Wind Gap AT w/ Angie

I've been slacking off big time lately.  I haven't run since Shenandoah last weekend.  I refused to run in the rain.  Sunday was nice, but I still only hiked.  Angie asked me to run last Monday, but I didn't see it since I was offline.  Instead, we ran this week.  She's running World's End, so she needs some trails.

We decided to meet at Wind Gap to get on the AT.  She has never run there.  That would give us some elevation and rocks without killing either one of us.  I rushed to get there and had no lunch.  She drove us to the trailhead and we set off.

It was a nice day in the low 70s.  However, it hasn't been that warm in some time.  I was sweating a bit during the run, especially since I had on my UD pack.  A slight breeze did help.

We began by heading southbound first.  We crossed the road.  Once we got on the trail, I told her to lead.  It was her run.  I also told her that it is hard to run the switchbacks on this part, but it is runnable.

She began running, but did hike a little early.  We ran a good portion of the way up.  We passed a hiker at one point.  We stopped at the overlook to the north.  Then, we continued on, over some rocks.  Another guy was at the south overlook, so we kept going.

Now, we were on the rocky ridge.  It was pretty runnable and I followed behind.  I remember when I used to think this was really technical.  It can suck, but it isn't as bad as it used to be.  It is just slow.

Angie was leading the way and kind of killing me.  I wasn't strong thanks to having no lunch.  I did drink some Tailwind, but I'm not sure enough.  I continued to try to keep up, but it was a struggle.

She finally took in some calories before mile 2.  I then caught up, but was dead.  We decided to just head back.  We came to a hiker we saw earlier.  He had on a full pack and his dog had on another pack.  It was cute.

We cruised along pretty easy.  We stopped for some photos at the overlook.  I told her that I made a Strava segment for the downhill and she took off.  I tried to keep up, but it was too much work.  I didn't want to fall, so I played it safe.

She cruised well ahead.  I had been staying even, but since I couldn't gain ground, that was enough for me.  It was so fast of a descent that I set a PR and even the 2nd fastest segment to date.  She was flying and crushed me and got the course record by over 30 seconds.

We stopped at her van to refuel a bit.  She just wanted some hiking, so we hiked up the other side.  That made chatting easier.  This part is steeper, but hiking made it better.

A little past the top, we decided to turn and mostly hike down.  I would've liked a little more running, but I couldn't keep up with her anyway and she preferred to hike.  We hiked down past the guy we saw earlier.  We finished up at the car, under 5 miles.

It was a fun day.  I always enjoy Angie's company.  I don't run with others very often, so it is nice.  I wish I felt stronger.  The layoff hurt for sure.  I should get back into better shape before Colorado.

I will run again tomorrow.  The plan is to run the Gorge in New Jersey.  I set up a run for tomorrow evening, but not sure anyone will go.  I may hike earlier in the day too.

4.8 miles - 1:33:45 (19:33 pace) 1,081 feet of elevation gain