HAV2RUN

Smuttynose Palooza Indoor Half Marathon

2012-01-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

During the winter months, the Gate City Striders have indoor track workouts at the Hampshire Dome in Milford,NH. I am told it's one of the larger indoor tracks around (roughly a 1/5th mile per lap). Even though it's the only indoor track I've run on, it's my favorite. The 2-lane rubberized track has fairly sharp corners (which are slightly banked), but it doesn't seem to affect your stride too much (at least in track workouts). The banked corners seem to help with the transition in and out of the turns. So why is this important? Well, the track is great for doing 400m or 800m repeats. When we start doing mile repeats it gets a bit repetitive, and becomes mentally tough....and that's only 5 laps.

Last year the folks at Loco Running put on an indoor half marathon at the Hampshire Dome. I thought they were nuts and the runners who signed up even nuttier. Jump forward to this year and I start seeing the ads for the Smuttynose Palooza Indoor Half Marathon (results). This time it intrigued me. It must have been the name change (kudos to the marketing guys). In a year that I'm looking to branch out and try some new things, I decided why not. From the start I figured this was more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge. I was mostly right.

Since the track is so small, the race was broken up into two 50-person heats, one at 2pm and one at 4pm. I was in the 4pm heat (as a side note, this might be the only race I've ever done at 4pm). Chip timing was a must (and even that wasn't foolproof). The RD had the track wheel measured this year and determined we had to run 68 full laps plus a little more for the 13.1 miles. Last year they ran 66.5 laps for the same race (more on that later). They also had a flat screen TV setup which displayed the runners lap time and # of laps run. In addition, Andy Schachat was there announcing names, lap times and laps run throughout the race. Thankfully he would do this sparingly and not on every lap.

To me, the best way to run this race would be to figure out my goal pace, convert it to lap time and then run every lap at that pace. I looked at some race reports from last year, and even last years website and found several references to the track being 317 meters. As it turns out, 66.5 laps * 317m = 13.1 miles. Apparently this is what they used last year. So my goal was to run around 6:30 to 6:35 min/mile pace or 1:17 to 1:18 lap times. Unfortunately, I forgot what lap time I was supposed to run by the time I got to the Dome. I thought it was 1:15 laps but couldn't remember. I guess I would have to run on how it felt instead. We were told we'd record 69 laps on the monitor (the first lap recorded was only a few feet based on where we started on the track). Andy would announce when we had a few laps to go so we'd know when we were finished. Seemed pretty straightforward.

Since there was a race going on before our 4pm start, we couldn't warm up on the track (and I wasn't dressed to run outside). I had zero warmup. When we finally lined up a little after 4pm, I went from resting to half marathon pace in one lap and stayed that way for nearly 1 1/2hrs.

It took a few laps to figure out a comfortable pace. It was pretty clear 1:15 laps weren't going to happen so I backed off ever so slightly and targeted 1:17 laps instead. The race itself was pretty uneventful. I would only get passed by one person (Jason Porter). He would lap me every 4 laps or so. Every once in a while Andy would call out my splits and tell me how many laps I'd run, counting down the last 3-4 laps as I got close to 69 laps. I picked up the pace near the end hoping to finish strong and crossed the line in 1:28:48. What? That doesn't sound right. Oh well, I grabbed a beer and a slice of pizza (no cool down run either), relaxed for a few minutes and eventually went home. Later that evening when the results were posted my time was changed to 1:27:37. Better but still not what I expected.

Lap	Split	Lap	Split	Lap	Split	Lap	Split
1	00:11	19	01:18	37	01:18	55	01:17
2	01:14	20	01:20	38	01:18	56	01:17
3	01:13	21	01:17	39	01:17	57	01:16
4	01:14	22	01:18	40	01:17	58	01:16
5	01:16	23	01:18	41	01:19	59	01:17
6	01:16	24	01:18	42	01:18	60	01:16
7	01:15	25	01:18	43	01:17	61	01:17
8	01:16	26	01:19	44	01:18	62	01:17
9	01:15	27	01:19	45	01:18	63	01:18
10	01:16	28	01:18	46	01:19	64	01:16
11	01:16	29	01:17	47	01:19	65	01:16
12	01:17	30	01:16	48	01:18	66	01:14
13	01:17	31	01:19	49	01:19	67	01:17
14	01:18	32	01:18	50	01:17	68	01:15
15	01:21	33	01:17	51	01:18	69	01:13
16	01:18	34	01:16	52	01:15	70	01:10
17	01:20	35	01:18	53	01:18
18	01:17	36	01:20	54	01:19

So what are my thoughts on running an indoor half marathon on a 311m track?

Although the weather was better than outdoors, the air is stagnant. A little warm and no breeze. Not awful, just different. Hard to explain.
There are 272 turns. Unlike an outdoor track, the corners are square so you notice the turns more. The banked turns helped but the turns do a number on your feet. My feet were constantly sliding in my shoes on the turns and friction created numerous blisters on the bottoms of my feet and between a few of my toes.
50 people running on an indoor 311m track is crowded. Traffic rules were in effect, runners were instructed to stay on the inside lane unless passing. Unfortunately, people don't follow rules. Every lap was spent weaving in and out of people, sometimes even running off the track entirely because of the crowds of runners.
I bet I passed nearly 1000 runners throughout the race. That would never happen outdoors.
I ran alone the entire race.
Here's the deal on the track length. Last year they called it 317m. This year they called it 311m. That's a difference of nearly 3 laps when running 13.1 miles. So which is correct? Both, sort of. The 311m is the measurement of the inside of lane 1. The 317m is the measurement of the inside of lane 2. If you run just outside of lane 2 it's 325m around. It doesn't sound like much but when 5 laps make up a mile, the extra distance starts to add up.
They had signs scattered around the track indicating the various mile markers along with how many laps made up each mile. In my opinion, the mile markers were not helpful. It was very hard to keep track what lap you were on (even with a TV monitor and announcer).
The TV monitor displayed your lap time and recorded how many laps you had run. However, the distance between the timing mat and the monitor was just a tad too close. The purpose of the monitor was so you could see your lap time and # of laps run. However, as I ran by, my name would show up just as I was running by and I couldn't see my lap time or laps run. Thankfully Andy would call out this info once in a while.
I thought miles 5-10 were the hardest. The fun of running on the track had worn off and you didn't have enough laps done to know the end was near.
The discrepancy of my initial finishing time to the posted time was because I actually ran 70 laps (instead of the 69 required). It seems the TV monitor was hooked up to a different timing mat then the official timing mat. The TV mat said I ran 69, but the official mat said I ran 70. Not a huge deal since they corrected it but it did affect the last couple of laps. In fact, it negated my fastest lap of the day, which turned out to be my 70th.
Running a consistent pace is definitely the way to run this race.
I don't think running indoors is faster than running an outdoor half. Sure it's flat, but sometimes hills are good. They force you to use different muscles and work harder and they also have downhills which allow you to run faster.
You cannot run the tangents indoors.
I spent most of the time running in lane 2 (or further out) so there's no doubt I ran further than 13.1 miles. I'm pretty sure my pace was closer to 6:30-6:35 pace, as opposed to my official pace of 6:42. This is not a complaint. I'm ok with the official time. They measured the track correctly (this time). But if you're looking to run a PR, indoor is not the place to do it.
It is truly a mentally tough race. I had fun. I'm glad I did it....once. I probably would not do another indoor half marathon though.

Time to Get Serious!

2012-01-04T15:11:00.001-05:00

Time's up. I don't do serious.

It's a new year so I figured I'd blog about running, mostly because I didn't want to change my blog name. I've been in a running funk lately and wasn't really enjoying my runs. Thankfully I seem to be over it now and I'm looking forward to some running (and racing) in the next few months. Contrary to popular belief, I HAVE been running and even managed a couple of races recently.
RACING
The most recent was the Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5k in Temple, NH on New Years Day. This was my 9th year running this race (no doubt the most I've run the same race). A nice, low-key, small town race and a moderately difficult course. In eight attempts, I've yet to break 19 minutes. This year was no different. Not a great race (time wise) but I did manage to run negative splits for each mile so that's something positive to take away from this one.
TRACK
Yesterday was the first day of indoor track practice at the Hampshire Dome. The coached workouts put on by the Gate City Striders goes for 10 weeks and is something I look forward to each year. As I probably mention every year, I LOVE this track. Of course, I don't have much experience with indoor tracks but I do know this is a big one (nearly 1/5th mile per lap). The opening workout was 6 x 800 repeats @ 5k pace. Once I figured out a pace, I managed to run fairly consistent laps (2:52, 2:56, 2:54, 2:54, 2:54, 2:54). Overall, a good, solid workout.
2011 REVIEW
I think last year I skipped the ole "Year in Review" post so I'll think I'll start a trend and skip it this year too. Honestly, there wasn't much to review anyways.
2012 PREVIEW
So, what's in store for 2012? Well, I have a few surprises this year. I plan to venture a bit outside my comfort zone and try a few new races and of course stick with a few of my favorites. The first one is coming up in 2 weeks. It's an indoor half marathon (at the Hampshire Dome) put on by LOCO Running. This one seems more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge. We'll see if I still like this track after 68 laps.
As far as snowshoe racing: well, I guess the weather speaks for itself. The longer we go without snow, the less interested I become. I'm almost to the point of writing this season off all together, even if it does snow....eventually.

Competitive Fire

2011-12-06T12:58:00.001-05:00

Probably the biggest thing I missed during my running hiatus this summer was the competition that comes with racing. I don't mean the actual competitors (although I'm sure I missed some of them too!), but the actual act of competing. I love to race. Not because I'm an elite athlete. Not because I need to win. Not because I need another t-shirt or medal. But because I have a constant desire to push myself. To work harder. To get faster. When I sign up for yet another race, Deb usually says "I can't help myself" but I think we're on the same page. I think she know I need to race.
The lack of running didn't bother me nearly as much as the lack of racing. I can always find something else to do to stay in shape or fill the time (mostly). I got used to not running. I mountain biked. I had fun. But I wasn't racing. It's amazing how annoying social media can be when you can't do what you like to do (especially when 90% of my FB friends are runners). Man, did you guys bug me!

I've now been running for about 3 months. I can't say I've got that competitive fire yet, but at least I have the pilot lit. I've taken it real slow (a little gun shy about getting injured again), maybe even too slow. I generally average about 30 miles a week. That's fine for staying in shape but it's not enough if you want to get faster. I have been racing a bit, which can be tough this time of year. It seems the rest of the running world is winding down and I'm trying to ramp up. Not a lot of races to choose from but I found a few. I ran a couple of 5k trail races in November on the familiar trails of Mine Falls. I ran The Great Gobbler 5k Trail Race on Thanksgiving (only the second time I've ever run a race on Thanksgiving, believe it or not). Finally, this past weekend I had the lead off leg of one of our Mens Masters team at the Mill Cities Relay. Considering I averaged nearly 6:40's for a 5k in September (might be a PW), I guess I should be happy with 6:15's for 5.4 miles. I am not complaining. I'm just happy to be running again and more importantly, racing again. Time to ramp up the miles. Watch your back, I might be right behind you!

RANDOM NOTE: I took some pictures on legs 3, 4 and 5 after running my leg on Sunday. Feel free to share with anyone who ran the Mill Cities Relay.

2011 Mill Cites Relay Pictures

Pinnacle Challenge - Solo Edition

2011-10-14T12:10:00.002-04:00

Team acidotic RACING

The Pinnacle Challenge VII in Newport,NH is probably the biggest team event of the year for acidotic RACING (30+ this year!). The unique double duathlon event (5m road run, 5.4m mountain bike, 13.75m road bike, 3.65m trail run) offers something for everyone. For the past couple of years I was on a 4-person men's team, running the 5m road leg and 3.65m trail leg previously. Early on in 2011 (before I got injured surprisingly) I decided to do it solo.

Fast forward to September of this year. I hadn't run in nearly 3 months due to a nagging injury. Thankfully I kept busy with a ton of mountain biking and some tolerable road biking, but no running. So I had roughly one month to ease back into running just enough so I wouldn't embarrass myself at Pinnacle. I needed every day.

Teammate Jason Massa (who has done this race solo every year I believe) offered some advice - do each leg as hard as you can and hope to hang on at the end. Ok, I'm sure I'm paraphrasing a bit but I liked his advice. It is a race after all. My brain doesn't have a 'go easy' gear during a race. I guess the point was you'd probably over-think each leg too much if tried to pace yourself along the way. The other (more important) piece of advice was to make sure you eat and drink, primarily on the road bike. Noted.

I lined up with teammates Liz Hall and Austin Stonebreaker for the 5m leg. I think we all stayed within a few seconds of each other for the entire out/back run. Surprisingly, this was the leg I was most worried about and I was quite pleased with the results. I ran hard, finishing the run in 31:47 (6:21 pace). I quickly swapped shoes, threw on a helmet and headed out on the mountain bike for leg #2.

Finishing the 5m leg

Ok, a couple of things to note if you plan to do this solo. First, it's much harder going from running to biking then biking to running (like in a triathlon). Second, wear gloves. Finally, carrying a 30lb mountain bike up a gazillion stairs on the side of a ski jump (after running 5 miles) is tiring.You've been warned.


Evil stairs

Yes, both the mountain bike and the trail run legs go up these stairs, located about a 1/4 mile into the leg. My legs were burning when I made it to the top with my bike. And it doesn't get much easier, with nearly ALL the climbing located in the first half of the bike (and run for that matter). I could do no better than ride the entire climb in my granny gear but at least I was able to ride the entire thing. A few days of heavy rain had left the course very wet and very muddy. By itself it's probably a fun course. Throw in a 5m run for a warm up and the fun kind of goes away. No complaints. It was a nice course. Tough, fairly technical but rideable. Once over the summit I was pushed pretty hard by another rider and we flew on the way down, eventually teaming up with fellow aR teammates Mike Sallade and Amanda House on the screaming descent. We swapped positions a few times before reaching the transition in 42:49, completely covered in mud.

Heading out on the mt bike

The next transition was easy. All I had to do was swap bikes and go. This would be my least favorite leg. The course was a straight 6 mile shot out, followed by a fairly intimidating 1 mile hill and then back to the transition area. As instructed, I drank and ate as much as I could on the ride. I'm sure I went way easier than I should have on this leg. I never really pushed myself. By this point in the race I was looking at it more like a recovery ride. I battled aR teammate Robin Allen-Burke up the monster hill before she put the hammer down and crushed my on the way back. Overall it was a lackluster performance on my part as I finished up in 45:55, a fairly slow 18mph avg. Glad that's done...

Muddy me on the road bike

Generally I had been transitioning fairly well (although there are probably some improvements I could have made to speed things up a bit). I put my trail shoes on, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out on the run. I was tired but felt pretty good but did walk the evil stairs. Like the mountain bike course, the trail run course is all climbing in the first half. In fact, the run course was about 90% of the mountain bike course. I shuffled up the hills, running behind another runner most of the way up. Near the summit I passed and led for a while as we began the descent. Somewhere near the top I made an attempt to jump over a small tree that crossed the trail. As soon as I jumped my right hamstring cramped severely, stopping me in my tracks. The runner went by, asked if I was ok and then continued on. I tried several times to continue on and couldn't even take a single step. Darn it. I had about 2 miles of downhill to go and I couldn't move. I tried to stretch my hamstring as best I could (I do not stretch very well). After several minutes of stretching I was finally able to slowly walk. Eventually I managed to turn my walk into a slow jog and then into a fairly decent run. I was completely paranoid about my hamstring seizing up again, especially running downhill but it held up enough for me to finish the run in a somewhat painful 32:52.

At the finish line...finally!

