eighteen

These past two weeks have felt more and more like a mandatory taper. There's been much going on beyond running. I returned to NC late Monday only to leave early on Tuesday to pick up Uwharrie and visit with friends in the Mountain Bridge.

This was my first time on the mountain since leaving Caesars Head by foot back in March. What a wholesome feeling to gaze down upon the familiar dismal forest, our beautiful backyard from years past! The late afternoon sun hovered over Table Rock and sent blinding rays of peace and warmth into my soul.

Uwharrie and I ran 6.5 miles in the early evening down in Pisgah. We stumbled over the leaves, roots and rocks in the quiet Thrift and Sycamore Coves, enjoying each other's company once again.

After dinner with Chris and Katie at Celito Lindo's, we zipped up to Black Mountain to meet with Brian and head to his pad. Brian is renting us a room in his cabin above the North Fork Reservoir. We're weary from eight months of nomadic living, so it feels good to settle a little, even if only for a winter.

I was eager to make way Wednesday morning to meet with Lily along the AT north of Iron Mountain Gap. Uwharrie and I ran four miles to meet her, then finished the ten mile out-and-back to get to greeting and feeding our hungry hiker.

I went in to work Thursday and Friday. Imbetween, Brian, Lily, my folks and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. We worked up our appetite with an adventurous exploration of the nearby unspoiled Appalachian coves.

The next days slipped by in lazy food coma. Lily got back on the trail Sunday morning to resume her trek to Springer and Uwharrie and I went to work. A cold evening drizzle discouraged me from running further than a couple laps around the half-mile Lake Tomahawk trail.

Monday, Adam and I pounded out a healthy five miler out the door from their Presbyterian home, it felt good. Perhaps this period of taper will bode well as I seek to work more LSD runs into 70-80 mile weeks in December.