Greenwood Furnance

Oh Lord, what was I thinking, just ate half of a huge bag of Peanuts before looking at the label. So much fiber in those delicious morsels. To add to the equation I have the habit of eating some of the shells as well. Looks like another twenty four to forty eight hours of “fun” ahead.

This past weekend I ran in the Greenwood Furnace Trail Challenge , a tough but fun race of just over twelve miles with two good climbs of twelve hundred and thirteen hundred vertical feet. The course is a figure eight, with runners climbing the same Mountain from two different directions. Of course uphills mean downhills and this race did not disappoint. The first descent in particular was steep, rocky and very technical, I am sure that once again I may have been slower on that descent then it's ascent. Once down in the valley, no longer cursing the trail, I ran along streams and ruler straight hundred foot popular trees in an old growth forest. If I thought that was something special it was soon an afterthought as I and my fellow runners entered a Rhododendron forest. For about a mile there were times you felt as if you were running through a tunnel of these magnificent shrubs. It might be worth a trip just to walk through this in bloom later in the summer.

As I exited the Rhododendron Forest, I knew the second climb would be “interesting”. A couple of runners had made passing comments but my initial impression was, “Not Too Bad at All”, until, looking up after a few minutes, the impression changed to, “Oh Crap”. What was ahead looked steep, steep and forever.

To be honest, I don't mind these sections, I have a mile of trail near my home (TV Trail) that is steep rocky and nasty. It's about a nine hundred foot vertical climb that I often join with a six hundred effort

to make for a great hill workout. Hopefully I'll be up for doing “Doubles” by the end of this month.

Reaching the summit the second time I started having pain two inches below and to the right of my belly button. I am almost sure this is torn scar tissue in an incision area so I'm not terribly concerned except for the fact that it really hurts.

With three to four miles to go, most of it downhill I was getting passed by those I had passed on the second climb. With about a mile left I “Heard the Footsteps” and let someone much less my senior pass me.

Just a quarter mile to go and we are off the trail, on a flat road to the finish. My “Friend”, the last guy to pass me is only fifty yards ahead. I feel great, not a bit tired or sore so I close the gap. To be honest I have no intent on passing him but he doesn't know that. On his heels, with a couple hundred yards to go I spoke up, “You don't want an old guy passing you at the finish, do you?”. He picked up his pace. With one hundred yards left, “Not good enough, I've got another gear left, kick it in !”

We were almost sprinting at the finish, to be honest I think I had one more gear. The run complete, my new friend reached out his hand and said, “Great Run”. This is what I love about trail running, it's not about winning or loosing it's about the journey and having fun.

If only the journey home could have matched the run. Withing three or four minutes of getting into the car for the return home, my guts were in turmoil. It was a long ride home and a bad evening which led me to missing a recital that Maggie was in.

Not everything is as I would have it, progress is slow but it's progress. 

Mike