Parked at Harris Mountain Rd for the second day in a row - the day before, I intended to run this route, but wasn't up for it so I postponed. This run was intended simply as a training run. I wanted to put my body through climbing fatigue and practice on-the-go nutrition.
I filled a small pack with 1.5L of water in a camelback reservoir, along with a handful of Valentines Day chocolates, some dates, and three salt pills. I ate and drank everything I had, and didn't resupply anywhere. Wore a long sleeve tech shirt, which was too much as the day got fairly warm.
I took a comfortable pace until the turnaround point, where I scaled back even further. I returned to roughly the prior pace for the last 5 miles or so. The trail was in very good condition - only a handful of muddy spots, and only a handful of leafy sections.
Not too many other folks out there either, other than within the .5mi radius of the notch parking area.
Overall, a nice run. If I have a free week, I may go back and make a true race effort attempt, but for now I'm happy with this. Even on non-race effort, a course like this is challenging enough.