Training for the Mount Mitchell Challenge ... again

The Mount Mitchell Challenge (MMC) is a popular ultramarathon that takes place in the dead of winter each year near Asheville, NC. The basic challenge is to run from the little town of Black Mountain to the top of Mt Mitchell (highest point in North America east of the Missippi River), and then run back down. This entails a 20 mile continuous ascent of ~4000’, mostly on trails, followed by 20 miles of continuous, thigh-shattering descending. I recently spent 5 months training hard for the 2016 event.

The 2016 MMC was cancelled owing to safety concerns at the top of the mountain. I had fun racing the shorter distance (Black Mountain Marathon), but I’m hoping to get a chance to return and complete the full 40-mile Challenge. I don’t know what, if any special consideration will be given in the lottery for the 2017 event, but I’m planning the next year as if I’m going to run it. If I don’t get a spot, I might go ahead and run the course on my own on a different day.

Square one: March 2016

So, based on my Black Mountain Marathon performance, how shall I plan the next year of running to ensure a fast and satisfying Mount Mitchell experience? Simple, but not easy:

A)   Increase my ability to handle brutal descents, both trail and road.

B)   Increase my ability to run uphill aggressively, but sustainably.

C)   Look into traction devices for dealing with ice.

It’s a long time before the 2017 MMC and there are some other things I want to do in 2016. In this post I’m going to map out a set of tentative goals and comment on how they either complement or conflict. In April, I will begin posting a more specific training plan and kick off a series of commentaries and reports on my running adventures.

Flirting with the road

On 3 April, I am running the Knoxville Marathon. I haven’t done a road race since the 2013 Knoxville Marathon, and I’m curious to see how my Mt Mitchell preparations will translate. Two weeks after the Black Mtn trail marathon, I did a 22 mile long run as part of a 70-mile week. Then I tapered pretty severely with 48 and 39 mile weeks … although a work trip to southern California made it essentially imperative that I hit some iconic trails: Mt Baldy with over 5000’ of climbing (and equal amount of descending) in 15 mile loop, and several days hammering sections of the Santa Monica Backbone Trail. I came off that week pretty sore and out of touch with road running. My last week of tapering will include about 12 miles total, easy running with the dogs. I’ll post something about the race in early April.

I am also considering a road mile. I haven’t run a mile for time since high school gym class. I’m in my early forties and a decent long-distance runner. I wonder if I can crack a 5 minute mile … so I’m putting the Hal Canfield Memorial Milefest on my calendar (3 Sep 2016).

These road running larks are far removed from the 2017 Mt Mitchell Challenge, so I consider them potentially beneficial opportunities to test and train my speed without detracting from focused training on trails in late 2016, early 2017. Besides, there is a solid amount of road running to contend with on both ends of the MMC.

The only other race that really matters to me

I’m sort of in love with the Cumberland Trail 50K. It’s tough, with 7000’+ elevation gain, mostly technical single track, and some dicey sections of unmaintained and poorly marked trail. This early October event will be the target of my next six months of training. I will then have 21 weeks to zero in on Mt Mitchell. Training for these two mountain/trail events is complementary. More problematic is the interloping road milefest more-or-less one month prior to the Cumberland Trail race. I will definitely do some specific preparation for the mile, but I won’t let it detract from my Cumberland Trail training. I’m intending to incorporate track intervals in my ultra training anyways, so prepping for the mile will simply have to fit in to that picture. More specifics coming next month.

Trail adventure plans for 2016

As I build my long runs in preparation for the Cumberland Trail and Mt Mitchell, I will be working in a handful of specific trail adventures in the spirit of Human Powered Adventure.

John Muir Trail FKTTN: The most difficult thing I am considering is a ~50 mile traverse of the Big South Fork National RecreationArea on the John Muir Trail (yes, we have a John Muir Trail in Tennessee!). If I do it, it will be unsupported (i.e., I plan to carry all the gear I need and refill my water supply from springs along the way. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine pulling it off as a true Human Powered Adventure: It is too long and too far away. I will need to be dropped off at one end and picked up at the other.

At over 50 miles, this run is too long to be considered a good training run for races of 40 miles and less. Quite possibly, it will leave me wrecked and needing extra recovery. If I were totally lazer-focused on 2016/2017 race performance, I would not consider doing it. I want to do it for three reasons: (1) Big South Fork is awesome, (2) the John Muir Trail in CA is so famous, I just can’t resist striking a feeble blow for TN, and (3) I have a longer term desire to experience longer runs.

Roan Highlands Traverse: The second most challenging adventure is a 20 mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail (plus a couple of out-and-backs to tap each of the three 6000’+ summits of Roan) that traverses Roan Mountain (or the Roan Highlands). This is a stunningly beautiful section of trail, but I expect the cumulative elevation gain to be well over 5000’. This, too would be too much to take as fully Human Powered. At least at this point, I’m intending to do it point to point with cars and/or crew at each end.

Human Powered Ascent of Clingman’s Dome: At 6,644’ above sea level, Clingman’s Dome is the highest point in TN and the highest point crossed by the Appalachian Trail. If one is willing to run a 25-30 mile round trip (with a ~4000’ climb and equal descent), Clingman can be reached from trail heads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park that are within road cycling distance of Knoxville (~40 miles each way).

Human Powered Ascent of Mt LeConte: At 6,594’ Le Conte is the highest peak fully within the State of TN (Clingman is on the NC border) and with a 5,301’ difference in elevation from its base, it is one of the most prominent mountains in Appalachia. My intention would be to cycle from Knoxville to Gatlinburg and run the full 5,301’ (roughly 10 miles each way).

Human Powered Ascent of Thunderhead: Thunderhead tops out at just under 5,500’, so lacks the panache of a 6K summit. But with a total cumulative elevation gain over 7,000’ the “Thunderhead Mountain Marathon” is challenging loop. The run would start and end at Tremont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, climb to the AT via Greenbier Ridge, traverse a very rugged and fun section of the AT, and descend via Bote Mountain. Tremont is bikeable from Knoxville (still ~40 miles each way), so a true HPA is my intention.

 More interesting posts to come. Gotta go get ready for the marathon ...