I didn't end up running early in the afternoon. I thought we would go to eat. That didn't work out. By the time I was ready to run, I didn't have much time. I wanted some elevation anyway. I headed to the Katellen Trail for a few miles. It was already after 6:30 in the evening when I started.
The weather was great all day. It started to cool down and was perfect with the sun setting behind the mountain. I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt. A lot of times I've run there when it is too hot. Today was probably the best day I've been there.
I started off running, as the bottom is only slightly uphill. My breathing was a little labored. Since I wasn't thinking of running repeats, I hoped I could run most of the way up. I had been surprised when I saw two cars in the parking lot. One guy was hiking down near the bottom and the other guy sort of looked like he was running down near the top.
It got a little steeper and I was still running. That didn't last though. Once the step portion of the trail started, it was too difficult and I had to power hike. That was frustrating. The steps part is steep, but the spacing makes it tough too.
Things did level out a little. I began to run again when they did. The top part near the AT shelter is too steep though, so I power hiked again. No one was at the shelter.
I was glad to get to the top by the powerline. I decided that I'd run on the AT for a bit. I headed southbound. I've done some of this before, but very briefly. It is so technical and I usually get frustrated.
Today actually wasn't too bad. It was slow though and I twisted my ankle once. Surprisingly, I didn't have any issues with lack of calories, considering I had no dinner.
There was a little more up and down here. I ran most of this, although slowly. After one short climb, I just decided it was too slow. I was out .8 miles on the AT before turning around. At least I went out a little farther this time.
I ran along, heading back now. I looked forward to getting to the powerline. That didn't take long. Now, I had some fun downhill on the Katellen Trail. I wasn't even at 3 miles yet, so I planned to repeat this trail. I got down fairly quickly.
I turned to head back up. It was getting cold in the air, so my breathing struggled. Again, I made it to the steps before hiking. I hiked on up those. I was only doing two of these, but I was surprised at how easy they felt. Maybe I didn't lose as much of my climbing legs as I thought.
It was good to get to the top this for a second time. I turned to head back down. I was losing daylight, so I wanted to be done. I ran down and again it felt easy. I finished at the bottom, just before 8 PM and just over 5 miles of running.
This was a short, productive run. I think I'd like to start doing it weekly. There should be enough time if I start a little earlier to get in 4, maybe even 5 loops.
Since I didn't run much today, I might go out again tomorrow. No idea though. I'd love a little more vertical for sure. I may run with people over the weekend.
5.12 miles - 1:10:35 (13:47 pace) 1262 feet of elevation gain
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