Distance: 11.65 mi.
Time: 01:32:58 - 7:58 ppm.
Running Buddy
If you don't normally look at the map in the Running Buddy link, now would be a good time to do it. I was invited to spend a couple days with Anne Marie in her parents' mountain community, and as such I was able to put in some seriously rolling miles at the base of the mountain.
Chateau de Martin is located somewhere near Hendersonville, N.C., in a lush, private, golf-course community on the side of a mountain. The development is called Bright's Creek, after a nearby stream that runs into a lake. I entertained ideas of running the four miles from the base of the development up to the house, but luckily for me AM discouraged this idea (it climbs the entire way and is so steep at times that merely driving up it is precarious). I will, however, save this one for a later date - a hill workout from hell, if you will.
I started at the clubhouse as several members were excitedly roaring in for their Sunday morning tee times. I felt right at home as makes such as Lexus, Mercedes, and Infiniti came by me, the drivers throwing up friendly waves. I twisted and turned and ran up and down a road called Palmer and then came to a fork. I have a tendency to get lost, but that seemed impossible out here because everything looked different. I took a right and ran over a bridge. It was incredibly peaceful. If I get to run here again I'm going to make a point to do so under the sunrise. Running right down the middle of the road wasn't a problem as there were no people anywhere (after I passed all the golfers, of course). No idiot bikers who don't follow traffic laws, no soccer moms in SUVs who can't see me because they're talking on the phone while driving, etc, etc....perfect.
I ran down a road called Silver Creek and put in some serious work on hills - ups and downs. I ducked into a construction site to water the bushes, then turned down another road to explore a small community that was still a work in progress. Many of the lots were cleared out, with mailboxes in place, and many more were uncleared with "for sale" signs in the yard. I found two homes that were complete and appeared to be occupied. One of them looked to have an incredible view of a valley and one of the mountain peaks behind it. Ever wary of getting carried away with exploration - especially since I didn't have anywhere to stop for water - I turned around and headed back towards home.
I did need to add on miles so when I came back to Palmer Road and the fork I decided to go the opposite direction, towards Lake Adger. This body of water was narrow and very quiet, with a marina that appeared mostly occupied by canoes and kayaks. What a lifestyle...in the interest of respecting the "members only" signs I neglected to do much exploring on the marina. I continued on up the road and down some more rolling hills. All told, I would achieve close to 1,000 feet of elevation gain on this run. I wasn't really worried about my pace, as it was inevitably going to be slow, but I was working and keeping it respectful nonetheless. I wandered around a little bit more and wished I could go further, as the scenery only got better, but I had to turn around. I came across the stream again, well tucked away in the woods, and a lively group of birds that didn't seem too thrilled by my presence. I don't blame them.
As I headed back up Palmer Road and into the development, I glanced down at Running Buddy and noticed that I was besting the 8:00 per mile mark. This pleased me greatly after all that work, and I kicked into another gear. I was hoping to get in more miles, but this was more than a solid effort and I was spent after charging up a hill in front of the clubhouse.
A special warm thanks to AM for inviting me as her guest on this trip and thereby allowing me to get the work done in such exquisitely beautiful surroundings. Maybe one day I'll be able to run in a place like this every day.
Time: 01:32:58 - 7:58 ppm.
Running Buddy
If you don't normally look at the map in the Running Buddy link, now would be a good time to do it. I was invited to spend a couple days with Anne Marie in her parents' mountain community, and as such I was able to put in some seriously rolling miles at the base of the mountain.
Chateau de Martin is located somewhere near Hendersonville, N.C., in a lush, private, golf-course community on the side of a mountain. The development is called Bright's Creek, after a nearby stream that runs into a lake. I entertained ideas of running the four miles from the base of the development up to the house, but luckily for me AM discouraged this idea (it climbs the entire way and is so steep at times that merely driving up it is precarious). I will, however, save this one for a later date - a hill workout from hell, if you will.
I started at the clubhouse as several members were excitedly roaring in for their Sunday morning tee times. I felt right at home as makes such as Lexus, Mercedes, and Infiniti came by me, the drivers throwing up friendly waves. I twisted and turned and ran up and down a road called Palmer and then came to a fork. I have a tendency to get lost, but that seemed impossible out here because everything looked different. I took a right and ran over a bridge. It was incredibly peaceful. If I get to run here again I'm going to make a point to do so under the sunrise. Running right down the middle of the road wasn't a problem as there were no people anywhere (after I passed all the golfers, of course). No idiot bikers who don't follow traffic laws, no soccer moms in SUVs who can't see me because they're talking on the phone while driving, etc, etc....perfect.
I ran down a road called Silver Creek and put in some serious work on hills - ups and downs. I ducked into a construction site to water the bushes, then turned down another road to explore a small community that was still a work in progress. Many of the lots were cleared out, with mailboxes in place, and many more were uncleared with "for sale" signs in the yard. I found two homes that were complete and appeared to be occupied. One of them looked to have an incredible view of a valley and one of the mountain peaks behind it. Ever wary of getting carried away with exploration - especially since I didn't have anywhere to stop for water - I turned around and headed back towards home.
I did need to add on miles so when I came back to Palmer Road and the fork I decided to go the opposite direction, towards Lake Adger. This body of water was narrow and very quiet, with a marina that appeared mostly occupied by canoes and kayaks. What a lifestyle...in the interest of respecting the "members only" signs I neglected to do much exploring on the marina. I continued on up the road and down some more rolling hills. All told, I would achieve close to 1,000 feet of elevation gain on this run. I wasn't really worried about my pace, as it was inevitably going to be slow, but I was working and keeping it respectful nonetheless. I wandered around a little bit more and wished I could go further, as the scenery only got better, but I had to turn around. I came across the stream again, well tucked away in the woods, and a lively group of birds that didn't seem too thrilled by my presence. I don't blame them.
As I headed back up Palmer Road and into the development, I glanced down at Running Buddy and noticed that I was besting the 8:00 per mile mark. This pleased me greatly after all that work, and I kicked into another gear. I was hoping to get in more miles, but this was more than a solid effort and I was spent after charging up a hill in front of the clubhouse.
A special warm thanks to AM for inviting me as her guest on this trip and thereby allowing me to get the work done in such exquisitely beautiful surroundings. Maybe one day I'll be able to run in a place like this every day.
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