My 2:35:51 finishing time was good enough for 8th overall in the solo division, 3rd in the masters division (behind Jason Massa in 2nd). I was more than happy with the results , all things considered. It was hard, it was mostly fun but next year I'm pretty sure I'm going back to team competition!

Photo credits - Gianina Lindsey

FOMBA to Bear Brook Ride

2011-09-26T15:30:00.000-04:00

I was talking to a fellow mountain bike rider in Horse Hill a few weeks ago and he mentioned riding from FOMBA in Auburn to Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown. I've seen the snowmobile trail signs around FOMBA, some mentioning Bear Brook but I never really paid attention to them. I pretty much just rode the mountain bike specific single track that FOMBA is famous for. After doing a little research and recruiting a few riders (Chris, Brayden and Dan), I put together a rough plan.We'd drop a vehicle at Bear Brook and start the ride at FOMBA. I had planned 3-4hrs of riding based on pretty much nothing. Originally I had planned to ride a few miles of single track at FOMBA first but Chris astutely pointed out we could ride there anytime. Lets save the riding for Bear Brook instead. Shortly before 10am we headed out.

So, how do you get there you ask? Well, turns out those snowmobile folks have quite the trail network, and do a decent job with signage (but lack in posting online maps). Starting from the Depot Rd parking lot at FOMBA, we rode the fire roads northeast until it crosses the Rockingham Rail Trail. The primary reason for this was to check out all the signage at this intersection. It's here that you'll see a sign saying "Bear Brook" this way. Otherwise, if you just ride up Depot Rd for a 1/4 mile or so, the trail actually crosses there, saving some riding time.

FOMBA to Bear Brook Map

The main corridor (aka trail) going north/south is called Trail 15. We picked it up on the north side of Tower Hill Pond. There were lots of snowmobile trails along the way. The problem was they were just numbers (Trail 6, Trail 12, etc..). Without a snowmobile trail-specific map, they were useless (and like I said earlier, they apparently don't publish their maps online). So we kept riding until we saw the sign for Trail 15N (about 4.5miles in).

Trail 15N would take us all the way into Bear Brook (and Canada if you kept on following it north). For the most part it was very easy to follow. We got hung up for a few minutes when we came across the only paved road we had to cross (Rt27, about 7.5 miles in) because we missed a turn on the powerlines and came out on the road, but not where the trail actually crosses. A little local help got us back on track.

Elevation Profile from FOMBA to Bear Brook

There was some standing water on the trails from a few days of heavy rain but generally the trail offered some great riding (but it does climb steadily going north). Around 9.5miles Trail 15N turned left onto the Chester Turnpike. It was neither in Chester nor a Turnpike (but is on the map). I'd call it a very rugged dirt road at best. After about a mile though we'd finally make the right turn into the southwest corner of Bear Brook (roughly 10 miles into our ride). Although not signed, this section on the Bear Brook Trail Map was called Lost Trail Extension. From there we followed the Ferret Trail around the west side of Bear Hill Pond. After 13 miles of riding, we would finally hit our first section of single track in Bear Brook State Park!

The first trail we hit was the Ledges Hedgehog trail. An excellent, scenic trail through some incredible boulder fields. Seriously technical however. Lots of stone steps to ascend and descend. From there we took a dreadful trail called the Lowland Trail ( I think). Lots of blowdowns, and huge sections completely submerged. It was wet, slow and not much of anything. It eventually brought us around Hayes Marsh (about 15 miles of riding).
At Hayes Marsh we decided on the Carr Ridge Trail. After looking at the map, we came up with a rough plan to head north until we hit the Bear Brook Trail, and then head southeast to our car on Podunk Rd. Up and over what I would guess was Carr Ridge. A somewhat technical but excellent single track trail. The descent was a nicely flowing, fast switchback ride all the way down to the Bear Brook Trail.
Another excellent trail, and as the name implies, the trail followed right along Bear Brook. I think we got off trail a few times near the water but we eventually would pick it up again and continued all the way to the hiker/biker lot on Podunk Rd. It was a solid 2 miles of nice single track riding.
In total we rode for 2hrs 40 minutes, covering roughly 18 miles. This was my first time into Bear Brook and I can't wait to go back!

A Running Post...Finally!

2011-09-16T08:44:00.001-04:00

Alert the media. I'm running again! After 3 months of nearly no running due to injury, I've finally been able to piece together a couple of decent weeks. It's slow and it's hard but I'm glad to be back out on the roads and trails. I really missed racing.

Hampshire 100 Mountain Bike Race

2011-08-24T16:33:00.002-04:00

Note: LONG POST
When I signed up for this race a few months ago, it seemed like a good way to get my endurance fix in. A 100k single loop mountain bike race through the hills of Greenfield, Francestown and a few other hilly New Hampshire towns. True, I've been cycling a lot (for a runner), but not enough to consider myself a cyclist or biker or whatever they call themselves. So for my first mountain bike race ever, why not go big? Honestly, I never looked at the Hampshire 100 as a race. I just wanted the experience to ride 100k on a mountain bike. Just finishing would be good enough the first time out.

With the venue only about 40 minutes from home, the ability to sleep in my own bed was a huge plus. Deb was nice enough to get up at 4:30am and drop me off (thank you!), and after a quick DD stop for coffee and a sausage-egg-cheese sandwich (breakfast of champions), we arrived just before 6am. We met up with fellow acidotic RACING teammate Andy Corrow, who would be riding in the same class (Novice Veteran II - 40-49) as me. After a brief pre-race meeting, we settled into the 5th wave and waited patiently for our turn. Shortly after 7am we were off.

Waiting for wave 5 to start

We were warned the first 20 miles were fairly easy and fast (whatever that means). Although I generally don't ride very long (my longest ride all year was around 50 miles), I wasn't really worried about the 62.5 miles we had to cover. I was more concerned about how much time it would take. My guesstimate at the start was 8-9hrs based on well, pretty much nothing. My longest ride in the history of riding was probably only 1/2 that. Not to worry, no negative thoughts entered my mind. I would not be fooled into thinking this was a race so at the 'go' command I just rode easy. Probably too easy. Even starting with a huge novice group, I basically got passed by nearly everyone in the first few miles (at least it seemed that way). I rode with Andy for about 10 minutes but then he was gone too. Sure, I could have ridden a lot faster, but on a hot and humid day, on a course with probably 7000ft of climbing, I decided to take it out easy.

The first few miles were mostly on dirt roads before hitting some ATV type trails and eventually riding down the side of some rail road tracks. There's something a bit unnerving about riding single file at 15mph along side exposed RR ties, with your pedal just inches from taking you and everyone behind you down. Soon enough we were back on same real trails again. I rode by the first Feed station around mile 10 since I had my Nathan pack with about 40oz of water. I was adding Gu Brew electrolyte tablets (lemon lime) to my water to hopefully keep the cramps at bay. At about 12 miles we rode into the base of Crotched Mt Ski area. It was a bit intimidating considering I thought we were going to the top. Thankfully after a brief climb we circled back down a fairly steep slope, crossed the parking lot and headed back into the woods. I heard one of the guys near the front crashed hard on this hill (I was told he broke his back, yikes). As of today, he was still in the hospital. Around mile 16 we came into Feed station #2 (which was well stocked). I stopped and filled my pack, had 1/2 a banana and a handful of chips and was off in maybe 2-3 minutes.

In a few minutes (after a screaming tar downhill ride) we jumped on probably the worst section of the entire course (IMHO): 5 miles of flat, straight rail trail. It just wasn't any fun, especially the 3 miles of soft sand in the middle section. Oh, but the fun stuff was just around the corner! Shortly after the rail trail, we turned onto a dirt, loose gravel road that appeared to go straight up (Hedgehog Mt). Steep doesn't do it justice. I rode as much as I could without hurting and then decided to walk. I heard the average grade was >14%, with sections approaching 25%. I figured it was a good time to call home and give an update. About 1/2 was up I saw Emily Trespas hiking down. I think we were both surprised to see each other out there! Andy was already more than 5 minutes ahead.

Hedgehog Hill - photo credit Emily Trespas

22 miles in about 2hrs and I guessed the easy part was done. I was feeling pretty good (as I continued to ride well within my limits) and was drinking plenty. I wasn't eating much though and that would be a problem.

Power Line Trail - photo credit David Alden St Pierre

I saw the fiddler around mile 23, just before the power line trail. I'm pretty sure the entire field walked sections of this trail. Incredibly steep, wet and muddy and that doesn't even include the total exposure to the sun. Needless to say, it was a tough grind up the power lines. From the top it was mostly downhill all the way to Feed Station #3 at approximately mile 25. Again, I refilled my bladder, had a 1/2 a banana, some Coke and some chips. It was one of two drop stations (stations where you could have bags sent in advance with whatever you wanted). I just put a spare tube (in case I flatted early) and a spare pair of socks in case I got wet in my bag. I never even looked for it since it wasn't needed. I was tiring of the Lemon-Lime flavored water and grabbed a coconut water as I left the aid station. The trail immediately climbed again (what a shock). A long slow, steep (but rideable) climb up a dirt road before cutting across some fields at the top and eventually heading back down the trails. The next 15 miles were mostly a blur, good solid riding, more climbing and definitely hot. If I remember, it was also pretty slow, I'm guessing because the course was getting a bit more technical. I was still drinking plenty of GU Brew though and generally felt good.

I arrived at the Feed Station #4 (~40 miles) around 4hrs and 30 minutes. I finally caught up with Andy too. I had another banana, a candy bar, more Coke and refilled my bladder...again. I also called home once again with another update. The next 10 miles went by so slow. The riding was hard, lots of technical single track, lots of climbing. I'm sure the single track would have been more fun if I hadn't been riding for nearly 5hrs already. All in all I was doing well. No pains, no cramps, butt didn't hurt, nothing. Feed Station #5 (and the second bag drop) was around mile 50. I grabbed a couple of Honey Stingers out of my bag, refilled my water (and added a couple of Gu Brew tablets), had some Ginger Ale, M&M's and a couple of Figs. Generally I only stayed at the feed stations long enough to fill my bladder (2-3 minutes). I think I caught up with Andy again and would trade places with him over the next 10 miles. The next 7-8 miles to Feed Station #5 (~ mile 57) were some of the hardest and slowest. More climbing, more single track, more climbing and more climbing. I'm so thankful I didn't go out hard in the first 20 miles. I was beginning to walk more of the hills but even that was hard. It ain't easy pushing a 30lb bike up a hill either you know!. For a while thought I could break 8hrs but this course just gets harder and harder (and slower and slower). I think I may have called home one more time but honestly I don't remember. I do remember I was tired of drinking Lemon Lime flavored water. I also remember my nutritional choices weren't the best. I KNOW I didn't eat enough. I'll have to work on that next time. I also need to mix up the fluids (maybe carry a bottle of Coke). In any case, at some point I switched to just water in my bladder (no GU Brew mix). I think this helped a bit.

Somewhere in the mile 50's the thunderstorms came in. It got very dark in the woods and then it poured. It would pour all the way to the finish. I think I passed Andy around mile 60 for the last time. For 60 miles I've been out for a ride generally (never considered it racing). However, once I passed Andy and a couple of other riders around mile 60, my demeanor changed. Finally, I felt like I was racing. I picked up the pace, rode hard and generally felt like I was racing for the first time all day. At this point, I was more concerned with not getting passed in the last few miles as opposed to beating anyone in particular. The last 5 miles were mostly smooth flowing single track but the combination of pouring rain and 8+hrs of riding made it not so much fun.

After a very long day, I finally crossed the road by Greenfield State Park and was on the track around the field for the finish. 8hrs 26minutes of riding and I was done. That wasn't so hard (ok, maybe a little hard).
Andy finished just a few minutes back in 8:31 I think. We both did well in our group, finishing 3rd and 4th in the Novice Veterans II category.


So happy to be done!

Novice Vet II Podium

Although I was tired and hungry, I wasn't really sore and I never cramped up. Of course, it helps not riding hard for most of the day. I'm pretty sure I'd do this race again. I learned a lot (I think) and I'm pretty sure I would ride it a bit differently (faster) next time. If I can figure out a better nutrition plan I'm also confident I could ride under 8hrs as well (assuming similar conditions). If it rains, all bets are off.

24 Hours of Great Glen - 2011 Version

2011-08-19T13:00:00.000-04:00

I am so thankful I got involved with this race 3 years ago. It is by far the event I most look forward to each year, and that's saying a lot considering I'm more of a runner than a rider. This is as close as it gets to being relaxed and stress-free in a 24hr race (if that's even possible). Most of that is due to my incredible friends and teammates who joined me for 3 days of camping and racing at the base of Mt Washington. Of course it also helps to have near perfect weather once again!
I have to admit, acidotic RACING is pretty close to a well oiled machine when it comes to preparing for this event. From our reserved primo campsite, dedicated camp cook and sponsors galore, we generally have our act together. Everyone is supportive, everyone contributes something to the experience and everyone has fun, no matter how much experience you have riding. With three 4-person teams entered, there were always acidotic riders somewhere on the course and our presence was clearly visible to all.
So if you've never done this race, pencil it in for next year and I promise you won't be disappointed. Ok, I'll step down off my soapbox and put down the acidotic RACING flag for a while.

I'll start off by saying the only negative thing that I can think of all weekend was my total lack of sleep. When I say total, I mean from Friday when I woke up until Sunday night when I went to bed, I probably slept less than 2hrs (and I think even that is a stretch). Fortunately (I guess), I'm used to very little sleep (4-5hrs per night is typical). Yes, I was tired even before the race began but all things considered, it went pretty well.

My teammates on aR-GOLD were Steve Sprague, Brayden Dunn and Jay Dunn. I was the 4th rider my 1st year, 3rd rider last year so it was only natural I take up the 2nd position this year. (I guess next year I'll ride lead-off?). Of course riding early also increases your chances of riding additional laps (which was ok with me). On paper going into this race, I thought we could squeeze out 26 laps (meaning everyone would ride 6 lap and Jay and I would ride 7).

acidotic GOLD (Steve S, me, Brayden, Jay D)

In the past I've raced the first lap pretty hard (my standards). My goal this year was to ride hard but leave some in the tank. I'd rather have 7 fairly consistent laps than one fast and every subsequent lap slower and slower. I was pleased to be able to ride the entire 8.3 mile lap (with nearly 1,100ft of climbing each lap). No hike-a-bike this year if I could help it. A couple of changes to the course made it a little easier to ride (Blueberry Hill up to the Honeymoon Cabin, Whiplash and the final single track leading to the "plunge"). The key being 'easier to ride', but not necessarily 'easier'. These were hike-a-bike sections for me in the past. I rode Whiplash every lap but it was a slow, rough ride (aka organ grinder). Same with the last single track section. I rode the new switchback section nearly every lap but it was a lot of climbing on tight switchback turns. The rest of the course was in great (albeit dusty) shape with no mud to speak of (until the last lap.....more on that later).

My first lap was 51:23, which turned out to be faster than any lap I've raced in the last 3 years. I was perfectly happy with it until I realized it was the 10th slowest opening lap of our 3 teams! Yikes! These guys are serious!

