Birthday Hike

December 10,   2014         

                                                                               

I spent my birthday doing my favorite thing:  being outside! It fell on a Wednesday this year, so I took the day off work and hit the road early for Harpers Ferry.

 

The town was all decked out for the holidays, but I was headed for the hills.

I pulled into an empty parking lot at the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park Visitors Center. Where is everybody?       The place was deserted. But then I had to remind myself that it was 27 degrees on a Wednesday. 

There were four park rangers working the desk....seemed like overkill. When I told Ranger Dan I was here to hike the Maryland Heights trail, he whipped out a map and outlined the route in his happy voice, and then gave me his Serious Ranger Dan face and cautioned that MH is a difficult trail, rocky and steep and so on and so forth. Did I have the right supplies? Enough water? Does a friend or family member know my plans? Am I an experienced hiker? Sheesh! I resisted the urge to tell him I've been up Kilimanjaro. This was a mere 6 mile hike.

Ranger Dan instructed me to board the shuttle bus and it would take me to town (yep, had the whole shuttle to myself). From there I would walk to the end of the road and take the footbridge across the river...

...go down the spiral stairs and make a left on the towpath...

...walk about half a mile and look for the trail sign.

Cross the road and you're there! Funny thing is, there are parking spaces right there at the trailhead, so all the shuttle nonsense was unnecessary.





 

Starting up the trail I was debating whether to do the full 6 miles or a shorter 4 mile route. Ranger Dan's warnings about the trail being "difficult" were reinforced by a large sign where the green trail intersects the blue trail. The blue-blazed Stone Fort Trail is the 2 mile loop that would take me higher up the mountain. But I  had to wonder, how bad could it really be? No one really thinks of the hills out here as mountains anyway, right?

 

But the first task was to make it to the red trail that would take me to the Overlook Cliff.

What a view! The cliff overlooks Harpers Ferry. You can also see where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers intersect. Selfie time!

From the Overlook I doubled-back up the red trail and then it was decision time. Do I take the supposedly difficult Stone Fort Trail? Or head back and make it a four mile hike.

I started up Stone Hill, figuring I could turn around if it got too bad.



I kept hiking....wondering when I would hit the difficult part. What was Ranger Dan talking about? A little bit of uphill, a few rocks -- no scrambling-- how was this difficult?

 

Brrrr, it was cold enough for icicles! And here's the view from the top at Stone Fort:

 

The path down wasn't as rocky as the trail on the way up and I ran most of it.

 

Made it back to town and had lunch at the Town's Inn.

 

 

Another birthday in the bag, doing what I want, when and how I want to do it. Just me. Had the whole "mountain" to myself too --not another soul in sight.

 

Maybe next year I'll hit a spa? ;)

 



 

 

 

A Haunted Ferry Run

December 7, 2014

A beautiful, spur-of-the-moment run on a cold winter day:  Edward's Ferry to White's Ferry. It's 10 miles round trip on the towpath between the C&O Canal and the Potomac River, and I loved it!

This particular stretch of the towpath is a peaceful run through the woods, that eventually winds closer to the river. It's also said to be haunted!

Once upon a time, this section of the trail near mile post 30 was known as "Haunted House Bend," according to the C&O Canal Trust:

In October of 1861, Union troops were driven down the infamous Ball's Bluff into the river on the other side of Harrison's Island. Some of their bodies floated downstream all the way to Washington, DC... Boatmen in later years reported hearing strange noises in these parts, including blood-curdling screams and moans. They'd say mules passing through became restless and spooked.

So apparently this "danger" marking on the old ferry ramp applies to more than just high water!

 

Adding to the spook factor:   thousands of people reportedly were buried along the canal in unmarked graves during the mid-1800s. Freaky!

 

White's Ferry has its own rich history. The ferry service began in 1786, transporting people across the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia.  It was used by troops during the Civil War and gets its name from confederate General  Jubal A. Early. Back then, dozens of ferries worked the river.

  Today, White's Ferry is the only one still operating on the Potomac.

But back to the running part of this story...

 

 I absolutely love running on the C&O towpath! Not the busy sections between Georgetown and Great Falls, but the not-so-popular sections to the north. I didn't see a single soul on this run, but that doesn't mean I didn't have company!

 

Across the Bay 10K

 There's just something about the Bay Bridge....

 

 

The double-span monstrosity is one of the world's longest over-water structures. It's ranked by Travel and Leisure magazine as one of the world's 'scariest' bridges. Rising nearly 200 feet above the water, the suspension, cantilever truss bridge has narrow lanes, low guardrails, and no shoulders. Mix in some wind and you've got a hair-raising ride!  It's so scary, in fact, that "drive over" services actually make money driving the fearful across the bridge!

