtn. Trail. This section is steep downhill, tons of rocks and roots. I stopped about half way down and took off the microspikes. I was happy to drop down on the gravel road, and get off the technical stuff for a while and enjoy some more views. The gravel road is the last notable climb, before the pounding downhill on the state road. My ankles were not happy as soon as they hit the pavement and the slightly banked downhill just added insult to injury. Maybe it was the overload of vitamin D after a long, dark, cold winter but heading towards the toll road I got really happy, as a guy I passed pointed out. I'm sure the aid station workers thought I was loony toons. I felt great rolling down the toll road, even the rocks couldn't get me down.  I got to run a bit with Stan but was mostly alone and decided to jam out to some tunes. I was stoked to make it to sourwood gap, have some quality beer and still be feeling good. I pushed that last section on the road and skipped the last aid station. It got hot on the road and of all times I didn't have a hat or sunglasses. I was so happy to see everyone at the finish, basking in the sun and the accomplishments of the day. A glimpse of spring on a february day was worth the two years of harsh conditions.

 In 2009 (epic weather) it took me 8:56:33 In 2010 (shortened  course) 7:31:39 and in 2011 - 7:32:54

SNOW



Tanawha 2009?



JJ and I had planned on joining the WNC runners on the Tanawha trail adventure this past Saturday, but with snowy forecasts for the area we decided to stick close to home. The Tanawha is an awesome trail if you ever get the chance to check it out don't pass it up. When I lived in boone back in the good ole college days before my running days I did many a hike there and on the Boone Fork Trail which connects up around Price Park. Such a great area for exploring and Price Park is a very popular picnic spot along the Blue Ridge Parkway where you can set up "base camp". Rick, Doug, Dennis and I did a Tanawha play day in 2009 and had a blast.

Friday night after making the final decision to stay home I contacted Joey who had shown interest in running around damascus and set up an alternative plan. I would pick JJ up @ 8:30, get to Joey's around 9am and then we would head up to do our Beartree Loop. Everything went according to plan and we were even able to drive the MINI to dtown and then hop in Joey's truck just in case the roads were worse on up the mountain. The ride up 58 along the creek was beautiful.

We got to FS832 (our normal parking/start/finish) and realized finding a place we could park without getting stuck was going to be a challenge. The entrance to Beartree was also deep and we weren't sure about blocking the entrance, beartree gap pullover was also deep so we thought maybe on down to the straight mtn. trailhead?? got there to find 2 VDOT trucks, 1 broken down and the other pulling out to plow on up towards Konnarock. He didn't advise we park there either as they might be coming back to try and tow the dead truck later on. We turned around and decided we would just have to make it work at beartree gap. 

We got "parked", geared up, and decided we would start up straight mountain first and end back at beartree gap with option to bail halfway and come back up the road. We ran back down the road to the vdot truck and headed up the trail.

WOW was the snow deep. We were all a little surprised at how much there was once you got back in the woods. I was immediately huffing and puffing. The climb up to the ridgeline was laborious but I remember back to summer and how it isn't easy then either and I'm usually hiking then as well. It started to snow again as we made out way up. We get to the top and the sky starts to break up giving quite the show of crystal blue sky, highlighting the grey snow covered ridges in the distance.  The wind was blustery on the ridgeline, and had created some nice drifts that ca

me up to my knees. Motivation to keep moving was the sweet downhill on the other side and as we approach the decent, Joey does a happy dance. I go on down to catch some video of he and JJ, breaking fresh snow on one of my favorite trails, so happy to be out. We can't stop trying to capture the splendor of it all with our digital devices, we want everyone who is missing out on this to be able to see it in all it's glory, but it's impossible.

We pop out at beartree lake and the sky is blue, seems like a nice spot for a group photo. We knock the heavy snow balls off our ankles and head up the road to the Shaw Gap Trl. One step and we realize this will be more like ice skating, the pavement underneath the snow is a sheet of ice. JJ takes a side to side approach to running up the road and I have to laugh as we weave back and forth single file fashion.

I grab my camera to document the train and I've already reached capacity (stupid small SD card). as I tuck the camera away for good I realize the beautiful blue sky has turned a dark grey, that didn't last long.  We pass thru the campsite that is normally home to the campground host to access the trail and we are in awe of the amount of snow piled up on the concrete picnic table.  I have to dream of the sweet downhill on beartree gap trl to propel me up to shaws gap. I just ate my only gel and I'm realizing its going to take more than 1 gel to get thru this?? We take a breather at shaws gap and I think it's a perfect chance to put down a snow angel. The guys don't humor me, something about it being to cold to get on the ground, huh sissy's. beartree gap trl is the beez kneez and as if I wasn't already pumped it started to SNOW again :) yippeee I think JJ was feeling it too because he leaving Joey and I in the dust. Joey came to the realization his hands were about frozen as we approached the road. I had some extra gloves so we did a switcharoo and got his phalanges nice and toasty again. That gel I had eaten was already burnt up so I pulled out some chewies when we got to the road. We passed up our chance to go back to the truck and headed on to FS832. It was slow moving up the road and I could feel my lack of calories catching up to me, I sensed that Joey might be dwindling as well as he eyed my chewies and asked if he could grab a few and then commented on how delicious they were, haha.