Exiting the 'plunge'

My second lap was 51:53, with consistency paying off so far and I continued to ride 100% of the course. My next two laps would be the beginning of the night laps. I chose to do my double night laps early because honestly, I was exhausted from a total lack of sleep. I just wanted the chance to lie down and hopefully get some sleep (or at least rest). So for the next 2hrs (and 16.6 miles) I rode in the dark. My first lap was a respectable 59:00 and the second just a tad slower at 1:01:44. I continued to ride 99% of the course, only getting off my bike a couple of times for some short sections.
When I got back to the campsite, I decided to see if I could rest in my truck (as opposed to the camper). The camper was 'base camp' and saw a lot of action, being near the food and fire pit, and was where most folks hung out between laps. I really needed some peace and quiet so I thought the truck would be a good choice. Turns out, not so much. For starters, even my small frame couldn't fit in the backseat. The awkward fetal position turned out to be incredibly painful when both my hamstrings (at the same time) cramped up. As I struggled out of my truck and wobbled around the campground clutching both hamstrings I could only imagine what the other campers were thinking when they saw me. This painful hamstring dance repeated itself for the next 1/2hr or so and there was nothing I could do to stop it. When they finally settled down, I climbed back in the truck to lie down. Unfortunately, now my hamstrings and calves were twitching almost nonstop. I laid there for the next couple of hours waiting for something to cramp up. Thankfully it never happened. At 2am Brayden knocked on the window. I was on deck for my next ride so I got up and got ready. Having just gone through hours of painful cramping, I had no idea how I was going to ride another lap....at night no less.
So at 4am sharp, I headed out on my 5th lap and 3rd night lap. Surprisingly I felt good. Really good. I was riding everything. Blueberry Hill, Whiplash, 'Jeep road', the final single track and even the plunge (which is tough at night). In fact, I rode 100% of the course and finished in a time of 53:49! Heck, I was so fast, Steve S wasn't even ready! Only Austin and David had faster night laps.
The 'race' between aR-BLACK and aR-GOLD was fairly close near the end but we couldn't keep the gap closed. I finished my 6th lap in 51:30, my 2nd fastest lap of the day. Although tired, I was feeling surprisingly well. Not sore at all. Just tired.
For 25 laps we had great weather. All that changed on the last lap. Just prior to me going out for my 7th lap the skies opened up. It poured. Since it was my last lap and Austin had a 9 minute lead and it was raining and I was tired, I decided I wasn't going to kill myself on the last lap. Enjoy it as much as possible, ride as much as I could and don't get hurt. The rain made the course considerably harder. The roots and rocks were slick as ice, the trails turned greasy and the 'plunge' turned into a muddy slip and slide. Thankfully I managed to get around without injury (only wet and muddy) and finished up in 58:38.

Me and Austin waiting for the boys on the 6th lap

In the end team aR-BLACK finished in 34th overall and aR-GOLD a few minutes back in 35th overall (out of 180+ teams). Awesome weekend!!

Here's a few pics, mostly from the start that I took.
Here's some more pics from Gianina.
And here's some pics from Great Glen.

Next up: Hampshire 100 this weekend, a 100k single loop mountain bike race. Yeeha!

photo credits - Gianina Lindsey

Let there be Light!

2011-08-16T15:45:00.000-04:00

I had a small glimmer of hope today regarding my running. Ok, technically I haven't run since early June (probably some sort of new injury record but I don't keep stats like DD). In the past week I've been to two doctors; a sports medicine doctor and a physiatrist regarding my side pain while running. Technically it hurts more while running but the pain has been in my side (between the top of the iliac crest to the bottom of my 12th rib) nonstop for over 2 months. So much for rest healing all aches and pains.

The physiatrist was excellent. She was very patient and described in detail the area that's been hurting. She suspects some sort of bursitis with one of the gluteus muscles (medius I think?). I got a cortizone shot in my side and will wait a week before attempting to run.

She also commented that the distance between my bottom rib and the iliac crest is very small (ie they are very close together). This could be aggravating the muscles in my side. Weak ab muscles would lead to a more hunched over running posture which would lead to my rib and iliac crest being even closer. Apparently my 12 pack abs weren't very impressive. So, work on the abs and run with a more upright 'taller' posture. Got it.

I'm far from cured but for the time being I have some hope. Now, back to the bike!

Running (not) and Biking

2011-07-11T15:32:00.005-04:00

Quick running update: In the last 28 days I've run exactly 3 miles, and that was a failed attempt during a track workout. 18 Consecutive zero's since then (a new record no doubt).I still have pain in my left hip so I'm afraid any run will produce another setback....so I wait. So far, I've waited patiently. However, I am aware of some key running events on the not so distant horizon (primarily Reach the Beach and the Pinnacle Challenge). My patience is running thin.

On a positive note, I've been able to spend a lot of time on the bike (road and mountain). I can't wait to put all this riding to some good use. Only 5 weeks until 24 Hours of Great Glen! My guess is my cycling miles will eclipse my running miles for the year sometime later this week. I've been able to increase my bike mileage each week for the last 5 weeks, topping out at 142 miles last week. Not bad for 5 days riding!

Yesterday I decided to get some extra miles on the mountain bike since I have a 100k (62 mile) mountain bike race coming up the week after 24 HOGG. 47 miles on the mountain bike was by far my most ever.

Finally, I like to work on my own bikes and I'm not afraid to take them apart and most times I even manage to put them back together. Well, I finally met my match.

Consider this a public service announcement. Don't take a part the shifters. I have two road bikes, a 1996 Cannondale R800 and a 2006 Guru Cron Alu (tri bike). Recently my STI shifers (dual control index shifting & brakes) on my Cannondale stopped working, first the left shifter (which I fixed) and then the right shifter. I did some research online (which is hard to come by for 15 year old shifters). I carefully took it apart. Then I gave up. Wow is this thing complicated!

Inside a Shimano STI Shifter

Thankfully I found a guy online who rebuilds these. Really? Whatever floats your boat I guess. Hopefully I'll have it back in a few days. In the meantime I ride the Guru which really wants to go fast, even when I don't.

UPDATE (7/18) - I got my Shimano STI shifter back this weekend - fixed, greased and fully assembled. Installed with 2 new cables yesterday. Works like new and worth the $30 (plus shipping).

Top 10 Reasons Not to Run Mt Washington

2011-06-29T11:30:00.000-04:00

10	The lottery is fixed. To me a lottery implies an equal chance for all. I'm not convinced.
9	Running back down shouldn't be faster than driving down.
8	The weather can be brutal (see horizontal rain, 50mph winds).
7	One year they actually had purple shirts. Really? Sorry, not a good color for race shirts.
6	Too many people are OBSESSED with this race. You know who you are.
5	If you don't finish in the top 20 nobody cares.
4	I don’t care about the endless stats, streaks & records. (see #5)
3	$80 entry fee. Enough said.
2	Walking shouldn't be as fast (or faster) than running.
1	There's only one hill.

With that being said, If you're a runner in New England, I'd still recommend you do this race....once.

Crash and Burn

2011-06-23T13:05:00.001-04:00

After 8 days of no running I finally decided to give it a go. Looking back it was a really dumb decision (really?). For some reason I thought doing a 12 x 400 track workout at 5k pace in the pouring rain was a good way to ease back into running.
Two more decisions hopefully limited the damage - 1) I dropped back and decided to run with the cool kids in group 2 and 2) I quit after running 8 repeats. Unfortunately it was probably 8 too many. Too many left turns which didn't help my left side pain.
A major setback indeed. I can't even walk without pain and I can barely make it up stairs. I'll be changing my blog name to HAV2BIKE shortly.

Zilch

2011-06-21T14:34:00.000-04:00

Zip, zero, nada. That's how many miles I've run in the last 7 days. Surprisingly I'm ok with it (so far). I had a familiar pain during my last run (which happened to be a 5k trail race). The last time I had a similar pain I didn't run for 5-6 weeks so I decided rest was best.
My self diagnosis, by the way, was some sort of QL (quadratus lumborum) strain. Kind of like a lower back strain...but it's not. A little deeper and off to the side.
On a more positive note, I got a TON of mountain biking in over the last week. Woohoo!

Bike Talk

2011-06-16T11:30:00.001-04:00

Last year I added a 2010 Trek ex8 full suspension mountain bike to my collection and have been loving it ever since. I consider mountain biking the 'trail running' equivalent for cycling, and for the exact same reasons. I don't care about pace or mileage and I barely consider it 'training'. It's just plain fun!

The one thing I have learned is mountain biking requires you to know and learn a lot more about bike maintenance. These bikes are ridden hard and take a beating (plus I tend to fall off on occasion). Sometimes I learn by trial and error, but mostly I learn by the internet :-)

Deore XT Crankset

As my collection of bike-specific tools continues to increase so does my confidence in maintaining, repairing and upgrading my own bike. Yesterday I finished upgrading my birthday present: a Deore XT crankset and Deore XT 11-34 cassette. Not only are they spanky, but with a 22t chainring up front and a 34t in the back, I can just about climb vertical walls now! The only negative (sort of) was after I installed the rear cassette I noticed a little play in the rear axle/freewheel. After trying the trial and error method the first day (and failing), I went back last night armed with knowledge from the internet and rebuilt my rear hub. Good as new! Bike shop is now open for business.
I think my next upgrade may be converting to tubeless tires.


New bling

2011 Bow Lake Dam 15k

2011-06-12T09:57:00.000-04:00

For the 3rd year in a row I decided to run the Bow Lake Dam 15k (results) in Stafford,NH. I think the course is turning into one of my favorite road courses - scenic and challenging. As a bonus this year the weather was just about perfect for running: 60, with a light rain throughout the race. It never rained hard enough to get your singlet or shoes wet, at least during the race. Of course it poured right after finishing, making the post race food and awards less than pleasant. Other than that, a great day.

A handful of familiar faces at the start, including a 1/2 dozen folks from the Somerville Road Runners. Their yellow singlets would come in handy during the race. My splits have been a little schizophrenic over the first 5 miles in the past so I was hoping to run a bit more steady this year early on. At the gun a very large group decided to go out pretty fast. I did not get sucked in ran my own race and patiently waited to reel them back in. At the 2 mile mark I was probably 10th o/a and by mile 4 I had probably slipped as low as 14th o/a. No worries....yet. I could see quite a few runners in front of me and most were either holding steady or slowly coming back to me. Around mile 5 I finally began passing runners for the first time all day. The stretch from mile 5 to 7 includes a brutally steep climb for nearly a mile followed by a gradual climb for another 1/2 mile. I ran this section HARD, passing another 4-5 runners on the climb. By mile 7 I was in 6th o/a, trailing a couple of SSR runners. I caught the first one around 7.5 and about a mile later caught the 2nd SSR runner. I continued to pick up the pace all the way to the finish (I did not want to get passed in the last 1/2 mile!!). After dodging a few 5k runners from an earlier race, I crossed the line 4th o/a in 59:10, a 35 second PR.
Next year I might even put this race on my calendar!

Splits from the last 3 years:

Mile	2009	2010	2011
1	6:24	6:19	6:23
2	6:17	6:11	6:22
3	6:29	6:27	6:21
4	6:41	6:36	6:23
5	6:33	6:24	6:20
6	7:58	7:31	7:17
7	6:50	6:36	6:35
8	6:29	6:07	5:52
9	6:07	5:49	5:46
0.3	1:53	1:45	1:51
Finish	1:01:41	59:45	59:10

2011 Rye by the Sea Duathlon

2011-06-06T11:54:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I decided to step outside my comfort zone and try the Rye by the Sea Duathlon in Rye NH (run-bike-run event). I'm guessing it's been 20+ years since the last time I did one. Back in the mid to late 80's they were fairly popular and I recall doing quite a few, mostly in Vermont. But that was before Al Gore invented the internet so I have no physical proof of this (other than my sharp as a tack memory). In case you were wondering, I haven't been doing any stealth training gearing up for this either. First, I decided last week to do it and second, I have a grand total of less than 150 miles accrued on my road bike over the last 3 years. Oh yeah, I was ready!

Shiny Red bike on the end is mine!

I headed over to Rye fairly early (8am start time). The registration and parking was about 1/3 mile from the actual race site so logistically it required just a bit more time plus I wanted extra time to check out the transition area. Andy Schachat (Announcers on the Run) was setting up and gave me an overview of the transition area. It was a first come first served transition area, meaning you could rack your bike anywhere. Being early has it's advantages. After setting up my bike and gear I met up with fellow GCS runner Joe Rogers and headed out on the 5k course for a warm up. I heard the run course had been poorly marked in the past and we both wanted to make sure we knew what to expect. I guess they've also had multiple variations of the run course and this year would be no different, with a slightly different course from last year. Other than the first turn into the woods, the course was well marked and easy to follow. Roughly 2 miles were on trails and 1 mile on the road. We would run this loop twice during the race, but in different directions each time.

The weather was absolutely PERFECT and you couldn't have asked for a better day (well, maybe a little less wind). A scan of the bikes in the transition area (and the athletes at the starting line) indicated there was a good mix of serious athletes, weekend warriors and average Joes. I tucked into the second row and waited for the gun. At 8am sharp we were off. The first 5k run started with a mile on the road which gave everyone plenty of time to settle into position before hitting the tighter trails of the woods. I was running comfortably hard and hit the first mile in 5:50 (no idea if the markers were accurate), probably in the top 20 or so. I picked off a few more runners and eventually came into the transition area with a time of 18:23 (12th fastest split).

I had practiced my transitions from running shoes to bike shoes (and back) at home so I was generally pleased with my transitions. It took 1:04 to run to my bike, swap shoes, put on my helmet and push my bike to the exit and clip in to the pedals. Once on the bike we headed just about due north for about 6-7 miles before looping back south along the ocean on beautiful Route 1A for another 7 miles, then heading northwest the final 3 miles to the transition area. Generally, head/cross winds for the first 6-7 and the last 3 miles and tail winds for the 7 miles along the ocean. I thought I was riding well until rider after rider flew by, getting passed by 15+ bikes while passing zero. Ugh. Although I averaged just under 20mph, my bike split ranked 49th overall and put me in a huge hole.

I cranked my second transition, racking my bike, changing my shoes and exiting the transition area in 30 seconds. I began reeling in runners immediately on the 2nd 5k run. My legs were obviously tired but I was determined to catch the 'pack' of runners who passed me on the bike. Drafting is illegal in duathlons but I was passed by a peloton of 6 riders about 5 miles from the finish of the bike. Cheaters. It took a few miles but I caught every one of them and then some (12-14 total I think). My second 5k split was 28 seconds faster than my first in 17:55 and was the 7th fastest split of the day.

My 1:29:07 was good enough for 21st overall (183 total) and 4th in my age group (results). Overall I had a great time. This was a lot of fun! Yes, my bike split needs work but I was very pleased with my runs, especially my 2nd 5k. I will definitely try this again.

2011 Pineland Farms 25k Trail Run

2011-06-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

I headed back up to New Gloucester, ME for my 2nd attempt at the Pineland Farms 25k rolling course. I figured having some knowledge of the course and being in decent shape would yield better results. Last year wasn't bad, I just thought I could have run better.

I also brought my family along this year. I know how they enjoy getting up before 6am on a Sunday so it was the least I could do. It really is a great race to bring your family to. The start/finish area (aka 'the Grove') is very active with tons of runners passing by (3 races going on at the same time), music, food and various runner support activities. The overcast skies were appreciated for most of the race but the humidity was a bit much. It really does a number on my hair.

Start of the race

It would appear most folks who run this race break it down into five-5k sections. I'm no different. The 1st 5k is generally fast, slightly downhill, the 2nd 5k gains most of the drop back, the 3rd & 4th 5k's are rollers with the 3rd being more exposed (fields) and the 4th losing some elevation which makes the 5th 5k pretty tough since it's last and there's quite a bit of climbing. My only plan this year was to go out a little slower than last year and hopefully it would pay off in the middle 5k's. Half my plan was successful.

