Some Easy Wind Gap Running

I wanted to get some elevation in today.  However, I have a race on Saturday, so I couldn't go too crazy.  I saw that 800 feet of gain would get me over 35,000 feet of gain for the month.  I decided to head to the AT in Wind Gap, for some short climbing.

There was a big thunderstorm in the afternoon.  Therefore, I didn't get out until the evening.  It was still hot and humid, but I guess a little better than it has been.  I was drenched by the end anyway.

I decided to head southbound first on the trail.  I thought about doing 3 repeats here, but I was unsure.  Last time here, I surprised myself by completely running 5 repeats.  Early on today, it was clear that that wouldn't be happening.

I didn't get too far before I had to hike.  I didn't want to put up too much effort.  The rocks were wet and slippery and that made it tough.  Also, the trail was overgrown in spots and the leaves were down due to the rain.

I made it to my usual spot.  However, that involved quite a bit of hiking.  I just wasn't feeling good.  Near the top, the trail was pretty overgrown.  I turned and headed down.  Even that was slow with the overgrowth and slippery rocks. 

I got to the bottom and decided that I would only go about halfway this time.  Again, it was hiking and running.  I ran until my watch went over 650 feet of gain and then turned and headed back. 

I refilled my water at my car, as I was sweating a ton.  I now headed northbound.  I ran some, but hiked a lot too.  The other direction uses switchbacks to climb.  This side doesn't, so it is steeper.

Running this with the wet rocks was tricky too.  I got near the top and over 1,000 feet of gain and headed back down.  I had hit my goal for today.

I was surprised to see some people hiking up as I was finishing on the downhill.  No one else had been out there on this evening and it was getting late.  Then, I finished up and a young couple went up to hike and were asking about the conditions on the trail.

I had less than 4 miles, but I got the elevation gain, so it didn't matter.  I was happy with this easy run.  I didn't overdo it before the race.  I'll rest tomorrow and race on Saturday.  It is supposed to be hot, so that could make the 45K interesting.

3.64 miles - 58:00 (15:56 pace) 1004 feet of elevation gain