 

So, of course, when the Across the Bay 10K popped up on my Facebook feed, I couldn't sign up fast enough. Having already swum across the bay beneath the twin spans, I was curious what it would feel like to run across it and look down on the water below.  

Team Rabbit is always up  for an adventure and, along with Jennifer, Janet, and a nice contingent of Team Zers,  this was going to be a blast.

We decided on the fly to go rogue and start in an earlier (faster) wave. It was easy to get swept up in the moment and try to keep pace with the crowd! I wasn't shooting for a specific pace -- this was just for fun. However,  I was curious to see if I could run the uphill portion of the bridge without walking.

 

I ran as close to the edge as I could so I could get the best view of the water below. This is a great view of the "lane" that guides swimmers across the bay during the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim. How cool is this? Brings back memories.

 

Security was pretty tight with cops stationed at various spots along the span. Dozens of police officers reportedly ran the race incognito to keep an eye on things.  They even had patrol boats at the ready just in case someone jumped or fell off the bridge!

 

The uphill part of the run wasn't as steep as I thought it would be, and I ran the whole way up, making a couple of quick pit stops to snap pictures-- including the obligatory selfie.

 

Pretty soon we were running under the steel beams and over the main channel Energizer Bunny, What's Up Doc, and I had swum through just a few months ago.

 .

Below is my favorite picture of the race, looking up at the beams with the sun shining through. This is near the highest point on the bridge, which meant that soon we would be going downhill. Yes!

 

 

 It was a little past this point that two souped-up, super-stretch golf cart-looking vehicles pulled up. The two vehicles were packed with 10 cops each. They drove in the right lane, keeping perfect pace with me and the runners next to me. 

I kept waiting for them to pull ahead or stop and take up positions along the bridge, but they didn't. They stayed right next to us...and stayed....and stayed. Our own police force, 20 strong, riding right next to us.

 

The problem was these vehicles were loud --annoying motorcycle loud. We also had an intermittent flow of exhaust wafting our way. Talk about killing the atmosphere! Can't we just run across the bay in peace?

 

One runner ran up to the lead cart and asked them to stop and let us get ahead. No deal.

 

Hugging the guard rail did nothing to combat the noise and fumes. Why couldn't they spread out? Did they really need a pack of 20 cops watching the same group of runners make their way across the bay?

I figured I had two options:  slow down until they were a good ways ahead of me....or run faster and get in front of the noise and exhaust. I decided to go with the latter.

 

I cranked up my speed to a 9:45 pace - crazy for me! I felt like I was all-out sprinting as I ran to get ahead of them. And eventually it worked. I ran  with a few other runners in the right lane, blocking them so they would have to slow down.

 

Ah, exhaust-free running!

 

But it didn't last long. We heard a blaring police radio and someone barking, "Move to the left!" So....back to the noise and exhaust we went.

They rode next to us all the way to the end of the bridge. It's the only negative thing I can say about the race.

Overall, the inaugural Across the Bay 10K was a big success. From packet pick up to the finish line festivities, the whole shebang was superbly organized. 

 

I finished in 1:08:40, an 11:03 pace, and placed 8,002 out of 14,921 runners. According to race stats posted online, 202 runners passed me, and I somehow managed to pass 490 runners.

The bling? Check it out below. The medal is actually the first piece of a medal puzzle. You have to come to the next few races to get the rest of the pieces.  And that means we'll be back.

 

 

Later at home, as I enjoyed my new Across the Bay pint glass, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. This was the last race of the season. Soon the winter cold would be moving in, leaving the best of the year behind us.

So here's to the 2014 racing season, with a special shout out to Team Rabbit, Thumper, and the Bad Ass Babes crew for making it a fun one. What a blast we had! A marathon, two 50Ks, a couple of big swims and other races---all completed without getting injured. 

 

Next up? Trail running with the MCRRC,  10 miles of Gluteus Maximus and, in April, the Charlottesville Marathon. I still have to figure out the rest of my 2015 race calendar, but for now, cheers! Things can only get better from here.

 

 

Can Lake 50

October 11, 2014

After hundreds of miles and months of running, it was time to cash it all in at our "A" race:  The Can Lake 50 Ultras!

I blasted off Friday morning, so excited to get to Can Lake and meet up with Team Rabbit and honorary rabbitear N2 (AKA Thumper).

Arriving mid afternoon, I made a pit stop at Vine Valley to spend a few minutes sitting lakeside, contemplating the race to come --and the journey to get here.