I desperately tried not to line up near the front. I didn't want to get sucked into a faster-than-I-wanted-to-go pace. This was actually hard to do. I was probably 10ft from the start line and I was still second row. How the heck does that happen? Of course I lined up behind the only person in front of me who didn't go out fast and was already frustrated after 25 ft of running. Thankfully things settled down within the first 1/4 mile and I motored along at a fairly relaxed, easy pace. The course had kilometer markers so the 4:16 1st kilometer didn't give me any idea what pace I was running so I waited until the 5k point to find out if things were going according to plan. 21:09 (about a minute slower than last year) felt good, but I was a little nervous watching some of my competitors creep out of sight. The 2nd 5k section is probably the toughest but with fresh legs all it really ends up being is slower than you'd like. I still didn't feel like I was pushing the pace at all but I was catching some of the guys who went out a little quick. I wasn't gaining any ground on my competitors, in fact I had all but lost sight of Denis and Jeff way before the 10k mark.

Water bottle swap!

I never really felt bad during the race but I do remember feeling sluggish, especially during the 3rd and 4th 5k sections. I felt like I was working pretty hard but it wasn't translating into any speed. I was drinking plenty from my handheld and dumping water on my head at the aid stations but the humidity was wearing me down. It's amazing (to me anyways) how slow I actually ran during the 3rd and 4th 5k sections compared to last year. I ran that section nearly 9 minutes slower....in a 10k stretch. Ouch. I can't honestly say what went wrong other than the sauna-like conditions just wore me out.

2011 Splits
5k	5k Time	5k Pace
1st	0:21:09	0:06:48
2nd	0:24:17	0:07:49
3rd	0:25:02	0:08:03
4th	0:24:32	0:07:54
5th	0:20:27	0:06:35
FINISH	1:55:27	0:07:26

2010 Splits
5k	5k Time	5k Pace
1st	0:20:17	0:06:32
2nd	0:24:15	0:07:48
3rd	0:20:52	0:06:43
4th	0:20:54	0:06:44
5th	0:25:23	0:08:10
FINISH	1:51:44	0:07:12

As I came through the Grove I grabbed a fresh (cold) water bottle from my daughter for the last 9k loop. Even though I had apparently crashed over the last 10k I was still passing people and surprisingly don't recall many (if any) runners passing me since very early in the race. Generally I ran alone but I did go back and forth with Christin Doneski (1st female o/a) for most of the race. I came up on Scott Hornney around the 20k mark and apparently put a spark back into his race (and mine). He had been running alone for a while and probably relaxed a bit too much. As soon as I caught up with him his pace increased. Then my pace increased. Well how about that? I was racing again! I made a couple of surges hoping to drop him but he stuck to me like glue (the bum!). Finally, on the last little climb before entering the field I made one last surge and opened up a small gap. Thankfully it was enough to get me to the finish, slightly ahead. Strangely I ran the last 5k nearly 5 minutes faster than last year (even though I ran the previous 10k 9 minutes slower?). I have no idea what that means...I must be some sort of schizophrenic runner or something.
Good news, I placed 13th overall out of 325 finishers. Bad news, almost everyone ahead of me was a masters runner! (results). Next year will be different (I hope).

Wapack End to End 21.5m Trail Race

2011-05-10T11:30:00.002-04:00

Saturday I headed over to Asburnham,MA for my 2nd attempt at the 21.5 mile Wapack Trail Race (results). I had a fairly successful race last year so my goal this year was to better my time (aim high!). After taking the 45 minute shuttle bus ride to the start, we gathered at trail head and were given the "howl" command at 9am.
My strategy was to go out easy and be patient. No sense hammering the climbs right from the start (and yes, it starts climbing immediately).Not to mention the weather was totally different this year. Last year it was 45 degrees and raining, perfect for a long run. This year it started out sunny and warm and just got warmer. Not so perfect for a long run.
I was going fairly easy (felt like a training run) and was fine early on. A lot of people took off pretty hard and fast and at times I thought maybe I wasn't trying hard enough. Save some for the end I kept telling myself. I also think the first section is less runnable, with climbs up and down North Pack and Pack Monadnock in 5.5 miles. I came through the Miller aid station about 30 seconds faster than last year. I was a little surprised since it felt so much easier (and slower) than last year. A good sign I thought. That's what I get for thinking! I passed a few folks on the way to Miller State Park and came through in 10th o/a I believe.

Miller Aid Station - 5.5 miles

I had a Nathan pack with 40oz of water, some Cliff Shots and a couple of Honey Stinger gels. I figured I could go the entire way without refueling at the aid stations so I had planned to run right through all of them. I hooked up with Scott Patnode early on in the next 7 mile section from Miller to the Windblown XC aid station. Scott was actually ahead of me but went off course climbing Pack. He caught up to me climbing Temple Mt and we stayed together for the next 7 miles. This is probably my favorite stretch of the Wapack. Nice views and very runnable trails. Scott ran a 2:15 at Seven Sisters last week so I knew I was in good company. It was still sunny and still warm and I was heating up, I just didn't realize how much.

10 miles in, still feeling good!

We caught up to Steve Constine about 2 miles from Windblown. Steve was funny. As I ran by him he said something like "Steve Wolfe.....I'm always chasing you!". Apparently he was behind me last year as well. I guess he thought he had me this year. Oh well, maybe next year Steve!
The trail was pretty dry this year and I never got my feet wet. The 2 mile stretch leading into Windblown is probably the wettest section but the water and mud was easily avoidable. It's also a physically draining section, climbing slowly the entire way. I hate this section. I came into the aid station 1:30 slower than last year. The wheels were starting to come off, I just didn't realize it yet. Looking back, I should have stopped at the aid station and fueled up but I didn't. I grabbed a cup of water, poured it over my head and kept going. That was the last time I felt good all day.
Almost immediately leaving Windblown I felt nauseous.I was hot and was feeling very weak. I had plenty of water, and I thought I was drinking enough. I just didn't have any energy. The next 5.5 mile section from Windblown to the Binney Pond aid station was brutal. I walked every climb (and this section probably has the most climbing). Heck, I was walking the flats at times. I was so friggin hot and totally drained. I had zero energy and by this time I was no longer racing. I just wanted to get to the finish and be done. I had another gel and a handful of Cliff shots but nothing worked. Major nutritional malfunction.
As I walked into the Binney aid station I noticed two other runners there, both suffering as well. Nobody was in a hurry to leave. I took off my pack and had 3-4 cups of Coke, some oranges, M&M's and I don't even know what else. I didn't know how much water I had left in my pack so I asked the volunteer to put some more water in it for the last 3.5 mile section to the finish. Of course she filled it with 50oz of water (gee, thanks!). I know I look like heck but I'm pretty sure I don't need 50oz of water for 3.5 miles. Oh well.
I'm guessing I spent 3-5 minutes at the aid station. The three of us all left at the same time, shuffling up the dirt road. We mostly stayed together, chatting a bit, hoping the other would walk so we didn't have to shuffle along. Great fun.
I was feeling a little better and managed to run more than walk. Thankfully the climb up Watatic Mt is a gradual climb (one of the easier climbs all day). Of course, the descent is a quad-seizing event but at least it's a downhill finish! I finally stumbled across the finish in 4:35, 7th overall (a full 20 minutes slower than last year). I'm not disappointed (well, maybe a little). It was sunny and 70's for most of the day and was much tougher than last year. I do need to figure out a better nutritional strategy though....this one clearly did not work.
Comparison splits from last year and this year:

Aid Station	Distance	2010	2011
Miller	5.5 miles	1:07:00	1:06:28
Windblown	7.0 miles	1:13:45	1:15:16
Binney	5.5 miles	1:13:35	1:26:10
Finish	3.5 miles	0:40:23	0:47:01
TOTAL	21.5 miles	4:14:43	4:34:55

photo credit - Miriam Wilcox-Barsalou (Miller), Emily Trespas (Burton)

Grater Woods Revisited

2011-05-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

Last night I went for any easy ride in the Grater Woods Town Forest in Merrimack,NH. My legs were sore from Sundays race so I figured I'd ride for 45 minutes or so to loosen up the legs. I had planned on riding the more familiar trails of Horse Hill but Grater Woods was a mile closer (2 miles from my house as opposed to the daunting 3 mile ride to Horse Hill) and I was feeling lazy even before I started.
It's been a couple of years since the last time I rode there. It was mostly ATV trails, a bit overgrown and buggy as heck. I recalled a short section of single track over on the Amherst side of the forest but that was about it. At the time I was fairly familiar with the confusing network of trails and felt confident I could still find my way around.
Um, not so much apparently. Right from the start the trails looked different. There had been quite a bit of logging and I was confused within 10 minutes. Assuming my incredible sense of direction would get me where I was going I pedaled on. Amazingly I managed to find my way over to the single track on the Amherst side, a nice trail called Salamander. That was the last time I knew where I was for nearly 2 1/2hrs. Turns out there are quite a few new single track trails now (Red Eft, Millipede, Red Maple) and for the next hour I was having a blast. But then I got lost trying to find my way back to the Middle School trail head. Nothing looked familiar as I wandered around a maze of ATV trails looking for a way out. I did manage to get out a few times but didn't recognize the road so went back in for more. After 2hrs I ended up in someones back yard and casually walked my bike out to the road. I was tired and hungry and figured the road would be safer. It took a few minutes to figure out where I was (about 2 miles up the road from the trail head), and eventually made it home....tired. So much for an easy ride to loosen up the legs. The good news is I now have a map. Can't wait to give it another try!

2011 Muddy Moose Trail Run

2011-05-02T12:03:00.000-04:00

I've thought about doing this race for years but for whatever reason I just never made it happen. This year the planets aligned (aka Seven Sisters scheduled for the same day) and the decision was a no-brainer. The only thing that would stop me now would be....well, me. I almost succeeded. A Friday night mountain bike ride (or should I say crash) had me sitting in the waiting room for 2hrs on Saturday in order to get x-rays on both my left index finger and right ankle. Good news, nothing broken except pride. A splint on my finger and ice on my ankle. I needed a rest day anyways...

Muddy Moose (results) is the aptly named 4m or 14m trail race in Wolfeboro,NH (founded by my long lost relatives no doubt). I scouted a few past race reports, checked out the pics and asked a couple of folks for a scouting report. I even looked at the results over the years. I'd say most of the stuff I heard and read didn't match my version of reality. Yes it was muddy. Other than that they seemed to have left out some of the other course details which 'may' have been helpful. For future note: past results won't tell you anything. This course is all about conditions (and maybe weather) and my guess is they've varied greatly over the years. Thankfully Sunday was a near perfect day with temps in the 50's to 60's, dry (as in not humid) and sunny.

I tested my ankle early with a short warm up and it seemed fine. No worries there. In fact, I was perfectly relaxed and had no expectations at all. No goal time, nothing. Run, have fun, get muddy. Plenty of familiar faces including no less than 8 acidotic teammates, mountain man Kevin Tilton and a couple of fast masters who routinely kick my butt in trail races (Keith Schmitt and Paul Young). RD Fergus Cullen claimed the course was drier than in past years. For the record, even having never raced this course before, I challenge that claim. 8" deep mud and water as opposed to 12" deep doesn't make it 'drier' or less muddy or wet. I'm just saying.....

Both the 4 milers and 14 milers start at the same time and run together for the first 2 miles before departing ways. The course starts on pavement before moving onto a dirt road and heads downhill pretty fast before entering the woods at about 1/2 mile. I'm guessing these trails must have a purpose but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was. Although great for a race once a year, I can't imagine doing anything on them except maybe snowmobile in the winter. I wouldn't drive my skidder on them (if I had one). So for the next 1 1/2 miles we slopped our way through some shoe-sucking ground. I wouldn't even call it mud at times since it looked just like a normal forest floor with grass and such until you tried to run across it. Very deceiving and very tiring to run through. There really wasn't a good line to follow, you were going to get wet and muddy, I was just trying to avoid loosing my shoes. This is what they call dry conditions?? Yeah, ok.

photo credit - Salmon Press Sports

At 2 miles (first water stop) the field had thinned out quite a bit as the 4 milers and 14 milers parted company. The 4's went right, the 14's went left. The next 1 1/2 miles were on a dirt road. It was a welcome relief on the way out but not on the way back for some reason. I had a good solid pace going through this stretch and reeled in a few folks, probably moving up into the top 10. At 3 1/2 miles the trail turns sharply UP a very steep hill. I was running (slowly) about 1/2 of it before I came to my senses. The terrain was so steep, it was easier to walk up the stone wall boundary (which seemed more like steps). This section, called the escarpment was tough but relatively short and was probably the only section of single track all day. A short climb, a nice run along the ridge on top and then steeply down the boulder field on the other side before getting back on the snowmobile trails.

The next mile was dry and runnable before dropping steeply down a sandy hill before flattening out on mildly wet trails all the way to the 2nd water stop at around 4 1/2 miles. As we turned left at the water stop, the trail began a long, relentless climb, hardly noticeable at first but unrelenting at times later one. It wasn't steep, it just went on and on without a break until just about the 6 mile mark (the start of the lollypop loop at the turnaround). Kevin Tilton passed me on his way back about 1/2 mile from the start of the lollypop. He looked like he was on a training run and I was nearly bonking at this point. Although I carried a hand held water bottle, looking back I don't think I drank enough. I was quite fatigued at this point (not even half way) and starving! I had my one gel and hoped for the best. I took my one and only split of the day at the start of the lolly pop loop (50:44) and headed right around the loop. NOTE: you could go either way. Honestly, I'm not sure if it matters. The 2 guys I was chasing went left and I never did catch them. The loop was very rocky, very wet but still fairly runnable without too much difficulty. The water was a relief at times, washing some of the mud off my shoes and socks. The majority of the running from mile 6 to mile 9 was a welcomed gentle downhill. The course goes a different way on the way back to the water stop at mile 4.5/8.5. It was all very runnable and only a little wet and very little mud to be found.

I timed a runner in front of me to gauge how close he was just before the water stop. It appeared he was between 1 min and 1:20 ahead. This gap would stay the same the rest of the way. Occasionally I checked behind me and saw a runner maybe 30-40 seconds back but he didn't seem like he was gaining so I didn't pay too much attention to him. As we made our way back up the sand hill and back up and over the escarpment section I was really getting tired. My legs were borderline ready to cramp up. Thankfully they did not. Out of nowhere I came across a young runner as I started down the steep escarpment hill. I have no idea where this kid came from but there is NO WAY in heck he ran the entire course. I could see nearly 1/2 mile ahead at times and he was not there but all of a sudden he's right in front of me? And he wasn't walking, he was running fairly strong too. There was NO WAY I would let this kid beat me. Cheater.

Near the finish - photo credit Donna Poirier

Back on the dirt road I purposely picked up the pace, more than I would have normally. I wanted to drop this kid quickly and not worry about it. The 1 1/2 mile section of road was awful. I hated this section. It seemed long and slow and I couldn't wait to get back in the woods and into the mud. At 12 miles I got my wish and the road ended and the trail began. I grabbed a water and knew I had less than 2 miles to go. Unfortunately it would be the muddiest section followed by an uphill road finish but what can you do? My feet were killing me by the time I hit the road with a 1/2 mile to the finish. I had so much mud and muck in my shoes it was painful to run. I glanced one more time behind me and saw a runner fairly close so I tried to finish as hard as I could. Please don't pass me in the last 1/4 mile. I will hate you. I'm sure he was suffering as much as me and decided not to race me to the finish. Thank you. I was exhausted and sore. This was much harder than I expected. I didn't expect the mud to be so tiring. I didn't expect the escarpment section. I didn't expect the relentless climb after the second water stop. Other than that was exactly what I expected. Next year I'll know what to expect....sort of. Highly recommended!

