Sometimes you just need to escape snowy New England and head to Oregon for a few days of hiking through Columbia River Gorge, yoga classes, long runs along the Willamette, hiking in Smith Rock State Park, delicious “artisan” donuts and even more delicious “artisan” ice cream.
Don’t forget that awesome accommodations and a good-looking travel buddy are both imperative.
So, I’ve wanted to run a half-marathon for awhile.
I’ve done 5K’s, 10Ks, Ragnar (Adirondacks and Cape Cod), and recently the Jay Peak Trail Running Festival “Runners with Issues” race. But the half-marathon has eluded me.
Most notably because I don’t really love running on the road. Don’t get me wrong, I love running. And I’ll run on the road, if necessary. But my passion didn’t come to fruition until I discovered my nearby trail.
There’s just nothing like hitting the trail, surrounded by iconic New England scenery and (importantly) no cars in sight. It’s just me and my running buddy, Zealand.
And ever since I stumbled on this trail, everything has fallen into place nicely. My legs don’t hurt (I’m prone to shin splints and knee pain). I feel stronger (which I love). Zealand is loving life (its way better than our suburban cul-de-sac, in her opinion). And I finally felt ready to run a half-marathon!
So on Sunday, October 26, 2014, I tackled the White Mountain Milers Half-Marathon in North Conway, NH. Not only is this a beautiful course, but net proceeds support the Gretchen B. Hatch Scholarship Fund.
So how was it? Here are some things I learned while training for (and running) 13.1 miles:
The White Mountain Milers course is definitely gorgeous… It just isn’t as stunning as my daily route. I mean, look at that. >>>And even though I ran wayyy slower than my recent (trail) pace, I’m stoked that I finished. And I enjoyed every moment of those 13.1 miles. But, maybe more importantly, I adored every moment of training leading up to those 13.1 miles.
Let’s begin by acknowledging the fact that hiking 16+ miles on any given day(s), sans coffee, is a feat.
And even though I was slow as molasses (One MPH? Seriously?), and I had a mini meltdown at one point (I thought we were hiking, not rock climbing?), and it wasn’t the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had … I’ll admit that hiking a portion of the Presidential Traverse and summiting four 4,000 foot mountains in 1.5 days is fairly satisfying.
A little background:
The Presidential Range is a mountain range, located in the NH White Mountains, whose most notable summits are named for American presidents … and is rounded out by Mt. Washington, long home of the highest winds recorded on the surface of the Earth at 231 mph.
And thus, a Presidential Traverse is, quite simply, a hike that begins at one end of the range and ends at the other. And, in my opinion, it’s a bit tough.
According to the ever-wise Wikipedia:
“A Presidential Traverse does not merely require the absolute gain of some 4,500′ from starting point to the 6,288′ summit of Mt. Washington; it involves repeated gain and loss of elevation between individual summits along the way. …. A basic Presidential Traverse encompasses almost 9,000′ of combined vertical, doubled when difficult downclimbing is included.
I’ll admit – we didn’t tackle the entire traverse. We missed Madison, Adams, Jefferson and Monroe. But I’m still going to take credit for hitting Jackson, Pierce, Eisenhower and Washington.
Basically, we hiked the Crawford Path (the oldest, continuously maintained, hiking path in America) from the AMC Highland Center all the way to Mt. Washington, then descended via the famous Tuckerman Ravine trail . The total mileage was about 16 +miles. And did I mention this was all sans coffee?
Highlights include:
The caretaker at our campsite ended up being an old friend of Stranded Dog. Needless to say, ending the first day of hiking on the “porch” of a friend’s semi-permanent tent structure with some whiskey in mason jars was a nice surprise.Basically – We hit the peaks, slept in our tent, and enjoyed some time in the mountains. So far, 30 ain’t so bad.