Cool Evening on Tammany

It rained the last two days, so I didn't get to do anything.  I rode indoors a little, but I don't really count that.  Today was National Running Day, so of course I had to get out there.  I decided to head to Mt. Tammany in the evening.

It was definitely cooler than it had been before the rain.  It was more like typical June weather.  For me, that still met a soaked singlet, but at least I could wear that.  On top of the ridge, it was even a bit chilly. 

I signed up for the Escarpment Trail Race, so I need to get to Tammany even more frequently than I already have been.  On the way up, I hit a lot of traffic for Route 33 construction.  That was frustrating and cost me valuable time.  I was considering two loops, but now was unsure.

I arrived around 6:30 PM.  I got my stuff together quickly and headed up.  A guy went by just before me and I saw him starting to run up the trail.  When I got up the steps, I was disappointed to see that he went down to the other parking lot.  I think I would've caught him if he was running.

Even though it was cooler, my breathing still labored early on.  I was huffing and puffing on the flat section.  If I had a longer warmup, I could definitely run more on the way up.  As it is, my lungs are struggling at the start.

That said, this time, I was able to run more than usual.  I slowly picked my way up the early rocky part.  I got to maybe halfway up before I decided that I was doing too much work.  I began to hike.  I got to 220 feet of elevation gain before hiking.  I noticed at the top of the rocky section, it is 320 feet of elevation gain.  I want to work on running up that far at least.

Near the top, there were some young guys hiking down.  They told me they saw a bear nearby.  I simply said, "Okay, thanks.  I'll keep an eye out for it."  They looked stunned, as I simply continued on up the trail.  I looked all around for it, but couldn't find it.  It was fairly wide in this section, so I wasn't overly worried about an encounter.

I ran a little more after that, but I still didn't run too much more than usual.  I need to work on running certain parts.  If cooler weather would stay, it was sure help.  I amaze myself with how fast I now hike up this trail.  Before long, I was up to the rockiest section.

As I was going up, these young girls and a guy were coming down slowly.  They were impressed at how I flew up the mountain.  Of course, they weren't even following the trail, as they took the steeper way do.  I warned them of the potential bear and that scared them.

I hiked through the boulders quickly.  It was uneventful.  I'm getting faster and faster in sections like this.  Soon, I'll have to start working on running down these too.  At one point, I looked at the gain on my watch and it was approaching 800 feet.  This hiking up is getting easy.  I don't even look at the distance, I just follow the gain.

I ran here and there toward the top.  I made it there in about 27 minutes.  That seems pretty typical for me.  I took a quick photo of the summit and the setting sun.  It was pretty, but I didn't stay.  I was in a hurry this day.

I ran most of the way on the Blue Trail along the ridge.  It is good practice over rocks.  I passed a young couple and they were impressed that I was running.  I told them I have a tough race coming up.

I remember not too long ago that I thought the Blue Trail was gnarly.  It is still an interesting descent, but I cruise down it.  With the setting sun, I did stumble a little, but overall it was still fast.  I was having a blast going down.

Near the bottom, I startled some hikers when I told them I was coming.  I ran right by them and some hikers with dogs too.  I was then on the AT.  I bomb down this sometimes, but today I was still considering a second loop, so I took it easy.

I got back at the car at a little over 51 minutes.  That is a solid time for this loop.  I thought hard about another loop.  However, I was worried about darkness.  The Blue Trail with fading light could've been interesting.  So too would've been the hollow that the AT runs through.  My other concerns were the bear and the side of my foot, which I bashed on a rock.  I opted to call it a day.

Doing one loop here and not going hard doesn't do much for me any more.  I guess it is still good technical practice anyway, but I can move up and down rather quickly now.  To really get a good workout, I definitely need to do multiple loops.  That's my hope in the coming weeks.

I have to start preparing the Trexler course for our race on Saturday.  Therefore, I'll probably head there and run a loop tomorrow.  I'd love to go to Tammany again.  That probably won't happen though.  At least I should be running somewhere.

3.65 miles - 51:22 (14:05 pace) 1204 feet of elevation gain
16th Summit of the Year