Merrimack River 10M Trail Race

2011-04-12T11:20:00.001-04:00

I headed over to Andover, Ma on Saturday for the 20th Merrimack River 10m Trail Race, affectionately known as the Rivah (results). This race always draws a strong crowd and is a great early season test. The 10 mile out and back course is 3 miles of flat and fast followed by 2 miles of rollers with a couple of STEEP but short climbs and descents around the power lines. So you run out 5 miles, stop, turn around and head back.

photo credit - Gianina Lindsey

This race has a very tight start. After lining up in a parking lot, the trail immediately funnels down essentially to a single track in about 25 feet. There is always a bottleneck and it can be somewhat frustrating. However, this year my plan was NOT to fight the crowd at the start and just go with the flow. The trail eventually opens up in a field in less than 1/4 mile so I was more than willing to be patient for a couple of minutes. Of course, by the time I reached the field I was already questioning my decision with 35+ runners already in front of me (including Keith Obrien, Jeff Walker, Scott Spence and a gazillion other masters). It was crowded but I slowly started passing folks, and probably caught up and passed Walker just before the 1st mile marker (6:16). Most of the way out was all about patience (something that I usually don't have much of). I felt like I could and should be running a lot faster, but the folks in front were making it a little hard to pass so I essentially ran at there pace for the first few miles. I passed when I could, followed when I couldn't.
I finally caught up to Scott Spence around the 3 mile mark and we would go back and forth for the next 4 miles. As we hit the hills just after 3 miles I was pleasantly surprised to find I actually felt strong on the climbs. What the? That NEVER happens. Heck, I was actually passing people on the hills and for the first time ever at this race, I ran ALL the hills, including the power line climb. Granted, I ran slow, but still, no power walking today!

photo credit - Dave Dunham

I had Keith Obrien in my sights as we approached the 1/2 way point and was definitely gaining. As I hit the turn in 34:30 I was surprised to see Jeff Walker only about 10 seconds back. Surprised only because he seemed to be going pretty easy when I passed him around the 1 mile mark. Apparently I gave him a target to chase down. I eventually passed Keith and Scott for the final time as we headed back up the hills. I never looked back but I listened very closely to see if anyone was sticking with me. I was convinced by mile 7 that no one was near me so I focused my attention on a few runners in front. Of course afterwords I found out I was wrong. Jeff was fairly close most of the way back. Unlike snowshoeing, he was very quiet out there so I had no idea he was behind me.
I felt really good all the way back. By mile 8 I started to think I had a chance of catching a GBTC runner that was way up in front. I was definitely gaining but wasn't sure if I had enough course left. I kept up a good effort and slowly reeled him in, passing him at the underpass with a couple hundred meters to go and eventually finishing in 1:08:30, 15th overall and 2nd masters.

This was my easily my best result in the 3 times I've run the Rivah, and for the first time ever, I ran the 2nd half of the race faster than the first, with a return time of 34:00. Overall it was a very consistent race, with my mile splits almost identical on the way out and back. The only big difference was the 1st/last mile which was 6:16 out and 5:45 back. No complaints for the first trail race of the season (other than I think I could have gone faster!)

Gianina Lindsey's Photos

Dave Dunham's Photos

2011 Granite State Snowshoe Championship

2011-03-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

I almost wasn't going to do a blog post on the GSSS Championship race (results), held on March 13th at the base of Mt Washington. No particular reason other than I wanted to move on from snowshoeing. However, since it was the best race (course and venue) in the Northeast, I figured I should at least mention it. The recent return to winter made me have a change of heart.

Great Glen Center

After a 2 1/2hr drive up through Franconia Notch and down through Jefferson (where it was snowing heavily), I thought for a moment we'd have a repeat of conditions from last year. No such luck, as the temps actually increased by 10 degrees as I approached Great Glen Center, directly across from the Mt Washington Auto Road entrance. It was a balmy 40 degrees and rising, warm for snowshoe racing. However, they were not lacking snow, with feets of it on the ground. The conditions looked pretty good. I checked in, chatted a bit and then headed out for a couple miles on the road to warm up.

Seeing this was the last snowshoe race of the season, all I really wanted to do was get it over with. However, I absolutely wanted to end the season on a positive note no matter what. So with no expectations other than ensuring I had a good time, I headed over to the start line and planted myself a couple of rows back, right in the middle of the line. I was going to race but I wasn't going to kill myself trying.

This was an awesome race last year, definitely one of the best courses all year. The 10k course had something for everyone, groomed trails, single track, climbing, fast descents, you name it. It really is a shame more people won't give it a go. Trust me, you are missing out on a great time. The first 5k is all on groomed rolling nordic trails before heading through the tunnel under Rt16 and over to the Great Glen side which generally had all the climbing and was 100% single track. This years course was very similar to last years, just a couple of slight changes. The snow conditions were also a bit slower this year.

me & Jeff heading up Blueberry Hill

As the gun (go command?) went off I found the first flaw in my plan. The middle was not a good place to be. The entire field slowly migrated towards the middle and a couple dozen snowshoers were kicking up some nice wet snow making it a tad difficult to see where the heck I was going. I survived and eventually settled in to a comfortable pace, doing my best to ignore who and what was going on around me. My plan was to run the first half a little easier than last year and not blow up on the 2nd half climb (like last year). The rolling hills were not taxing at all and I felt pretty relaxed even though I was getting passed by a few folks, including Capt Snowshoe. aR teammate Rich Lavers was right on my shoulder for most of the first 5k and I thought he was still with me as I hit the tunnel in 25:29, nearly 2 1/2 minutes slower than last year. Chris was probably about 1 minute ahead already. As we came by the Great Glen Center and began the climb up Blueberry Hill, I peeked back to see who was behind me and to also make sure I wasn't holding anyone up. Rich had dropped back a bit and Jeff Walker had replaced him. I told him to let me know if he wanted to get by and continued on. We kept this order to about 1/2 way up the Aquaduct trail and Jeff eventually tired of my company and took off without me. Mainers. By the time we hit the top of the climb he was almost out of sight, probably a minute or so up.

Last year I made up a ton of time on the nearly mile long downhill section. This year would be somewhat similar but much slower. I tried my best to open it up but the soft snow and constant threat of post holing (while running with snowshoes at near 5k pace) eventually slowed me down in order to maintain some control (and not break my leg). By the time we turned back on the single track I had closed the gap on Jeff to just about 10 seconds. It didn't last long. He knew I had gained on him and he turned on the jets once again and left me talking to myself once again.

Gnarly downhill near the finish

The last mile is a great section of single track and has a killer climb along the power lines not too far from the finish. When I got to the power lines I was surprised to see Chris about 50m in front of me. He looked close enough to catch and for a second I thought about it. I soon realized this was 50m on the toughest hill on the course. Time wise I was still 20-30 seconds back. Oh well, time to settle in and at least make sure no one passes. I looked back a few times, just to make sure no one was going to sneak up on me in the last 1/4 mile and just tried to keep my balance over the last little tricky part of the course (thanks DRR!). I finished up in 58:18, 11th overall, 15 seconds back of Chris and 30 seconds back of Jeff.

Even though I was a full 5 1/2 minutes slower than last year, I think I actually had a better time this year. I had fun. Mission accomplished.
Unfortunately I couldn't take part in the festivities afterwords and needed to leave shortly after the race. I'm glad I ran but I'm also glad the season is finally over!

2011 New Bedford Half Marathon

2011-03-21T11:40:00.000-04:00

Phew! I'm glad that's over (results).
I had been dreading this race for some time now (pretty much since the day I signed up). The jump up is I haven't exactly been in a happy place (with regards to my running) for some time now. Training has been work and not fun. I can't quite put my finger on it, I'm not injured but I don't feel quite right. I've been in a funk. Period.
The long run, which I used to love, has been non-existent. New Bedford would be my longest run of the year. No kidding. Not exactly the type of statement that instills confidence!

So standing at the start line I could honestly say I had no idea what pace I was going to run My plan was to run comfortably at the start and not worry about any other runner. I really really really wanted to avoid a death march at the end if at all possible. The first couple of miles can be kind of fast since it's both the start of the race and slightly downhill. I was quite happy to see my first two splits (6:15 & 6:22), probably about 20-30 seconds slower than previous years, but more importantly it felt like a pace I could hold for a while.

Miles 3 and 4 are typically a bit slower since they both include a few hills. Denis T went by me in the 3rd mile and Rich Lavers joined for a bit during this stretch. My pace dropped a bit (6:28 & 6:31) but considering the hills, I can't really complain about the pace. The long, gentle downhill section from 4 to 7 did not seem as fast as previous years (6:09, 6:14 & 6:15). I think it was a combination of running a lot of it solo (no packs of runners to pull me along) and some sort of wind (either cross wind or head wind, hard to tell). I had stopped checking my watch after the 2nd mile or so and was running on feel alone, trying to keep the effort consistent. Looking back I think I may have held up a bit too much (trying to make sure I didn't blow up at the finish). No big deal. After all, I wasn't exactly going for a PR today, just trying to get some confidence back.

I was still feeling pretty good by mile 8 (6:19) but knew the wind would be an issue over the next few miles along the water. The 9th mile has generally been my slowest mile in each of my previous 3 attempts here. Mile 9 is totally exposed and there always seems to be a headwind. No different this year (6:37), followed by a 6:25 in the 10th mile. Ugh. Do we ever get a tail wind on this course????

Finally, as we made the turn away from the water and headed into the 11th mile (6:16), a tail wind! Joy joy joy!!! It was a little too late since parts of mile 12 and mile 13 make up the last significant hill on the course. A tailwind going uphill just doesn't cut it. Doesn't hurt though! For the first time all day I really felt like I was pushing the pace (6:08 & 6:16). This was no longer a comfortable pace, it was getting hard but the finish was near. The 6:08 12th mile, uphill, would be my fastest mile all day. There would be no death march today!

A bit of a sprint to the finish (to make sure I got under 1:23) and I was done, with a very respectable 1:22:53 finish. No complaints today. I was very happy I was able to finish quite strong and not fade at the end.This was not a 'leave everything out on the course' type of race, it was more of a 'don't do something stupid and make a fool of yourself out there' type of race. Just what I needed.

Hawley Kiln Snowshoe Race

2011-03-09T15:29:00.000-05:00

I headed out to Hawley Kiln (results) for only my second time (the last back in 2009). This is relevant because it would only be the 2nd race all season which was run on the same course from the previous year(s). 11 races done so far this season and only the first (Woodford, back in December) and the last (Hawley Kiln) were on the same course from previous years.
Woodford started out well, a 2 1/2 minute PR on fast conditions. Yes, I know it's hard to compare snowshoe times season to season but it doesn't mean I can't try. Anyways, the season started well, and I felt good on the next race (Turner Trail) on a new course. Since then I've been a model of inconsistency. Some would say I've actually been quite consistent, consistently slower. Nearly a month of struggling with Bronchitis (without taking any race weekends off) probably didn't help either. I kept plugging away in spite of myself. So for most of the season I never really had a sense of how good or bad I was racing. Let me rephrase, I had a sense, I just didn't have any data since all races after Woodford were on new courses (nothing to compare to).

So what does any of this have to do with Hawley Kiln? Well, it would be the first race since Woodford run on the same course from previous years. As far as conditions go, I'd say the conditions were similar to 2009, maybe just a tad slower, maybe. Finally....I'd have something to compare to once and for all!

Roughly the 4 mile mark - (photo credit-Bob Birkby)

The first (and last) 7/10ths of a mile are run on a nicely groomed snowmobile trail. Going out it's a gentle climb for most of it before turning right onto a rustic single track. I went out fairly easy and probably hit the single track around 10th overall. The single track was not a well established trail (no rail) and the trail probably saw its first snowshoe tracks when the WMAC boys marked the trail. The snow was a mix of sugary snow and crusty snow. If you were light enough, you could probably stay on top of the snow and not break through. Generally I'd say I would have fallen into that category. However, running along in 10th place means there were a lot of people in front of me punching through the snow. This made the trail extremely uneven and broken up and kept me off balance for nearly the entire single track section (roughly 3 miles). It was also very tiring, at least for me. I could sense I was probably pushing a little too hard early on and had slowed considerably by mile 2 (which I hit in 20 minutes). Not long after that Abby Mahoney went by and a few minutes later, Ken Clark. My 3rd mile was 12:32....really. Looking back I think I may have slowed a bit too much. Granted, the 3rd mile was slow and hard (700ft of climbing along this course, a lot of it in the 3rd mile), but I was saving way too much for later. The 4th mile was a little easier to run and I was feeling pretty good (apparently since I was going so bloody slow earlier) so I started to pick up the pace. I passed Dave Merkt around mile 4 and was gaining on Abby and Ken (who were about a minute in front by the time we hit the snowmobile trail for the last 7/10ths of a mile to the finish). I managed to close the gap but it was too little, too late. Oh well.
So, what did I learn from running on a course I've run previously? Well, 2 years ago I ran the same course about 2 1/2 minutes faster. I think I've finally confirmed what I've been feeling for most of this season - slower.

Enough about the race. The real reason for doing this race is the pancake breakfast right after the race at the South Face Farm Sugar House. $15 for a snowshoe race and breakfast, what a deal. The place was packed as usual but I got seated pretty quick with Dave Boles (fellow snowshoe racer). I had a great time. Dave has been doing these races since the mid 90's. Not only that, I think I actually found someone who drives longer than I do to go to a snowshoe race. This weekend I only had to drive 2 1/2hrs. Dave routinely drives 3+ hrs (from the Hudson valley in NY).

Northeast Snowshoe Championships

2011-03-02T15:00:00.004-05:00

At least I had fun before the race!

The first ever Northeast Snowshoe Championships, or Federation Cup or NSF Championship Race was held on Saturday at Northfield Mt in the aptly named town of Northfield, Ma (results). I was mentally checked out of this race long before showing up on Saturday morning. As someone else mentioned earlier this week on their blog regarding a different race, I too know what I like and this wasn't it. I find no pleasure in doing a mountain race on snowshoes. Period. Granted, I'm generally a weak climber to begin with and for whatever reason I was even weaker on Saturday. Like I said, I just wasn't into it. It's hard to put my finger on exactly what I didn't like with Northfield. I'm not against going uphill. In fact, my favorite race over the last couple years is still Turner Trail from last year (and that course had a TON of climbing).
Maybe the real problem was I wasn't prepared for Northfield. I wasn't rested. I had tired legs even before the start. The race started off bad and just got worse, which made for a long day. It's easier to blame the course than to blame me :-)

I think the other big reason I didn't like Northfield was due to a handful of snowshoers who were....well, jerks. I can't even think of a race where a single snowshoer did something during a race that I could actually remember more than a day later. At Northfield I can remember at least 3...still. To be honest, I'm sure the fact that I was having an incredibly bad day added to my mood but seriously, some people need to relax out there. It's a $10 snowshoe race, not the freakin Olympics. On the initial climb I got behind a guy who clearly went out too fast and was walking slowly (yes, slower than me!) I asked if I could go by and he said "go ahead" (with attitude) and just kept on walking right in the middle of the single track. His idea of go ahead meant "you can pass but I'm not getting out of the way, YOU step off the trail if you want to pass". Whatever. At the time it really irritated me. 4 days later I'm not sure what I think. Anyways, time to move on.

This entire season has been a Jekyll and Hyde type season. Good race, bad race, good race, bad race, sick, repeat. Honestly, I never know what to expect when I show up anymore. But I keep showing up :-)

Finally, some much needed downhill!!!

The season will be over soon and I'm sure I'll miss it ( I think).
Thanks to Scott Mason for great photos once again. Thanks!

