Poor Mountain continued

Some of my favorite images from our Poor Mountain run:

Trespassers will be shot on sight.
Yeah right.

Jay reaching the top before me.

"Well, it looks like the gangs have run up here." -Jay

"Do not stop, keep moving." Something about radiation?
Uh, okay.
(What's that tingling sensation?!?)

Cool towers.

Pretty neat, huh?

Did I mention we missed the summit by a few hundred yards?
I can see the real summit from my neighborhood.

It is taunting me.
Tingling.

Run hard out there.

Exploring Poor Mountain

Jay, Anita and I decided to spend the first day of spring exploring the highest mountain in both Roanoke and Montgomery counties. The 3928 foot summit of Poor Mountain is home to several (many!) radio, television, and who knows what else antennas. That was our destination, and man what a day to do it. 19 miles total for the run. Probably about 3000 feet gain for the day.

I'll post some pics of the structures we found up there at a later date. But for now, here is the topo.


We didn't know it until we got back to the car and looked at the map, but we turned around just short of a lookout. Oh well, now we have a good excuse to go back.

Run hard out there.

Spring is (almost) here

Friday's forecast is 71 degrees, sunny. If all goes well, I'll be taking my lunchtime-workout buddies up this route. Most of them are very new to trail running. The snow is gone, so I am interested to see how much easier this climb is on dry turf.

I told my friends that when we finish we might have some small scratches on our arms and legs, but we will definitely have BIG smiles on our faces.

I'll send an update after the run.

Today's lunchtime workout:

Bodyweight 400

Run to the park
Repeat the following circuit 4 times. Minimal rest.

• 25 Squats
• 25 Pushups
• 25 Crunches
• 25 Burpees

Run (walk) back downtown.

This is one of the toughest we do in the limited time we have. Today everyone completed the entire workout. That's 16-20 minutes of pure anaerobic activity.


Run hard out there.

AT/Catawba update

I've got some friends planning a little run on the AT around Catawba this Saturday. Here is a trail report:

I was on the trails on Sunday. The dark sides of the mountains still have lots of snow, and we are getting more now, tonight and tomorrow. My front yard was clear this morning, now it is white again. I can see the slopes that lean towards I-81, and they are very white. Nights between now and Saturday are below freezing. Days are above. Saturday the forecast is for sunny, with a high of 53. Perfect afternoon for refreshments off the trail. But first you have to make it off the trail.

I recommend: gaiters, beefy shoes, a change or two of socks, pants with the ability to change to shorts, short sleeve shirt with a light wind breaker, gloves and something for the head. Sunglasses (snowglasses ?) will be important too.

Run hard out there...

More than one way up a mountain

I've lived most my life here at the base of Mill Mountain, and probably looked at that "scar" (I prefer to call it a beauty mark) up the side the mountain more days that I care to count. There used to be an "incline" (cable car) that took wealthy patrons straight up the mountain to the theater at the top. The incline is gone. Now there is a power line and a 20 yard wide strip of briars and other thick brush left behind.

(The "scar" rises from behind the hospital to the top of Mill Mountain)

As a child, I always wanted to explore that incline. Once I became a trail runner the attraction was even stronger. And with the snow on the mountain this winter, it has looked more appealing than ever.

So today I did it.

Getting to the scar involved some skirting around public works and hospital property. But from the road, I was climbing the incline in less than 10 minutes. Staying the middle of the scar was almost impossible due to the briars that wanted to shred my legs and arms and back and stomach and face. I quickly learned that if I were smart (like the deer whose tracks I finally followed to the top), I would get out of the scar and stay in the natural woods to the right.

(looking up at the steepest part of the climb)

It only took me about 30 minutes to make the climb. My GPS tells me it was about 0.6 miles of steep climbing. Enough to break a sweat, but not nearly enough to wear me out. I have seen the view from the top many times, but today it was better than ever, knowing I had finally realized a boyhood dream.

(View from the top)

From the top I took a series of trails back down, turning a 0.6 mile climb into a nice 4 mile run. The trails around here are still very snow covered. But the 50+ degree temps today made them quite runnable.



Run hard out there...

Top 5

I don't follow sales ranks very closely, but it's always fun when I see something like this. Click on the image to zoom.

Today's Workout

Snow Shoveling! 2 straight hours. Oh man, does the sofa feel good about right now.

Some people do this for exercise!

No wonder I'm tired!

Run hard out there...