Last year I climbed 58 peaks, which is the most I have ever done in a year. I was really happy with that total, but this year I knew I could do more, so I set the mark at 65 and today I climbed my 33rd peak of the year, so I am half way to my goal with 7 months left in the year.
I ran up Lake Mountain with Jun and MattVB. We had an awesome run. Jun set the pace and typically we stop running and start hiking about 1.5 miles in when the trail gets steep, but not today. Jun kept running up the steep hills, so Matt and I did too. It was a lot of fun. I ran up the hills without stopping until 3.3 miles in. It was really steep and I could have kept running, but I realized my hiking pace would actually be a little faster going straight up, so I hiked the steeper sections near the top, but I think we ran at least 90% of the 4.2 miles up and it showed with a PR of 1:02:50. My previous PR was last Sat at 1:15. It was cold and windy at the top, so after I gagged down a gel we went down.
Jun took off like a rabbit and after about a half mile I couldn't see him anymore. After the steep rocky section I kept it under 7:00 most of the way back to the car and finished in 1:33. I love running down that mountain. I wonder if playing air guitar while blasting Janes Addiction slows your pace? My previous best time was 1:48, so it was a good day for sure. | 