Day/Night Doubleheader

2011-02-21T13:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday was a long day.
I headed over to Beaver Brook in Hollis,NH a little before 9am to mark the course for the 11:30am Beaver Brook 5k Snowshoe race (results). On the way over I was thinking of an often (dd?) used line in snowshoe racing - "everything takes longer in the winter". In other words, give yourself plenty of time. The wind had been howling (30+ mph) for the better part of a day and there was a good chance there would be a few branches on the course. In addition we had 2-3 days of temps near 60 which had melted a ton of snow. Hopefully I had given myself enough time. Marking the course was easy, clearing the 100's of branches was a pain. They were everywhere, including 4-5 blowdowns across the trail. Luckily, you could easily step over all of them so no detours were necessary. Snow conditions were also pretty good. Mostly firm, soft on the edges and just a couple exposed rocks. Other than clearing branches, no additional trail work was required. 1 1/2 hrs later I was done. I headed back out with Mike Wade for a warm up on the backend of the course. I only had on running shoes and nearly killed myself a half dozen times. I eventually circled back after a couple of miles before I injured myself.


Me and Bob Jackman near the finish

The conditions were soft enough that I went with my deep cleats without a problem. The race was mostly single track, except for a short section at the start/finish and a short section right in the middle. My plan was to go out fast at the start and get on the single track quickly to avoid getting stuck behind anyone who might eventually slow down. Apparently this was the plan of about 20 other runners as well as they all took off like it was a 400m race. I tucked in behind Mike Wade and Danny Ferreira and stayed right on their heels for the first 1 1/2 miles or so (except for the one time I stepped off the rail and postholed to my knee, causing me to face plant). Danny and I eventually passed Mike but Danny took off and I got stuck wandering in no mans land. I was running ok but just felt flat. I could see Dave Principe and John Pajer not too far up front but I wasn't closing at all (no zip in the legs). The rest of the race was mostly uneventful. I caught up with a struggling Bob Jackman not too far from the finish and went by him with about 1/4 mile to go. I eventually finished in 8th overall (3rd masters) with a time of 24:29. Not a great race but not awful either. After a short break, I headed back out on the course to pick up all the flags. By the time I got back the entire parking area was empty except for the race crew (Mike and Alec). 11.3 miles in the bank. I headed home, showered & changed and headed over to Madbury to help Chris setup prior to my second race of the day.

'Rustic' conditions heading into the field

I arrived in Madbury around 3:30 for the Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe race (results) and helped a bit setting up the inside (tables, chairs, etc..). After talking with Chris about course conditions and bumping into Danny and Geoff (who were just coming off the course after doing some trail work), it sounded like conditions would be a little different than Beaver Brook. I don't like surprises so I decided to put on the Katoola's and run the 3.5m course while the sun was still out. The conditions were very hard and icy. In fact, a snowmobile had gone over the first part of the trail and you could barely see any track. The course seemed well marked and was the same course as a couple of years ago except the field. I stopped and took a picture of the pot holed icy trail leading into the field. This section would come back to haunt me later.Chris must have been drinking when he came across the field, marking the course. Instead of heading straight across the field he zigged and zagged back and forth all over the place. The fresh rail he had punched through the previous day was now a solid single track. What should have been a 1/3 mile trip across now seemed closer to 3/4 of a mile. Should be an interesting section at night! The trail up and over Hicks Hill seemed similar to previous years. It was apparent someone did a lot of work on the trails (something you wouldn't know or see at night). When I got back I changed out my deep cleats for my ice cleats and got ready to race.

Near the finish - photo credit Gianina Lindsey

In addition to my headlamp, I also carried a small LED flashlight. You can never have too much light when running at night. I lined up a couple of rows deep, close to Dave Principe, with Sean Snow directly behind me. At the 'go' command we all took off like we were shot out of a cannon. I think it was faster than a typical 5k road race start. The roughly 1 mile gentle downhill start helped. Heck, we didn't see anything that resembled a hill for nearly 2 miles!. I quickly settled in behind Dave and I could hear someone right on my heels. I never looked back but I knew it was Sean. We would stay this way the entire race (although the order would change twice). Surprisingly my legs were feeling great! Nothing like how they felt at Beaver Brook. As we headed into the field (see picture above), I apparently caught a cleat and went down hard, banging my right knee pretty good before sliding on the icy trail for a few feet. As Sean went by he asked if I was ok, I responded yes and got back up, hoping not to lose Dave and Sean. We would stay in this order, very close together, all the way up Hicks Hill. There were a couple of folks behind us but I'd guess no closer than 20-30 seconds. As our train descended down the back side of Hicks Hill, we apparently missed the first sharp left turn and instead went straight down the side of Hicks Hill....all the way to the bottom. In fact, we went all the way down to the main trail we initially started on. I had a feeling we were off course pretty quickly but we were flying and by the time I could react we were already at the bottom. Dave was about the follow the trail at the bottom when I told him we had to go back up...we were off course. As we headed back up to the point we went off trail I could see runners going by and more coming. I entered the trail again directly behind Amber Fereirra. After a few minutes I asked to pass and took off (knowing Sean and Dave were close by), hoping to make up a little time if possible. It was a little demoralizing, especially considering we had a good race going. I'm not sure how things played out behind me exactly but Dave finished 11 seconds back, and Sean was 15 seconds. My disappointing time was 28:31, good enough for 11th overall and 2nd masters.
Overall I had a great time. There's just nothing like racing on snowshoes at night. My knee was scraped up pretty good and a little stiff but I'll survive to race again! After hanging out for a little food, awards and raffles, I finally was ready to head home...and get some rest. 7 more miles done, 18+ miles for the day. Now that's one way to get a long run in!

Twice as much fun as last week!

2011-02-16T15:13:00.001-05:00

It didn't take a lot of effort to have more fun this weekend than I had last weekend at the Exeter Slowshoe umm 'Race'. I still can't get over how ridiculously hard (and slow) that was. This weekend I was right back at it and if things went well, I'd be right back at it.....twice!. I had a little more confidence this week due to a much better week of training. I was generally feeling less sick (more better?). Unfortunately I've felt this way before and then blew up in the race so I wasn't getting too excited....yet.

First up was the Horse Hill race (results) in Merrimack, NH. Not only was this my hometown course, RD Michael Amarello allowed me to design a new course this year, taking advantage of a few new trails. The roughly 4.5 mile course would be about 75% single track with a few wider sections sprinkled in for passing and such. Over the past month I've run the course about 7 times so I was a wee bit familiar with it. After marking it in the morning with Michael, I also knew it would be very fast. I lined up as conservative as I could (I have limits you know) and immediately tucked in behind Amber Ferierra and Chris Dunn, with Michael Wade on my tail. I was in no hurry early on and almost fell off the pace near the summit of Blodgett Hill. I made up any loss on the downhill single track and got back in line behind Chris and Amber for the next 1 1/2 miles or so. We had a good pace going and we seemed to be pulling in a couple of runners up front so I was content with my place...at the moment. As we headed down towards the powerline I actually felt like Amber had slowed just a bit so instead of running up Chris' back, I made an unconventional pass on the right, mostly because Amber was running on the left. If I recall, Chris followed suit and also squeaked by Amber.

Feeling good! (photo credit - Gianina Lindsey)

Course knowledge helped at this point, I think. I knew we had some fairly easy (fast ) single track coming up, followed by a fast descent down the powerlines before finally heading up a tough climb on Horse Hill. So I picked it up a bit on the single track, hammered the powerline trail and made another pass, before tucking in behind Sean Snow (who clearly was not at 100%). Sean was nice enough to pull me up Horse Hill and I followed him on the short and fast descent down the backside. We'd spend the next 3/4 of a mile climbing back up Blodgett Hill on a very tight single track. My plan was to get onto this trail in front of anyone around me since passing would be virtually impossible. So, on the short section of snowmobile trail before the single track I made my last pass of the day and got in front of Sean. Of course now I had a couple of tough climbers right on my heels (Sean and Chris). If they caught up I would have stepped aside if asked but I wasn't going to volunteer my spot. I felt confident if I made it to the top of Blodgett Hill without getting passed, I could hold them off on the downhill to the finish. Thankfully that's the way it played out. I finished up in 8th place overall in a time of 36:01, just 14 seconds ahead of Chris. For the first time in a LONG time I felt pretty good about my race. I actually think the guys at the finish were more excited about my finish then I was. I guess I can be a grumpy, miserable, pain in the butt when I'm not racing well (or sick). Who knew?

Since Saturday went swimmingly well, I decided to double up the weekend and head over to Northwood, NH on Sunday for the inaugural running of the Bear Paw Classic (results), put on by Chris' daughter Madison. The roughly 3.7 mile course would have just about everything: tough sugary, loose snow, lightening fast single track, nicely packed snowmobile trails and even a descent hill to boot. It seemed just about everyone here had raced the previous day so there was no sense complaining about tired legs (although I may have mentioned them). Chris refused to line up in front of me so I took a spot behind teammate Ryan Welts instead. Both the start and finish were on a loop around the baseball field on the toughest snow on the course. Not exactly the way I would prefer to start or finish a race but oh well. After a few minutes of racing it was clear Chris and and I would be racing alone. The fast guys were gone up front and we didn't think there was anyone challenging us from behind. For the first half of the race I lead and Chris followed. We asked each other a few times why we were running so hard since it was clear we weren't going to catch anyone in front and we were fairly certain we would not be run down from behind. It was mostly talk though. Let up in a race? Are you serious? Ha!


This is how most of the race looked, except the finish

As we hit the powerline trail (the only serious climb of the day), Chris pulled up on my side and we ran shoulder to shoulder for a while before Chris took the lead on some of the steeper climbs. I was definitely struggling on the climbs and tried to stay close. As we headed back onto the single track at the roughly 1 mile to go point, Chris started talking about finishing together. I led the 1st half, he led the 2nd half, it's only fair. I had visions of Kevin Tilton and Jim Johnson finishing up in a 'tie' at the GSSS race last year (holding hands I think). Anyways, it wasn't a pleasant vision. Chis is a great teammate, but there ain't a chance in heck that I was going to stroll in side by side without putting up a fight. He can be first, or I can but this dog don't tie! Lucky for Chris I had no fight left. I was barely hanging on during the last 1/4 mile of very loose, sugary snow. The harder I tried, the slower I went. I just could not close the 3-5m gap Chris had on me and eventually finished up 6th overall in 31:31, just 3 seconds behind Chris. For the second time this weekend I finished up and felt pretty good (although tired). On the road to recovery! Good thing since the season is almost over.

Solid week of training (at least for me)

2011-02-13T18:52:00.000-05:00

Looks like I'm finally over whatever has ailed me the last 3-4 weeks. What a relief. Now I just need to get some decent training in again and this week was a good start. I do feel like I lost a little fitness but I'm confident it'll come back quickly.

Some highlights for the week:

39.5 miles running
18 miles snowshoeing
indoor track workout (8x800's @ 2:50 avg)
2 snowshoe races

Finally had some fun in a snowshoe race (actually two). More on that later.

Apparently I was Wrong

2011-02-09T11:30:00.002-05:00

Less than a week ago I wrote that Sidehiller was the single worst snowshoe experience I've ever had. Ha, I should have waited one more day! PULL UP, PULL UP! Crash & burn. It was not pretty. Captain Snowshoe calls these stinkers but in reality I don't think I've ever worked harder or pushed my body further than I have in the last 2-3 weeks. Unfortunately working hard does not mean going fast, it just means working hard. Sometimes hard work is slow....really slow....like a turtle (no offense to the Tuesday Night Turtles, most of who beat me each week). A nasty respiratory infection has seriously affected my ability to breath, which surprisingly is needed quite often in snowshoe racing. The good news (really?) is I've finally accepted the fact it might be a while before I'm healthy again. Basically what this means is I'll continue snowshoe racing each weekend, but you won't find me seeding myself up near the front any time soon. Start back, stay back and enjoy the view!


A true representation of how I felt

The latest Granite State Snowshoe race was the Exeter Snowshoe Hullaballoo (results) in Fort Rock. The 4.4 mile, 100% snowshoe single track course was excellent. Scenic, rolling, well marked. Just a great course. However, contrary to what co-race director Ri Fahnestock said, the conditions were not fast! I thought the loose, sugary snow represented some of the toughest conditions we've seen all year. Of course it could have been me.
At the start I thought I had seeded myself appropriately, several rows back but not too far back. I tucked in behind Amber and Chris right from the start and the pace was relatively easy for the first 5 to 10 minutes. I generally had no problems staying with the pace line in front. Well I guess the folks up front thought the pace was too easy and soon some passing was going on (some successful, some not). A few took advantage of some stomped out passing zones, but eventually some of the slower runners up front just stepped off for a second to let the train go by. Fortunately or unfortunately I got disconnected from the train on one of these passes and lost contact with the group in front pretty quickly as I got boxed in. At the time it was quite frustrating but looking back it had no effect on my race. I'd soon die a slow, painful death all by myself. If the race was 10 minutes long, I'd be in the game. It wasn't and I wasn't.
For the next several miles I trailed teammate Jerry Fitzgibbons, but the gap was increasing as the race went on and I was struggling BIG time. About 30 minutes in both calves started to cramp up, forcing me to slow down (ha, just writing that makes me laugh! Slow down...if I went any slower I'd be going backwards). Heck, I was walking some of the flat sections at times. I'd speed up (we're talking slug-like speed), cramp up, and then slow down again. Gee it was fun.
About a half mile from the finish Kristina Folcik finally caught up to me so I asked if she wanted to go by. Of course she said yes (apparently she wanted to finish before the sun went down). There wasn't anyone else behind me so I put it into cruise control and shuffled my way to the finish (heck, I think I actually walked across the finish line).Yikes.
I quickly changed out of my wet clothes, had some great soup and hung out by the fire pits for a while. Except for the actual racing part, snowshoe racing is a lot of fun. Good times, good company.
Turns out my calf problems was probably due to dehydration. My calves cramped up so bad during the race that I had multiple bruises on both right afterwords.Very strange.
So for the second weekend in a row, I followed up a crappy snowshoe race on Saturday with a visit to the doctors office on Sunday. Maybe I'll try something different next weekend (or maybe not).

Favorite quote: " I can't believe you looked THAT awful and I still lost to you" - Michael Wade

photo Credit - Tim Lindsey

Sidehiller and other Amusing Stuff

2011-02-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

Steamed at Sidehiller

I won't spend much time with my Sidehiller Snowshoe Race report. In fact, I won't spend any time on it since I really didn't put up a fight and race. Hands down the single worst snowshoe experience I've had so far. When I reach way down into my bag of excuses I do come up with a decent one - a trip to the doctors the day after confirmed Bronchitis. However, it was still disappointing. I didn't feel that bad at the start but boy did I feel it 10 seconds after we started (and the next 40 minutes and 14 seconds). Moving on to the next one.

In a very short snowshoe season, having 3 weeks in a row of sub par races does not boost my confidence, regardless of the reasons why. January couldn't end fast enough. Lucky for me (and the rest of you apparently), my racing woes have not gone unnoticed. If it wasn't for my teammates, I wouldn't know how bad I've been lately. Gee thanks!

It has inspired some amusing videos, started by Chris Dunn of course. This one is called "Wolfe Searches for Answers".

Of course, after sitting on it for a couple of days I decided to make my own video response. It is called "Chris Dunn as Captain Snowshoe". Enjoy.

Up Next: The Exeter Snowshoe Hullabaloo on Saturday. Please please please let me not stink!