The last time Jenny and I ran this section I confirmed a "shortcut" trail that we had passed by many times so as we got close I suggested that maybe we should take it. Joey's eyes lit up at the mention of cutting it short and I was glad I wasn't alone. We cut over to the AT and headed back. There was some sweet downhill and one more climb/ridgeline scramble before we were back to the truck. Those last few steps I felt like a was carrying 10 lb weights on each ankle. I think we were out something like 3hrs.

I was warm the entire time in smartwool knee high ski socks, tights, pants, smartwool top, vest, patagonia torrent jacket, smartwool balaklava, hat with ear flaps, gloves. As soon as we stopped and started to strip off the wet cloths I was freezing, it was all I could do to get my shoes off my hands were iceburgs. I chugged some bolthouse farms cappuccino protein drink but was still about to die when we got to Whistlepig. I wanted one of everything on the menu but settled for a blackened hamburger with everything including jalapenos and some homemade onion rings that are to die for. Roger and Cindy the owners and Gypsy, one of our favorite locals laughed at our deteriorated state. I finally started to feel normal again after eating and enjoying a newcastle. The cold really takes it out of you, but it was worth every step!

Hellgate-2 Beth-0

Now that I've got your attention, this isn't going to be a blog about how I DNF'd at Hellgate again, but rather a celebration of what did go well in 2010!! I mean did you really want to hear about all that trudging along for 60 miles? booring.



Mt. Mitchell



January- I had an awesome time earning my crown at the Sultan's Birthday Run! and tons of fun running around in the snow.

February- I finished Holiday Lake and Mt. Mitchell 40, despite the ALL of the SNOW!





March - We had fun chasing Leprechauns around the Iron Mountains and I had a 30 min. PR @ Terrapin. Volunteered for the 3rd time @  the Creeper Trail Marathon.

Leprechaun Gang



April - Epic 42 Mile Night run leaving Damascus on the AT-S to Cross Mtn. connecting to the IMTR and finishing back in Damascus.  35 min PR @ Promise Land 50K

of the 9 starters only 5 would finish the 42 miles

Promise Land 50K

May - Great trip with Jenny and Mike Bailey to Capon Valley 50K, our first run there. Fun that you can camp and I was happy with a 5:11. We also had a great Memorial Day weekend helping Eric run a 3 day and then took off to SNP to run with Sophies group.

Cross Mtn. Day 2 of Erics High Country 3-Day

SNP Rip Rap Fun Run!

June - The Varmint 1/2, followed by the orange dot loop the next day, a great (new to me) run with Jenny and Rick from Iron Mtn Gap-Nolichucky on the AT, first time on the Holston Mountain Trl, and a consistent month of Wednesday night group runs. Great month of training, no racing.

July- 1st female @ Rattlesnake 50k, 15min PR there, 3rd time running that course and sadly the last.

Dirty Spokes 10k Beech Mtn. Mount Rogers run with Jenny. Iron Mountain group training run, back half of 50 mile course.

Rattlesnake

me getting schooled @ the 10K

August - Epic Roan Mountain adventure from Carvers-Dennis Cove. Todd Richardson Memorial 10k. Trip to Maine. Jennys birthday running of the Orange Dot loop with 3 BEARS!!

September - Sweeping the IMTR race. Eastman 10k. Bays Mountain 15 miler.
October - Stump Jump 50K. New River 50K volunteering. Incredible weekend of back to backs including government road loop and Elk Garden - Damascus on the AT. Masochist Training Run. Haunted Half.

Stump Jump 50K

November - 1hr. PR @ Masochist. Hellgate training run on Holston Mtn. w/ Rick. Bent Creek Gobbler. New York Trip.

2010 was great! and finishing 3rd Female in the LUS series was icing on the cake

There were so many great adventures and training runs, too many to list here. I get overwhelmed when I look back at my calender and photos and realize how much I was able to do in 2010. So lucky to live in an area where we can just run out our backdoor and hit the Creeper, AT, Iron Mountain Trail, Mt. Rogers, Roan Mountain, Whitetop. I look forward to doing it all again in 2011 and then some. I'm looking forward to doing more fun runs and maybe spending less $$ on organized races. There are a few favorites I can't pass up and few new ones I'd like to explore. Looking forward to making it back to more of the Adam Hill WNC group runs, I missed a lot of those last year due to weddings/travel. Gotta make it up to run with the Virginia Happy Trails again and with our friends over in West Virginia! I need to work on balance in 2011, more cross training and injury prevention. I'm slowly coming back from the damage done at Hellgate.
Got to do a fun New Years Day run with some IMTR peeps( check it out here http://jendenichols.blogspot.com/) and possibly venturing over for a run in Boone this weekend, weather permitting.  I hope everyone had an amazing 2010 and I look forward to seeing you in 2011!!!