A couple miles in, pointing at the "peak"

So I made the Mt. Mitchell climb. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, there were even a few flat parts and downhills early on. The last few mile up the mountain were pretty rough going though. I started just off the parkway at highway 80 and headed up through a couple tunnels (there was ice on the ground in a few of them!) and then up some more. Every mile or so there was a little overlook, which is why I love the Blue Ridge Parkway. At those overlooks, Trish would usually stop and take a few pictures, I'd grab a gel and whatever clothing I needed, and then I'd keep going. Early on I was passed by several friendly bikers who encouraged me to "keep it up, brother" And for the first ten miles or so I held a pretty decent pace. As the altitude started ramping up (hey, Raleigh sits at 200 feet) it started getting chilly and foggy, which was great. I haven't experienced cold in a while - it doesn't happen in the south very much. I only put down a couple of gels and some water, and I managed to cover right about 16 miles in 1:53.

Now - a couple of days later, I'm feeling pretty good, my calves are incredibly sore, but I managed to get in a good track workout this morning - mile repeats in 4:55, 4:52, 4:48, 4:47, and 4:45. I haven't ran that fast in a long time, so hopefully I can hold 5:09 pace for 13 miles without stopping. Well I still have two months to train. It's looking much more hopeful now.

Here we are at the top