Last week, I went on my first work trip since the end of 2019. The best part about work trips has always been being forced to go somewhere, but then taking on the challenge of finding adventures to add on while in that location. In this brand new world of COVID-19 worries, I was fortunate that I only had to be on a plane for about 1.5 hrs and that my flights took off on time, so I spent minimal time at the airport. Masking up at the airport and on the plane is mandatory (with fines incurred for non-compliance) so I felt pretty safe. I took a rapid COVID test when I returned (with a negative result) just for peace of mind.
I had the unique experience of trying to participate in the Ginger Runner Global Running (GRGR) week while traveling. When I had signed up to participate, I of course had no idea that I'd be traveling. My work location was in Tennessee, but thankfully, there was a flight in and out of Asheville, NC and I've always wanted to check out Asheville. It was less than 2 hours to drive from Asheville to Morristown, TN, where I needed to be for work. I arrived at the plant earlier than my other team members, so I decided to go for a quick hike at Panther Creek State Park. There was an awesome view at the top and I got a decent amount of vert in a short amount of miles. That day the GRGR challenge was to get as much vert as possible and I obviously wasn't going to win. But it was more moving than I thought I'd get that day given it was a travel day, so I wasn't mad about it.
The view: Point Lookout Overlook
Turned out that the "Manager's Special" (read: cheapest) rental car that I had reserved was a pickup truck. It's all they had, so I had to get used to it. Once I got used to it, I actually had fun driving it. I felt like I fit in pretty well, with the plethora of pick-up trucks on the roads and at the parking lot once I pulled into the plant.
Ram Warlock
Day 3 of the GRGR challenge was a total fail. I had to be at the plant at 7 and it ended up being a 12 hour day, so I logged zero miles. Day 4 was also kind of a fail. It was "Photo Challenge" day, but I had to start off my run in the dark. Also, the original location of where I wanted to run was gated off, so I ended up sneaking into the front gate of Panther Creek and getting in a short, steep hike and run down. It was very dark and a little scary. When I got down where I could see the truck, I also saw a figure standing not far from where I had parked. I made a bee-line for the truck and got the heck outta there.
Spooky
First signs of daylight, just as I was coming down the big hill
Day 5 of the GRGR challenge (Friday) was officially a vacation day for me. Thursday night, after finishing up at the plant, I drove back to Asheville and picked up a amazing vegan massaman curry from The Laughing Seed Cafe. My Airbnb was only a 15 minute walk into downtown- super pleasant to be able to walk in, grab my takeout and bring it back to the Airbnb. In my very short walk there and back into town, Asheville seems like a place I'd want to come back to. A lot of outdoor seating and interesting houses with beautiful gardens. I hit the hay early, because the plan for Friday was to spend most of the day rock climbing at Pisgah National Forest. The Day 5 challenge was supposed to be a triathlon of sorts, which included running, but once again, running was not going to happen. In the end, my triathlon consisted of the approach to the climb, climbing and hiking back to the car. It was topped off by flying back to Philly.
I was super nervous about climbing outside, because the last time I climbed outside was at Red Rocks in November of 2019. On that trip, I learned how to sport climb. The plan had been to get myself out there and practice sport climbing so I'd be confident enough to go with just a partner and not having to hire a guide. 2020 halted all of those plans. I had only just started going to the climbing gym a few weeks ago and didn't feel strong yet. I was just starting to remember how to be efficient with footwork and body positioning. But I figured, this was my chance to climb outside. Huge shout-out to Pisgah Climbing and Outdoor Guides. The booking was super easy and flexible and Ethan, my guide, put me at ease immediately. It helped to know that I wouldn't have to do any overhanging moves. The grade that they were going to put me on was higher than I wanted, but I'm so happy they did, because it turned out to be challenging but still so much fun. The views of the Blue Ridge Mountains were awe-inspiring and it was perfect weather, despite being a little windy and chilly to start. Once we got into the sun, it warmed up quickly. I even got to try out short-roping, which is basically being tethered to my guide for a short hike up to the tippy top of The Nose.
The rock out in Pisgah is black granite. It's not as polished as what I've seen in the Gunks. And from what I climbed, the ratings are not as stiff as the Gunks. It was definitely a unique experience. The rock face was so different than anything I've ever seen. It had these regular markings in the rocks that Ethan described as "eye brows". From far away they look like decent hand and foot holds, however, when you get closer in, you notice that they're all pointing the wrong way (down instead of up or flat).