Whittaker Woods Snowshoe

2011-01-24T17:46:00.000-05:00

Thursday afternoon - sick in bed
Friday all day - sick in bed
Saturday - Snowshoe Race
Sunday all day - sick in bed

It's like a classic Sesame Street episode. Which one of these things is not like the other? You're probably humming a lame tune by now so you can thank me later. The bottom line is I probably shouldn't have raced on Saturday, but as my lovely wife always says to me "you can't help yourself!"
As noted above, I've been sick for over a week now. I wasn't planning on doing the Whittaker Woods snowshoe race (results) initially. I had signed up for the Boston Prep moderately challenging 16-miler on Sunday and figured I didn't need any additional pain and suffering. However, a DNF in last weeks snowshoe race had me rethinking my plans. Then I got sick. The chances of me recovering enough to run 16 miles by Sunday did not look good. I figured it might be easier struggling through 4 miles on the snow instead. Worst case, I'd suffer badly but it would make my decision for Sunday easier. Best case I'd miraculously recover on the 2hr drive to North Conway, have a great race and run the 16-miler on Sunday to boot! I picked A.

photo credit - Gianina Lindsey

I tried to go out easy but even easy felt hard (that doesn't make any sense?). Thankfully the conditions were great, with 3/4 of the race on nicely groomed trails. The climbing was challenging but not killer. In fact, it was probably a fast course. I think I would have liked the course if I felt a little better. I'd definitely come back if they put it on again next year.
Here's another head scratcher for you: If I ran a little slower, I probably would have finished faster. This had to do with a little course snafu. It turns out there were a couple of sections where you could actually go off course and gain an advantage (more like course cutting). None of it was intentional, but it seems like quite a few did, and others were not sure. So a bunch of folks who were behind me actually finished in front of me. Like a lot of snowshoe or trail races, you have to pay attention to course markings. It's almost part of the charm. Whittaker Woods wasn't poorly marked, it was just sparsely marked. During a warm up run with a bunch of folks I made a note of this. So I followed the trail markings, and not the runner in front of me. Thankfully, the runners in front of me stayed on course.

So running a snowshoe race on Saturday actually made it much easier to decide whether to run on Sunday. Granted, I was packed up and ready to go Sunday morning but in the end common sense prevailed.

Feel Good Farm Snowshoe Race? (Gloves Included)

2011-01-20T14:51:00.000-05:00

After a brief delay, the New Hampshire Granite State Snowshoe Series got underway at Feel Good Farm in Lyndeborough, NH. Last year warm temps left some sections looking more like a trail race than a snowshoe race. This year (finally) we got some significant snowfall just days before. On most courses, it would be more than enough snow for a race (10-12"). This is not the case on this course. More on that later.

First NH snowshoe race of the season, beautiful day, great competition and a challenging course. What could possibly go wrong???
Let me count the ways....

Take an already challenging course and make it longer and harder.
Be sure to talk to your fellow snowshoers about the benefits of the Dion Quick-Fit bindings (as you laugh at the 2ft of extra strap wrapped around their foot so they don't trip). Silly snowshoers!
Make last minute adjustments to your bindings to ensure total breakdown within 5 minutes of starting.
Go out fast to maximize the number of snowshoers who will later pass you as you lay in the trail with your snowshoes stuck together (see Wamber below).
Make sure you try to reattach the velcro straps of your Quick-Fit bindings while sitting in a foot of fresh powder.Are all these straps really important anyways?
Be sure to do ALL this before climbing a single foot of the 1500ft per loop. It makes the total experience much more memorable.
Oh, and don't forget to rip off your rear cleats (on the only pair of snowshoes that you own) as you negotiate every hidden obstacle known to snowshoers on a crazy descent down Moose Mountain, all this just to get back to your car so you can do something useful...like take pictures.

I love these Quick-Fit Bindings!

Let's just say today was just one of those days when it wasn't meant to be. In reality there's nothing wrong with the Quick-Fit bindings on my Dion Snowshoes. I've had the same bindings (and straps) for 3 years. Once they're set, they stay. The problem (as I found out on Saturday) is if you have to undo and redo the straps in snow, they're pretty much useless. Lesson learned I guess. I have since ordered a second pair of snowshoes and the Secure Fit bindings (I'm a bit paranoid now). Just in case...

Why would you take off your shoes in the middle of a snowshoe race, you ask? Good question. All I can say is look at the picture below. I can't explain it. I can't tell you how I did it. I can tell you it is nearly impossible to undo once you've done it though.

The Wamber - kids, don't try this at home or on the road.

In the end Feel Good Farm became my first snowshoe DNF. Heck, it may be my first DNF for any race but I don't keep Dunham-like records and I can't remember what I had for breakfast. Sure, it was a little disappointing but honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. I was never really that fond of this course anyways.
Shortly after the race the race director announced he was dropping this race going forward. This was a good call in my opinion. Although extremely challenging (one of the hardest races I've run), it is also what I'd call "not snowshoeable". The climbs and descents are too steep to hold any snow and portions of the trails are just too rugged (ie rocks), with no snowshoe traffic on any other day except for race day. RIP FGF. I will not miss you.

Results (sans me)
Pics

2011 Turner Trail Snowshoe Race

2011-01-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

Starting area at Turner Trail

The Turner Trail race was probably my favorite snowshoe race from last year. In a season where snow was hard to find, the conditions at Turner last year (located in the Pittsfield State Forest) were near perfect. When you add the fact it was a very long and challenging course supported by great volunteers, there was no question I'd be back in 2011. Or would I?
The lack of any significant storms has kept the snow cover thin at best, even out in western Mass. Earlier last week Beth Herder (RD at Turner) indicated the course would be modified due to snow conditions. In fact, it wouldn't even be on the Turner Trail (which climbs Berry Mt via a nearly 3 mile switchback single track). I immediately started making other plans. I wasn't going to drive 333 miles for questionable snow conditions. So, on Friday I decided to head over to the Old Salem Greens Snowshoe Race (Salem, Ma) instead.
Two things happened late on Friday that changed my plans yet again.

Beth updated the conditions and provided a course map of the 'new' Turner Trail Race
The weather forecast indicated western Mass should get 6" of new snow prior to the race

New Turner Trail Course

The course would be a 5.4 mile loop on NEMBA-designed mountain bike trails and had 99% snow cover before the storm even arrived. If I could find someone to ride shotgun with me, Turner Trail would be back in business! A quick check with DoubleJ and I had my victim.
I really thought we'd be driving through a snowstorm early Saturday morning on the drive out. With the exception of a brief snow squall, there was virtually no snow at all, with clear roads for most of the trip. Although it made traveling easy, it did not give me any confidence that Pittsfield actually received the snow that was expected.
This time, the forecasters were right. By the time we reached Pittsfield, 4-6" of nice, fluffy powder was on the ground. Phew. Snow for a snowshoe race, who would have thunk it?
Jim, John Pajer and myself did a brief warm-up on the finish of the course, to check conditions and to get an idea what the finish of the course looked like. I like to recognize something near the finish to give me an idea how much is left in the race. From what we could tell, the conditions would be ideal: hard packed base with fresh new snow on top, and LOTS of turns. It would be some of the tightest single track I've raced on, with the trail being the width of a single snowshoer.

photo credit -Berkshire Sports

At 10am we lined up for the start. It appeared very few wanted to be up front. Not me, I wanted to get in position on the single track as soon as possible and not worry about passing folks. If they wanted to pass me, fine, but they'd have to work for it. Within the first 50ft my position was set and wouldn't change for the next 5.4 miles. Jim, Tim Van Orden and Ross Krause took off up front, followed by high school xc star Connor Devine, myself and then John Pajer. The 3 of us ran fairly close for the first couple of miles (which generally went gently downhill). The entire course would be on super tight single track, with a gazillion turns. No need to ever look back in this race, just wait for a turn and chances are you'd be nearly running next to the guy behind you. Early on the snowshoeing was pretty fast, with good traction. At the last minute I switched to my ice cleats and early on it seemed like a good choice. However, the middle couple of miles were tough. No real elevation gain/loss, but the trail loosened up a lot, and we were breaking through the hard pack under the powder. The traction all but disappeared and we'd slide around every corner. It was noticeably slower and harder. Now I wished I stuck with my deep cleats!

photo credit - Berkshire Sports

During this section I could sense John was dropping back a bit. He was still in sight but the gap was increasing. I focused on keeping Connor within reach for the next few miles. I'd get really close at times and then he'd pick it up (or I slowed down) and gap me pretty well. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to pass him and was content with him pulling me along. The last 3 miles or so generally worked its way back up. Nothing steep, but enough that you noticed you were climbing. At one point we saw Ross on one of the switch backs but I couldn't tell if he was 10 seconds up or 2 minutes up because of the way the trail snaked around. It was the only time I saw another snowshoer in front besides Connor.
I finally started recognizing the trail as we neared the finish (thanks to our warm up). My position was set. I wasn't catching Connor and I didn't see anyone behind me. 48 minutes and 35 seconds after I started I crossed the finish line in 5th place (results), and second old guy (behind Tim). Some guy named Jim won I think.
Once again, Turner Trail did not disappoint. The course and conditions were some of the best I've snowshoed on in any race. Beth and crew did an outstanding job (at the last minute) putting together a top notch course. It was well worth the trip!

Additional photos by Berkshire Sports can be found here.

33rd Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5k

2011-01-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

Temple Town Hall

This race is the definition of a small town race (results) . It is in Temple, NH after all. Everything about it is low-key (which I like). It also happens to be the race I've run the most (8 times). I'd say running this race is the closet thing I have to a tradition, and by now it's an automatic. If I'm not injured, I'll run this race.

I was thankful to have my family in tow this year. They don't see too many of my races but I appreciate it when they do. At least the weather was nice this year (mid 50's, mostly sunny). Seems like it's icy cold or snowing most years. The nice weather also brought out a good size crowd (~200) which was nice to see. If you've come for a 5k PR you've come to the wrong race. The first 1 1/2 miles generally climbs, the next mile is mostly downhill and the final stretch punishes you with a deceiving difficult uphill finish. I don't know if it qualifies as a tough 5k or not but it definitely is a slow 5k. Very few folks run under 18 minutes at this one. Heck, in 8 tries I've never run under 19 minutes.

Start

I lined up in the front row and checked out this years competition. Fellow GCS teammate Joe Rogers was running for the first time. I gave him an overview of the course and thought he had a chance for the win. My plan was to go out fairly easy (since it's mostly uphill the first 1 1/2 miles) and just fall into position and then hammer the downhill. As expected, Joe was with 2 other guys up front and I was a ways back in 5th for most of the 1st mile. I eventually gave up a spot in the first mile, and another spot in the 2nd mile before gaining one back in the final mile. The mile markers ALWAYS seem to be off each year so I don't put a lot of value into my splits. I ran the uphill a little slow but really picked up the pace on the downhill and the short section of dirt road. The last 1/2 mile is always hard as it gradually climbs back up before finishing just below the town hall. It has to be the longest last 1/10th of a mile anywhere. This year it took me 1:15 to run that last '1/10th' of a mile. That comes out to something like a 12 min/mile pace (not bloody likely). Like I said, the mile markers ALWAYS seem to be off. Oh well, at least it's the same every year so I don't mind so much.

Finishing up

I really wanted to break 19 minutes and once again I just missed it, finishing 6th overall in 19:05 (my 2nd fastest time ever at this race). At least it was faster than last year (by 2 whole seconds!). Joe was in the mix right to the end, even leading around the 3 mile mark, before getting passed right before the finish. The top 3 all finished within 8 seconds of each other, good racing indeed. Thankfully Joe finished in the top 3, allowing me to take home the cookie medal for 1st master (40-49). Thanks Joe!

Deb was kind enough to take a bunch of pictures throughout the race. All pics can be found here.
Happy New Year!

Woodford Snowshoe Race

2010-12-29T07:55:00.001-05:00

Let the 2011 snowshoe season begin! It's very confusing but trust me, this was the first race of next year :-) The 3.5m loop (results) around Adams Reservoir in Woodford State Park (just outside of Bennington,VT) always seems to have snow, which is probably why it's the 1st race of the snowshoe season each year. Chris Dunn and I tried to round up a few acidotic snowshoers to make the trip with us but instead I was stuck listening to Chris drone on and on about how he was going to beat me. Thanks guys! Just kidding, it was actually a nice uneventful drive, arriving 1 1/2hrs early, with 10-15 cars already in the parking lot. Me thinks some folks were itching to do some snowshoeing.

It seemed a little odd doing a race when I hadn't put on snowshoes since March. All part of the fun I guess. We chatted with some of the regulars and headed over to the start about 1/2hr early to check out the course a bit and try to remember what it was like to run in snowshoes. DD and JJ had marked the course and thought the course would be fast. Woodford isn't a difficult course, doesn't have any real hills but has been tough in the past. This is due to snow conditions. Deep snow, wet snow, deep, wet snow. This year it was just powder. Nice!

The race starts on the access road to the park and goes off like a 5k, heads up the only real hill on the course and then turns into the woods onto some nice single track for the remainder. In my 3rd year running Woodford I thought I'd do something different; take it out a little easier at the start and wait until I hit the single track before picking up the pace. I tucked in behind John Agosto and one other guy early on and could sense Chris right behind me. By the time we hit the single track the top 5 guys were out of sight, never to be seen again. In the past I"d be sucking wind by this time but this year I felt good. The plan worked, who would have thunk it? I passed one guy early on and was content with John pulling me along, finding it easier to follow then to lead. As far as I could tell, Chris was right behind me. Probably a little over a mile in John peeked over his shoulder and slowed on a short climb so I made the pass. Turns out this was the last time I'd see either John or Chris. I'm not sure what happened, whether I got faster or they got slower but within a few minutes I had gapped them enough that I couldn't hear them behind me any more. For the remainder of the race I'd run alone. For the most part I felt good and didn't have any of those 'snowshoe racing is stupid' moments when you wonder why you're doing this. I peeked over my shoulder as I exited the woods for the final 1/3mile finish on the access road. I was all alone so I cruised in, finishing in 6th place o/a with a time of 24:10, nearly 3 minutes faster than last year. Chris and John finished less than a minute behind me.
Good start to the season.

Next up: Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5k on 1/1 and (weather permitting) Beaver Brook 5k Snowshoe Race on 1/2.

Rhode Island 6hr Ultra Relay

2010-12-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

I had hoped to post something earlier for this event (which happened over a month ago) but delayed it until official results were posted. After a couple of weeks of waiting I finally got bored and forgot about it (NOTE: due to the timing company not the race director). Now my excuse is I barely remember this event. Good news: two of my teammates (Chris Dunn & Danny Ferreira) both had write-ups on their blogs so I'll defer to them for details on our effort. The crib notes version is we won the relay, setting a course record. Sounds impressive except the relay is only in its second year and the really fast teams haven't heard about it yet. However, a win is a win and we'll take it!

2010 acidotic RACING Relay Team

Pictures from the relay can be found here and here.
I did want to post some of the numbers regarding lap times and such.

Lap info:

Lap	Runner	Lap Time	Lap Pace
1	Charlie	15:15	05:39
2	Al	14:49	05:29
3	Danny	21:18	07:53*
4	Steve	16:17	06:02
5	Rich	16:56	06:16
6	Chris	16:05	05:57
7	Charlie	14:58	05:33
8	Al	14:45	05:28
9	Danny	15:48	05:51
10	Steve	16:09	05:59
11	Rich	17:01	06:18
12	Chris	16:12	06:00
13	Charlie	15:05	05:35
14	Al	14:43	05:27
15	Danny	16:02	05:56
16	Steve	16:15	06:01
17	Rich	17:32	06:30
18	Chris	16:14	06:01
19	Charlie	15:07	05:36
20	Al	14:56	05:32
21	Danny	16:26	06:05
22	Steve	16:09	05:59

*got lost on his first lap

Runner totals for the day:

Runner	Total Time	Total Miles	Avg Pace
Charlie	1:00:25	10.8	05:36
Al	0:59:12	10.8	05:29
Danny	1:09:34	10.8	06:26
Steve	1:04:51	10.8	06:00
Rich	0:51:29	8.1	06:21
Chris	0:48:30	8.1	05:59
TEAM	5:54:00	59.4	05:58

Finishing up my last lap

Cherish Every Moment

2010-12-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

It's a rare occurrence for me to post something that isn't running related. This is one of those rare occurrences. Every once in a while I need to read and see stories like this to put things into perspective, to remind me what's really important.

