Juliana Moves

This is going to basically be a photo series because, my god, the trails were gorgeous this weekend. This past weekend was my last long run before MMT in 12 days. I am officially tapering! YAY! I had 30 miles Saturday and 15 on Sunday (though I cut that short to 10), and I am pleased to share that I am feeling pretty good post-runs.

On Saturday, Patrick and I drove out to Elizabeth’s Furnace so that I could run roughly miles 33-63 of the MMT course (Elizabeth’s to Camp Roosevelt). Patrick brought his mountain bike to ride between acting as my makeshift aid station throughout the day. It was a beautiful, but hot day, and I was glad to use the opportunity to practice my hydration strategy and generally staying calm in the heat. I think I did a pretty good job!

This chunk of the MMT course is nice because it has a few miles of road, but it also has the largest climb on the entire 100 mile route. I had gotten it mixed up in my head and thought that Veach Gap was the biggest climb, but it’s actually at Habron Gap! I was relieved to realize this after the fact because the climb up Habron felt so much worse than the climb up Veach – LOL. It all checks out now!

Anyway, before we even left the house Saturday morning I got the good vibes started with a popsicle I found deep in our freezer because why not?! Remind me to get more of these this summer.

The run I did started with a climb up Shawl Gap, which is not too steep but is long enough to make you work for it. I tried to take this time to settle in, warm up, and generally focus on appreciating the gorgeous day and trail in front of me. The mountain laurels are also just beginning to bloom. They were so nice to see and I am sure will be absolutely stunning in a few weeks.

I hadn’t run this chunk of the course since my MMT attempt last year, so I forgot how enjoyable the descent off of Shawl is! Granted, last year it was muddy and wet, but I was having a wonderful time on Saturday! It’s a bit steep down at first, but it turns into smooth, grassy singletrack and I was in love.

Unbeknownst to me, Patrick was riding up where I was descending, so I was very excited to have a Patrick run-in!

I continued on, cruised on the road for a bit, and then started the climb up Veach. This climb is long and a very straight line, but not too bad. It’s not technical, and I remember just staring at a man’s feet in front of me during MMT last year and trucking up to the top. Sometimes that’s all you can do! The ridgeline at the top of Veach is pretty runnable, which I also enjoyed. 

Eventually I descended back down to another road and made my way to where the Habron Gap aid station would be (at the base of the big climb). The road section here was long, hillier than I remembered, and exposed. I was hot! It was still so picturesque though. I saw a few properties for sale… if only!

Patrick was waiting with the car so that I could fill up on water and food. The parking lot was by a Shenandoah River access point, and I so badly wished I could just take a quick dip in the water. As I was running along the road, I was passed by a big bus towing river rafts and a few trucks carrying kayaks. It seemed like such a good time and a perfect day for water sports, too! 

Getting up Habron was rough (because, again, I thought I had already done the hardest climb!), but I managed! I was rewarded with a ridgeline full of fallen pine needles baking in the sun. I think that smell is the best scent on earth. Ugh, it just reminds me of a summery ridgeline! What’s not to love?!

I started hearing thunder while I was trekking along the ridge, so I tried to hustle to begin the descent. As I was coming down towards Camp Roosevelt (which is the loveliest, most runnable descent, by the way), Patrick started running up to meet me! This was a nice surprise because it had started raining at this point, and I was looking forward to being done. We saw some baby Eastern Newts and a turtle on the trail. I love me a wildlife sighting.

Don’t get me wrong, I was ready to be done running that day, but I was also really proud that I finished knowing I could keep going! That’s always a confidence boost. Patrick and I also reflected on how, in the past, I would finish these training runs completely spent and mentally and physically drained. This training block I really got better at taking care of myself on the run, so I never finished a run quite as wrung out! Love that for me!

We got home later than expected that day, and I went to bed as soon as I could.

Fast forward a few hours to Sunday morning and I had another run on deck. We dilly dallied all morning because of some rain, but we did get to go to our neighborhood farmer’s market on its opening day and we took care of grocery shopping! I also made this packing list for Patrick to put in his “box”. He has a bad habit of forgetting some pretty important gear for adventures, so hopefully this helps. I have a lot of practice running through my mental checklist for trail running needs! 

(By the way, that North Face box is awesome. Patrick wanted a gear box really badly, so I got that one for him on sale last year. He’d previously been dragging around so many bags of crap, and now he can put it all in the box! I think it’s working well. I have a gray weekender bag that I use for my gear. It does the trick and also probably smells disgusting hehehe.)

We headed to Rock Creek around 2:30 pm to get the party started. Patrick had 18 miles to do, and I aimed to do 10-15 miles depending on how I felt. It wasn’t as hot on Sunday, but it was decently humid! 

I had so much fun out there. I wasn’t sure how my legs would feel (spoiler: surprisingly great!), so I kept it easy, took photos, and generally just tried to enjoy myself. I’d call it a huge success! So much luscious greenery!

I finished before Patrick, changed into dry clothes, and tailgated at the car with my post-run protein shake and book. 

I was so pleased with the entire weekend! I’ve mentioned before that my body has been feeling oddly tired and everything felt harder than usual over the last few weeks. This weekend must’ve hit the reset button on my body because I feel amazing. I cannot wait to soak in this taper! I hope I feel like a caged animal by the end of it, but for now? I’ll be chilling. 

My big to dos? Massage tonight, pedicure next week, eat, sleep, hydrate, and start thinking about drop bags!

I can’t believe this big training block is over! How time flies! I can’t wait to go see what I am capable of come May 17. I couldn’t have done this without my awesome coach Adrien. This MMT training block has felt like night and day compared to last year!

Love,

JN