Ethan pointing out our route up The Nose (5.8+)
As we got ready to start climbing, it made me feel better that Ethan was planning on doing the entire multi-pitch climb in his approach shoes. The normal route is 4 pitches of about 100 ft each. Thankfully, there were only 2 crux sections that he had to talk me through. Over 90% of the climbing was feet and legs and just palming onto the rock for balance. I could probably count the number of true jug holds on my fingers. The crux sections had no foot holds so it required just walking up the wall with very little to no hand holds. You just had to trust your feet, smear and hope that they would stick. Fortunately, both crux sections went well for me and I didn't slip or swing. I made the right decision on packing my La Sportiva Mythos, which was a great shoe for this style of climbing. I definitely didn't need anything more aggressive and given the amount of time out there, my feet would've been dying if I had decided to wear the Miuras. As it was, my Achilles were very tired after a day of climbing in the Mythos.
Selfie at the top of the first pitch on The Nose. Windy and chilly.
Action shot. Not sure where this was- probably 3rd pitch of The Nose.
Almost at the top of pitch 3 of The Nose. Awesome view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I love the way the clouds look in this photo.
When I got to the top of the 3rd pitch of The Nose, I had a choice- either do one more pitch, or short-rope it to the tippy top. Of course, it made more sense for us to get the top since we were so close, so I chose to short-rope. Short-roping went well. Going up was easier than climbing down. It was probably Class 4 where we were short-roping and thankfully, Ethan knew the line back and could talk me back to where we started.
The original plan had been just to climb the Nose and head back. We ended up climbing pretty fast though, so Ethan said we had time to try to get in some pitches of Sundial (5.8). I was psyched to climb as much as we could until I had to head to the airport. And by then, it was warm out and I was warmed up and ready.
Sundial was a lot of fun. There was another climbing party moving up.
I love activities where I feel small and rock-climbing definitely makes you feel small.
We made it through the 3rd pitch. It was yet another challenge for me because it was a crack climb up the 3rd pitch. I tried fist-jamming, but it hurt pretty bad. I'm just not used to it, so I did 2 moves on my fists, decided that I really didn't want to scrape up my hands and then just jammed my feet into the crack, pushing and pulling myself up the rock any way I could with my hands.
The Sundial crack and Ethan's brand spankin' new pink rope.
The most nerve-wracking part about climbing is always the rappel down. That's where you always hear about climbing accidents that end in death. By now, I know some basics so I can at least check that my guide knows what he's doing. It was great to be reminded on how to set up a rappel. If it was something I did every day, it would be easy, but realistically, the most I would ever be climbing outside might only be twice a year. Hoping that changes, but not sure it will in the near future.
Rappeling down The Nose into a sea of green
All said and done, we managed to get in about 700 ft of vertical climbing in about 3.5 hours. The views were amazing and the climbing was so much fun. I even slowed down my climbing pace periodically the last couple of pitches so that I could make the experience last longer. Of course, by then, I also couldn't wait to take off my climbing shoes, so that was the pull to encourage me to climb faster. It was an amazing day out. Somehow, I need to get in another climbing trip this year. Getting out there just reminded me how much I love being out there.
Landing at sunset in Philly
Since this is a blog about running, I will finish off by saying that I completed the GRGR challenge this past weekend. Day 6 was running in the dark, so I failed yet again because I started my run at just a little after sunrise and there was no way I was going to run in the dark after sunset. Saturday's run was an easy 6 miler over to Greenway and Mountain Lakes. I did however succeed on GRGR Day 7, which was a challenge to log as many miles as possible. I ended up logging 18.3 miles between my long run and time spent walking around with my kids (all mileage, even walking miles counted). My legs were definitely tired from climbing on Friday, so I was happy with the way the long run went. I also used my poles for the first time and was forced to carry them for about 10 miles (on my pack and in my hands). Even with power-hiking the steep part of the hill repeats that I did on Washington, I ended up averaging 10:56 min/mi overall and it was mostly in Zone 2. Today was a rest day from running. I got in a quick strength/core session and spent a few minutes on the climbing wall. I'm going to try to at least go to the climbing gym once a week to keep getting stronger. Tomorrow I have 9 miles to get in before I drop the kids off at school, so I guess I'll be starting in the dark.
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