Bear Mountain Recon

I feel like I've recovered quite well from Hyner.  I didn't run all week though.  I needed to let my foot heal.  However, I had a shoe dilemma, so I had to run today.

My old shoes worked great at Hyner.  However, there are too many rocks at next week's Bear Mountain race.  I couldn't wear my Altras there though either.  I took some suggestions from friends and bought New Balance MT00v2.0 shoes.  I have New Balance road shoes, so I thought these might work well.  My friends told me they work well on rocky terrain too.

I drove the 2 hours to Upstate New York.  I figured that I might as well test them on part of the course.  I just decided to start at the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area.  That would give me a loop that included some of the beginning and end of the course.  I arrived after 1 PM.

It was windy in the parking lot.  I elected for my lightweight long sleeve shirt.  I was worried that I might be hiking a lot and get chilly.  A lot of the run was comfortable to hot, but on the exposed top of the mountain, it was windy and cold.  The shirt often made me hot, but was probably a good choice.

I began running on the parking lot and noticed how lightweight the minimalist shoes were.  They felt comfortable for sure.  I wasn't sure how they would hold up on the rocks though.  I'm doing the 50 miler there next weekend and it supposed to be super rocky.

I started heading the direction that I wanted to.  For some reason, I turned around before some hikers.  I was on a woods road.  I ran the other way and followed the white blazes of the AT.  After some time, this turned into a singletrack.

It didn't take long to figure out how tough this course would be.  There weren't as many rocks as I expected early on, but it was winding singletrack.  It was slow and there was some up and down.  There was some water on the trail and plenty of rocks too.  It was interesting.  This was apparently a historical route from colonial times.

I did enjoy running this part.  It was a fun trail for sure.  After some time, it came out to a woods road.  This was more runnable.  Then, it came to an old paved road.  This was a little broken up.  There were lots of historical markers on it.

I kept looking for the turn on to the red blazed trail.  I tried one turn, but the path wasn't blazed.  I saw a cool, old oak tree.  This road was a lot of uphill and I walked a good amount of it.  Every now and then, I took my map out to make sure I was on the right path.

At one point while I was running, I saw another runner coming downhill.  He had on an Ultimate Direction AK Vest too.  Most people out on this day were hiking.  Shortly after passing him, the trail turned steep and very rocky.  I definitely had to hike up this.

This was still the 1777 Trail.  It was marked every so often.  After quite a bit of climbing, I saw blue blazes.  I guess I was on the Red Trail somehow.  Regardless, it was good to be on the Blue Trail, heading back toward the start.  I was around mile 5 at this point.

At first, I was worried that I might've missed some views by going toward the right.  I was glad to find out I was very wrong.  This part of the trail was amazing.  There were short ups and downs.  There were lots of rocks and plenty of boulders, some the size of cars or trucks, along the trail.  At times, it was even hard to follow the blazes.  Running was slow and I took so many pictures too.  I've been on sections of trail like this for very short periods, but rarely for this long.

After running and hiking for a bit, I came to a view.  A couple guys were eating lunch there.  It was a terrific spot.  It had nearly a 180 degree view.  I could see the mountains and the Hudson River.  I then noticed the skyline of New York City well off in the distance.  It was amazing.

There was a second amazing view.  Then, the trail went downhill.  This was super rocky and technical.  It was hard to run down.  I ran through a valley briefly.  Then, it was climbing again and back on the ridge.

The ridge running was tough and beautiful.  There were tons of views and I stopped for a lot of them.  The rocks were hurting my feet a lot.  There were a lot of flat rocks.  I ran along while I could.

As I got closer and closer to the end of the run, I came across more and more hikers.  I was near the AT.  I then even came to an AT shelter.  It was 3 PM and the shelter and tenting area were already fairly packed.  I guess there are a lot of weekend section hikers.

Some hikers let me go on by.  One older couple said, "You are running this?"  I commented, "Sort of.  It's a lot more hiking."  This was still a slow go, but I ran a lot more.  I had seen enough views and wanted to be done.

I was thankful for some other hikers.  They warmed me of a couple army guys up ahead.  They were pointing their rifle.  I'm assuming they were from West Point, which is nearby.  It was certainly something you don't see on the trail every day.  It might've scared me if I wasn't warned. 

I ran downhill, but slowly.  It was very rocky and tough footing.  I'd be shocked if I could run this type of stuff next week, especially late in the race.  I'll be amazed if I don't fall.

At one point, I completely lost the trail somehow.  Since I was near the parking area, I bushwhacked down the hill.  I there wasn't much brush.  I was able to find the trail that I had started on.

I ran back to my car.  I was under 10 miles of running.  It took me nearly 3 hours.  This was about the pace that I'll need to move at next week to make the cutoffs.  That could be tough.  I did stop a lot during this one.

The good news is that my shoes worked well in terms of the top of my foot issue.  It felt great.  The bad news was that even 10 miles hurt the bottom of my feet.  I will be hurting next week.  I might have to switch shoes partway through.  I may have to take a chance and wear my Altras.  Those definitely seem better on rocks.

This course is going to be tough.  With the cutoff, I'll need to be moving.  I can't afford to hike too much.  I'll probably have to push through and run through pain a lot more than I have in the past.  I always have problems with cramping and my muscles getting a lot of fatigue.  Hopefully, there are some easier sections.  I will take it easy for sure.  I'm just going to try to have fun and see what I can do.  If I DNF, then so be it.

I definitely can't wait for the race.  It will be my biggest challenge yet.  It will be a lot fun and suffering too.  If I can finish in the time limit, I'll be proud.  Some cool weather could be a big help too.  At least there isn't too much elevation on the course.

I probably won't run any more this week.  I could still use a lot of rest.  The bottom of my other foot has been bothering me a bit.  If I do run, maybe I'll head down to Delaware and try to run with Destrie.  Otherwise, it will be no running until the race.

9.66 miles - 2:42:22 (16:49 pace) 1692 feet of elevation gain