Got an early start with Nate. Drove to the summer TH in the Corolla and it did great, as the road is in pretty good condition. There were a surprising amount of cars which required us to park down the road a little bit, crowded like a Saturday and way more cars than last Friday.
Nate was ready to go, so he hit the trail, as I took care of some business in the woods and took my time getting ready and warming up a bit. Began my run at 7:51am and it felt like I had started off a bit hot. I backed off a some and was able to regain my composure along the flatish section below Kelso. I was moving good, but I could tell I was not at my best and had a sneaking suspicion that a PR was not in the cards today. I continued to push myself, running when I could, but power-hiking often on the upper sections. I eventually caught up to Nate not too far below the summit and he put up a strong effort, running more than I was for sure, but my legs were about had and I was stooped over, hands on knees and breathing very hard. Relieved to see the vacant summit, I collapsed on a rock in a heap, huffing and catching my breath after a 55:58 ascent (~1:20 shy of PR).
Nate arrived a few minutes after and with only a minute or two pause, we began the traverse to Torreys. The rocks were a bit wet from a very recent hailstorm/rainstorm, but the “super-computer” was firing at full speed and I made quick work of it. Crossed the very low point of the saddle in 5:18 and felt pretty solid heading up Torreys and topped out in 15:18, which was a traverse PR for me by 20 seconds. I could see that Nate was not on his way up, so figuring he had cut off at the saddle, so I turned on the jets to chase him down. Arrived back at the saddle in 4:??, then ripped the descent until I caught him at around 13k. I was feeling good and having a fun time with the down, so after a few words, kept on cranking back to the TH, setting a descent PR of 34:57.
Though I missed PR up Grays by 1:20, I was not at all disappointed, as I was not really committed to it from the start. I am really feeling acclimated, especially on the traverse to Torreys, it really felt smooth and effortless (OK, not really, but I felt very good). Everything seems to be coming together and I am looking forward to August 21st.
Splits:
Summer TH 0:00
Sign: 17:??
Kelso cutoff: 22:05
Grays Summit: 55:58
Grays to Torreys: 15:18
Torreys back to TH: 34:57
Total RT: 1:46:14
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