After an involved trip to the dentist to have two fillings replaced and a crown put on, I was close to home and it was still somewhat early. With the cooler weather today, I decided to include Sierra, as she has been cooped up lately and called Tim at the last minute.
We met at the Cragmoor TH at 4:30pm and started off at a casual, but somewhat labored pace as I was still tight from my previous nights grudge run up/down Green Mountain and was preoccupied with my still novacained mouth and tongue.
A short ways up the Fern Canyon trail, we jumped off (left) onto the Slab access trail and took that to the upper/back side of the Slab. From there, we scampered up a steep spine of broken rock ledge and talus on the East face, nearly to the summit, where we found a lightly used access trail to the main trail just ~200 feet from the top. I have done this "route" a handful of times, but it was new for Tim. I could tell he was wondering where the heck I was leading him and was thinking we might spend the night out, kind of like our Winter Longs Peak trip last year.
1:06 up
???? down
Sierra
Sierra
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, 08/23/10 Green Mountain, 3 new PRs
All day at work, I was itching to get outside for a run and blow off some steam, more mental than physical, but I could tell that my body was revved up too.
I decided to run the front side of Green, the standard Amphi/Saddle/Greenman route and I was thankful that it was reasonably cool from the afternoon clouds/rain. I put on my headphones and cranked up the music (something I never do) and I was off. Though a little heavy and tired, my legs were reluctantly doing what I asked of them and I was surprised to be flowing up the hill in a state determination unlike anything I have felt in a long time. A few minutes in, I knew it could be a good run and I was now committed to a hard effort. My time splits were decent, but I knew I would have to keep the effort very high to compensate for the increasingly fading legs and it became a war between my brain and my body. I was spitting, snotting and making all kinds of noises, not caring at all since I was the only one out there and I was in my own cocoon of loud music and suffering. I had nothing to lose. On and on I went, knowing that any minute I could blow, just one ill-timed breath or foot placement might have done me in.
Finally, I tagged the summit and collapsed in a heap, a new PR by 11 seconds. It is not much, but it meant a lot to me and the sheer physical effort, coupled with the PR boosted my spirits immensely. Still jacked up from the high, I turned around and headed back the way I came, putting similar effort into the descent as the ascent. Despite wearing treadless road shoes, I was so dialed and on it, I found that I was minutes ahead of normal pace at my usual checks. I was going for broke down the hill pouring everything I had into it, hitting every step, every turn, leaping off every rock with once in a blue moon precision and accuracy. About 2/3’s of the way down, it began to rain, which felt great, but slowed me considerably on the now slippery trail, compounded by the slick shoes. I still pushed though and made it back to the TH in what I suspect to be a new PR for me as well. A PR on the RT too on that route.
Splits:
Gregory TH: 0:00
Top of Amphi: 6:10
Overlook: 14:03
Greenman: 18:19
Summit: 32:24
Descent: 19:26
RT: 51:50
I decided to run the front side of Green, the standard Amphi/Saddle/Greenman route and I was thankful that it was reasonably cool from the afternoon clouds/rain. I put on my headphones and cranked up the music (something I never do) and I was off. Though a little heavy and tired, my legs were reluctantly doing what I asked of them and I was surprised to be flowing up the hill in a state determination unlike anything I have felt in a long time. A few minutes in, I knew it could be a good run and I was now committed to a hard effort. My time splits were decent, but I knew I would have to keep the effort very high to compensate for the increasingly fading legs and it became a war between my brain and my body. I was spitting, snotting and making all kinds of noises, not caring at all since I was the only one out there and I was in my own cocoon of loud music and suffering. I had nothing to lose. On and on I went, knowing that any minute I could blow, just one ill-timed breath or foot placement might have done me in.
Finally, I tagged the summit and collapsed in a heap, a new PR by 11 seconds. It is not much, but it meant a lot to me and the sheer physical effort, coupled with the PR boosted my spirits immensely. Still jacked up from the high, I turned around and headed back the way I came, putting similar effort into the descent as the ascent. Despite wearing treadless road shoes, I was so dialed and on it, I found that I was minutes ahead of normal pace at my usual checks. I was going for broke down the hill pouring everything I had into it, hitting every step, every turn, leaping off every rock with once in a blue moon precision and accuracy. About 2/3’s of the way down, it began to rain, which felt great, but slowed me considerably on the now slippery trail, compounded by the slick shoes. I still pushed though and made it back to the TH in what I suspect to be a new PR for me as well. A PR on the RT too on that route.
Splits:
Gregory TH: 0:00
Top of Amphi: 6:10
Overlook: 14:03
Greenman: 18:19
Summit: 32:24
Descent: 19:26
RT: 51:50
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