Funny how I couldn't help but think of Can Lake as "only a 50K."  Having survived last year's 50 miler, anything less seemed downright easy! Of course....it's all relative.

My only goal for this race? Finish before sunset! Can Lake sunset would be happening at 6:32pm,  giving me 8.5 hours to reach my goal. It had taken me 10 hours to run  33 at Woodstock last month.  Could I make it happen? Would the sun still be shining when I hit that finish line? As usual, it was a roll of the dice.

Our crazy Can Lake crew!

The pre-race anxiety drove us all crazy (as you can see in the pics)! We picked up our packets, then joined our fellow Can Lakers for pasta. Our crew consisted of:

Silly Rabbit- "SRab"- our sole 50 miler

What's Up Doc -"WuDoc" - 50K

Thumper - 50K

Energizer Bunny -"EBun" - Handler & Pacer!

RRab - Handler-in-Chief

Funny thing about this race is all the gear I had! Never mind that I've survived many a marathon with what I could carry on me. Add 5 miles and call it an ultra and suddenly I need all kinds of stuff! The race provided drop bags at two locations, so I took advantage. Way took advantage. My bags were stuffed with extra everything!

 

Race Day!

What a perfect day for a race. Temps were in the low 40's at the start, warming up to the 50's later in the day. We had mostly cloudy skies with a little wind.

And we're off! What's Up Doc and I ran the first few miles together.

 Coach had told me to get out of my comfort zone and try to keep up my pace, so that's what I did.  I was just hoping that all of my rogue running this year wouldn't come back to bite me.

It seemed to take forever for my runner's high to kick in, but by the time I stopped for my drop bag at the 12 mile mark, I was feeling great, just cruising along.

Even the annoying hill after Middlesex didn't seem to bother me. I just kept thinking about how much I love the scenery, love the race, love to run. I also thought about SRab and wondered how she was doing on her first epic 50 miler.
 

The downhill into Vine Valley went on forever -and that's good because it's one of my favorite parts of the race! I tried to hammer it to make up for time lost walking the uphills.

Photo by Natalie Werner

Before I knew it I was on the long hill that wound its way up to the turn for Bare Hill.



Bare Hill wasn't as bad as I had remembered it! I did the walk, jog-a-few-steps, walk method until I reached the top where drop bag #2 was waiting --with a Diet Coke.  


Ahhh....nothing like a Diet Coke at the top of the last big bad hill to keep the mood elevated! Follow that with another good downhill and I was a happy cruising camper again.

A couple miles later everything changed. Suddenly my brain was inventing reasons to slow down. Out of the blue the bottoms of my feet started hurting. Then my lower back began bugging me. A bad blister materialized without warning. Why did the pavement suddenly feel harder? What's up with this wind? Now I'm getting chilled, ugh.  It's scary how quickly your mood can tank when your brain decides to start acting up!


The thing is, I knew this was my brain screwing with me...but looking ahead to the next hill I couldn't seem to make the "phantom" aches and pains go away.

Photo by Natalie Werner

Cheery side note here:  it was cool to see the course during the daylight! Last year I ran the last however-many-miles in the dark....with car headlights zooming toward me on Middle Road. Seeing that road now, in the light of day, I couldn't believe I had managed it in the pitch black! The "shoulder" is just a narrow strip of loose gravel. Perhaps being able to see it made it more annoying, I don't know. All I knew was I had to get myself out of this funk.

Photo by Natalie Werner

I took in the pretty scenery and tried to talk myself into feeling better.  

WTH, Sally? This is "only" a 50K!  

Sure enough,  two  miles from the finish line all of the aches and pains magically vanished! I picked up my pace and my runner's high returned. How does that happen?!  It's so true what they say about 90% of it being mental!

Past the dead end barricade, down the grassy knoll, final turn to the finish line and I was able to "sprint" it in! Crossed the finish line in 7 hours, 29 minutes-- the sun would still be shining for another hour or so.  Yessss!!!

Goal reached, bling in hand...I couldn't wait to see SRab cross the finish line!!  With EBun pacing her in for the final 15+ miles and What's Up Doc joining in for the final stretch, SRab cruised across the finish line Team Rabbit style!

I was so happy to be there and see her months and months of hardcore work pay off!  She said she would do it and she did. It's the best feeling!

  Well, another Can Lake in the books.

 The next morning we hit the diner for breakfast and bling pics before heading out of town.

Back on the road and headed for home, I had the best feeling! Everyone did what they came to do. Mission accomplished! What a blast. 

See you next year, Can Lake!