Bradbury Weekend

First note before I get into the runs of the weekend. It appears that someone on the ultralist who is very involved in the Western States lottery puts the chances of getting drawn in the lottery at 16%. Not good. This year witnessed the largest lottery entries to date as well as an assumed lowest % chance to get in. While I still feel good about my chances, I have started mentally preparing myself to tackle the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100-miler in May in VA. This actually will work out better with the Vermont 100 which is in late July. Stay tuned.

This weekend was all Bradbury. Yesterday I met up with quite a Trail Monster crew, including Ian and Emma (check out Ian's 50-mile race report), Chuck, Eric Boucher, and a new TM by the name of Ben. We headed out a bit after 8 AM to make our way up to the summit of Bradbury Mountain. Even though one might not put epic and Bradbury Mountain in the same sentence, the course Ian took us on was indeed epic. There is some great trails with a sizable water crossing along with a couple pretty good climbs to a couple different summit lookouts. And you will do all this twice if you decide to do the race Ian is planning for next year. In fact, the course could be considered downright cruel. In fact, I hit my max heart rate on the climb up to the Bradbury summit and I felt every beat. I had family obligations so I bailed on the group after the first 4.75 loop that took us nearly 48 minutes. Not quite the pace I was expecting but it was fun.

This morning I had the good fortune of hooking up with my buddy and blogging legend Jamie Anderson for a run around the east side of Bradbury Mountain State Park. We pretty much followed the Bradbury Bruiser course with the exception of the punishing "O" Trail. The run started shortly after 7 AM in temperatures I have not run in this year. The 22 F temp at the outset was a bit much for my poor digits which took most of the run to warm up. I have yet to find the perfect clothing combination for every gradient and this morning was no exception. I was freezing at the outset, melting 45 minutes in, and then cold again after removing my outer layer of fleece. At least this is something to aspire to. As always, the run was good and the conversation better. I feel a great kinship with Jamie, and maybe this is the fact that we are both southerners aspiring to be New Englanders. Much like the flowing of stories that happens when two southerners sit down with a bottle of bourbon, Jamie and I follow and explore the arcane and expound on it until we completely get it. This morning this was a good thing as my legs did not want to cooperate. I was sluggish for most of the run, but when my legs and mind came around, I felt great. By the end of the run I had reaffirmed why I allow myself to leave the warmth of my bed to endure a cardiovascular punishment in the cold. It's just good to be alive doing these things I love with good friends. All told, we ran just over 10 miles in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Cheers.