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Mt. Greylock-there's only one hill

September 20, 2016 (Afternoon)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
One of the many xc traditions here is to run up the tallest mountain in Massachusetts, Mt. Greylock. (Most of the other traditions are less strenuous.) Many of the slower and lower mileage people don't go all the way up and I thought I wasn't going to. But I got there and decided I was going to try and do it. Mainly so I could say I'd run up Mt. Greylock, the tallest mountain in Massachusetts. The group of other slow people going to the top left right away and I missed them so I ended up doing it alone. The first two miles are the steepest, with lots of switchbacks and no parts that resemble any kind of a recovery. I was completely positive I wasn't going to make it to the top for the first bit. I made it to the water station about 3.5 miles in after like close to 40 min (it was really really steep don't judge) and the coaches asked me if I wanted to get a ride part of the way up. I said no and kept going. 2 minutes later I kind of regretted it but after that I kind of got into a rhythm. It was kind of a surreal experience. It got a bit less steep and my legs started to move faster. I wasn't trying to move faster but it happened and I felt weirdly good (not that I wouldn't have stopped if given the chance). The whole thing passed surprisingly quickly even though it was the longest amount of time I've ever run. I was the last one up the mountain and I arrived just as they were about to take the team picture. There were still donuts (I legit cried halfway through at the thought that they might be all gone when I got up there.) I actually don't feel as tired as I thought I would and definitely could have gone faster. It would have been nice to be near people.

I know this is a really long log about something that means nothing to any of you guys so thanks for bearing with me. it was a really cool experience and I'm glad I did it.