This is the story of Dax Locke. It is in fact a very sad, heart-wrenching story of a 13 month old boy who died nearly a year ago from a rare form of Leukemia. Doctors told his parents that Dax would most likely not make it to Christmas. It is a story of two very strong, loving parents who did everything they could to make sure their son would have One Last Christmas. It is also a story of how their neighbors and ultimately the entire small town of Washington, Illinois came together to make sure Dax Locke would see Christmas. The story of Dax Locke was put into words by a very inspirational songwriter named Matthew West. Matthew spent months alone in a cabin writing songs for his latest album, an album based entirely on the stories sent to him by his fans. The song One Last Christmas is the story of Dax Locke.

Cherish every moment.

Warning- this song will most likely bring a tear to your eye.

2010 Mill Cities Relay

2010-12-07T09:06:00.000-05:00

MCR (results) is an invitation only (Merrimack Valley running clubs) 5-person 27.1 mile relay from Nashua, NH to Lawrence, MA. It probably has the highest member participation of any event all year. With 20+ clubs and 200+ teams, it's where all the cool kids go on the first Sunday in December.
I've run in the Mill Cities Relay every year since joining the Gate City Striders in 2005. I take that back: in 2006 MCR wouldn't let me run because of an idiotic 'rule'. Even though I was a dues paying, active member of GCS, I ran one USATF race in 2006 for the Moose Milers racing team (in March). This somehow made me ineligible to run for GCS. I'm not bitter though.... :-) (For the record, that rule is no longer in place).I'll get down off my soapbox now.

For the 2nd year in a row I'd be running on a Coed Masters team. Last year I was fortunate enough to be teamed up with some fast teammates and we won the Coed Masters division. This year I was teamed up with all new teammates (hmm, should I read into this?). Just to be clear, I don't pick my teammates. The Gate City Striders pay Michael Wade big bucks to waste hours of his own time arranging 140 runners into 30 teams in 12 different divisions in order to put our club in the best position to score enough points to win the Mill Cities Trophy. All I have to do is show up. My kind of relay!

This year I'd be teamed up with Randy Macneill (leg 1- 5.6m), Julie Hanover (leg 2- 4.75m), Carla Chandler (leg 3- 2.5m), Joe Rogers (leg 4- 9.5m) and I'd be running the 5th leg (4.75m) for the 2nd year in a row. I had some reservations about running this year. The event is fine, but I've felt a bit off the last month or so. I certainly have not felt fast (mostly tired). I was actually thinking about taking a whole week off from running.....gasp!

I kind of like running the last leg. There is no stress in getting to my leg on time and I get to watch the entire relay unfold. This year I hung out at the 1st and 2nd transition areas and took some pictures before finally driving down to Methuen to hang out at my transition area, parking my car about 100m before the actual hand-off area. I really didn't know exactly when Joe would arrive but guessed it would be around 10:30am. I got dressed and was ready to go by 10:15am and was thinking about going for a short warm up (since it was bloody cold out). As I stood by my car talking to Keith Obrien I happened to see Joe running by. Whoops, I guess I'll have to skip the warm up and I raced Joe up the hill to the transition area, getting there just in time to snag the baton and head off on my run. That wasn't planned very well :-)

Leg 5 elevation profile

Leg 5 starts off fairly flat for the first 2 miles, climbs a decent hill in mile 3, descends in mile 4 and is flat as a pancake in the last mile. Last year I went out a little quick and suffered on the hill a bit. I had a decent time (28:30) but it wasn't easy. This year I tried to go out a little easier in the first couple of miles and work a little harder on the hill. I felt fairly comfortable as I hit the first mile in 5:43 (really?) but decided to back off a bit so I wouldn't repeat last years effort on the hill. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by my time. I decided not to check my watch again until the finish. I passed a half dozen runners in the first mile or so but generally ran alone the rest of the way. When you take the final turn you can see the finish but it's probably a 1/2 mile away. I saw another runner pretty far ahead and was definitely gaining but there was no way I was going to catch them. I crossed the line with a leg time of 28:07 (5:55 avg) and a team time of 2:48:32, good for 2nd Coed Masters team, 20th team overall. It turns out the runner I saw in front of me was the winning Coed Masters team. They finished 14 seconds ahead of us!

Big thanks to all the GCS runners (especially Michael Wade) for putting together an incredible team effort. The Gate City Striders took home the Mill Cities Trophy for the 3rd year in a row!

2010 Mill Cities Champs

2010 Stone Cat Trail Marathon

2010-11-08T13:24:00.001-05:00

On Saturday I headed down to Ipswich, MA for the 10th annual Stone Cat Trail Marathon and 50 miler (results). I ran this race last year, had a good time, so it was a no-brainer signing up again. Next year I might want to look at my race calendar first. More on that later.
The 6:15am start slide into a 6:30ish start due to an accident on the road to the race. Either way, it was going to be a dark start and headlamps were required.
Last year I went out a little quick and tired in the second half so this year I was hoping for a slower start. Running on wet trails in the dark should slow me down...at least that was the plan.

Starting Line - photo credit Keith Magnus

Speaking of plans, I did have one this year. The marathon does two 12.5 mile loops of the 50 mile course (plus an extra 1.2 miles at the start to make it official). Along the way there are two aid stations, Al's Cafe around 4.2 miles and Fast Freddies around 7.5 miles. There are no mileage markers on this course so the only opportunity I had to check pace would be at the start/finish and at the aid stations. I wrote down some splits on a piece of paper and stuck them in my shorts (based on 7:30 pace). Plan was set, execution not so much. Technically, the plan was good for the first lap as I was fairly close to hitting my splits. In reality it is near impossible to gauge your pace on windy, rocky, rooty mountain bike single and double track trails so the fact I was even close is more due to luck than any skill.

	Miles	Plan	Actual
Al's	5.4	0:40:30	0:39:14
Fast Freddies	8.7	1:05:15	1:05:27
Start/finish	13.7	1:43:30	1:44:13
Al's	17.9	2:15:00	2:17:11
Fast Freddies	21.2	2:39:45	2:45:06
Start/finish	26.2	3:16:30	3:27:10

I hung with the lead group for a couple of miles on the first lap before slipping coming down a hill and hyper-extending my knee, bringing me to a limping walk for a few minutes. Heck, it was probably a good thing, otherwise the lead group would have driven me into the ground, making for a painful 2nd loop. It did make me a little more cautious with my footing as the leaves and roots were very slippery all day. The water crossing around mile 4 was a nice touch this year. Nothing like ankle deep ice water during a cold marathon to keep you motivated. I could have done without the motivation....twice.
I was around runners during most of the first loop with my 6th place position set fairly early on. The second lap was generally 30 sec/mile slower, and I dropped to 7th early in the 2nd lap, running alone for the majority of the loop. Other than that the race was fairly uneventful. I felt pretty good, no cramps or anything. My only complaint was my hip flexors were sore as heck. It was a little frustrating because my legs didn't feel tired, I just couldn't get my stride going. In fact, I knew I was slowing down a bit but I had no idea I had slowed so much. I didn't feel that slow and was a little surprised when I saw the clock at the finish.
I suppose it should have been expected. I hadn't done a long run in I don't know how long and I've run 2 marathons and a 1/2 marathon in the last month. Gee, what could go wrong?

No complaints though. I ran, finished well and didn't get injured. I'll take it.
Top ten finishers:

Place	Name	Age	Time
1	Keith Schmitt	42	3:11:32
2	Andy King	34	3:11:39
3	Paul Young	45	3:12:04
4	Wes Lassen	32	3:20:13
5	Brian Cullinan	30	3:23:42
6	Tommy Nagy	26	3:24:44
7	Steve Wolfe	46	3:27:10
8	Stephen Guillette	31	3:31:22
9	Paul Mandeville	32	3:38:03
10	Rob Martin	-	3:38:23

Race photos should be available later this week here.

I've mentioned it before but it's worth mentioning again (for anyone looking to run a trail marathon). Sunday morning I got up and went for a nice 5m run with no aches or pains. Try to do that after a road marathon!

Next up: Rhode Island 6hr Ultra on Sunday (team relay).

Deja Vu at WMM Half Marathon

2010-11-03T14:01:00.000-04:00

I've had some less than stellar runs since laying an egg at Baystate 2 weeks ago. In fact, I think I rode my mountain bike more than I ran since Baystate (which isn't a bad thing now that I think about it). To top it off, it seemed like I had shin splints this past Monday. My left calf was sore EVERYWHERE. The entire Tibialis Anterior muscle was sore from its origin to its insertion point. Coincidentally Jim Hansen happened to post a video showing how to loosen up the muscles in the calf/lower leg. Thanks Jim! So for the next 4 days I tortured myself with a foam roller, a Stick and a tennis ball. I only managed to run 2 times all week. Yep, that's one way to prepare for a half marathon.

Initially I was hoping for a decent run at the White Mountain Milers Half Marathon (results) in North Conway. Now I was wondering if I could even finish the darn thing. I skipped the warm up run because I didn't want to know if something was going to hurt. I guess I like surprises. As usual, Michael Wade was gunning for me.....again...and I was gunning for John Pajer (who beat me by 29 sec last year). John's the only CMS runner I know who is actually FROM central Mass. We compared notes (and injuries) and I'm pretty sure we both decided to see if we could stick with the other.

The course is surprisingly flat for being up in the White Mountains. Weather and conditions were nearly identical to last year: cool, sunny and a little breezy. Breezy would eventually turn into a squirrelly wind which would give us trouble going out and back.

I immediately tucked into the lead pack of roughly 7-8 runners during the first mile and was happy to be right in the middle due to the head wind. It didn't seem like anybody wanted to be out front and the pace was really slow (for a lead pack). Mike Wade eventually tired of the slow pace and jumped to the lead and was actually pulling away. What the?? For about 5 seconds I was nervous he was going to smoke me until I realized he just wanted to lead through mile 1. Shortly after the 1st mile the 'chase' pack caught and passed him.

John Pajer (146), Charlie Bemis (11), me (211)
photo credit - Ed Harrigan

For the next 12 miles I would essentially run shoulder to shoulder with John Pajer. We talked occasionally but mostly we just ran stride for stride. Right at mile 4 one of my shoes came untied and I lost about 10-15 seconds tying it. It took me all of the next two miles to catch back up with John. We were running hard but comfortable and we passed the 1/2 way point just a tad over 41 minutes. We both talked about our legs getting tired but neither would give an inch and kept up a decent pace as we made our way back (out and back course). By mile 8 we knew we would have a tough finish. The wind was now blowing pretty steady and appeared to be head wind (left shoulder maybe). In either case it was slowing us considerably while at the same time increasing our effort. I strongly dislike the wind (more than hills). These last few miles were mentally and physically tough. I tried to open up a small gap in mile 9 or 10, but John eventually caught back up by mile 11 and stayed with me through 12 as we took a hard right and headed into the last mile (with a tail wind FINALLY). I picked up the pace again with about 1/2 mile to go and this time I was able to hold off John (by 8 whole seconds) and finished in 1:23:20, 6th overall (1st 45-49). My son Alec was running his first ever half marathon today and finished in 1:32:21, good for 2nd in his division!

A look at my splits show they were pretty similar to last year. I honestly think I'm in better shape this year but I also think the wind was way stronger this year than last. Overall I have no complaints. I never really worried about my calf after the first few miles and I generally felt good throughout the entire race. This is still one of my favorite half marathons and hopefully I'll be back next year.

mile	2009	2010
1	6:02	6:13
2	6:25	6:20
3	6:21	6:16
4	6:11	6:14
5	6:16	6:20
6	6:08	6:09
7	6:21	6:28
8	6:16	6:17
9	6:31	6:37
10	6:41	6:39
11	6:28	6:27
12	6:17	6:30
13	6:15	6:12
0.1	0:33	0:37
13.1	1:22:45	1:23:20

Additional race photos can be found at harriganphoto.com.

Outdoor Track Comes to a Close

2010-10-21T10:24:00.000-04:00

Last night was our final outdoor track workout of the season. In Gate City Striders tradition, we had our 4-person night relay race. The track is lined with candle luminaries and relay batons become glow sticks. Teams are chosen at random and each person runs 400m (4 times).
I had recovered well from my marathon on Sunday, mountain biking Monday and Tuesday and running 5 miles prior to track. Legs were still a little tired but I figured I could run easy and just have fun. Yeah, right.

Joe R would lead off, followed by Lee, myself and anchored by Keith O. For most of the 4 mile relay we had a good battle going with dysfunctional team of Michael Wade and friends (I'm pretty sure no one on his team ran a marathon...slowly, this weekend). In the end, we finished in 2nd, just a few seconds back. This supposedly fun workout turned out to be much harder than I thought and I was a hurtin' pup at the end.

My laps were: 70s, 74s, 74s and 74s and we finished up with a total time of 21:53. In retrospect, I would not recommend speed work 3 days after a marathon.

Indoor track starts January 4th!

Baystate Long Run

2010-10-18T10:28:00.002-04:00

Not much to say about this one. I was ready. I was rested. I had some nice races leading up to it that convinced me I was on track for a PR. My plan was simple. It was either going to be a goal race or it was going to be a 3+hr long run. I went with plan B. For whatever reason it wasn't going to happen yesterday. I knew it early on but pushed ahead as long as I could. Baystate broke my goal but not my spirits!

Mile 26 - photo credit Scott Mason

I was VERY thankful to all the Gate City Striders out there cheering us on and offering words of encouragement. They were everywhere! They helped me keep a positive attitude throughout the entire race and even have a little fun (I tagged off to the next runner at the Gate City Tent (Lowell Boat House) hoping this was Mill City Relays but no one took off so I had to finish the last 3 miles instead). Scotty "you will soon be an Ironman" Graham was everywhere as well, shadowing me on his bike on my second loop for a while. I was going so slow at that point that he was having a hard time staying upright on his bike. I think he said it looked like I was carrying a piano on my back....only 6 more miles to go! Gee, thanks Scott!

I won't bore you with my splits. I will say I was running fairly consistent 6:40's right through mile 14. Five miles later I was running 8:15's, all the way to the finish. It wasn't a death march and I didn't cramp up, I just couldn't run any faster. I finished in 3:10:44.

Surprisingly my legs feel pretty good today. Maybe it's because I run my long runs faster. Glad it's over. Now I can get back to running and not training!

Pinnacle Challenge Pics (updated 10/7/2010)

2010-10-05T09:27:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple of links to photos and videos from the Pinnacle Challenge. I'll add more links as they become available.

Steve Wolfe pics (mostly acidotic teammates)

Robin Saunders pics

Jim Johnson video Part 1 and Jim Johnson video Part 2

Justin Fyffe video

Tim Lindsey pics

Pinnacle website

2010 Pinnacle Challenge

2010-10-04T20:38:00.002-04:00

For the second year in a row I joined my fellow acidotic teammates for a little 4-person relay action in Newport, NH. The Pinnacle Challenge is a double duathlon consisting of a 5m road run, a 5.4m mountain bike, a 13.75m road bike and finishes up with a 3.65m trail run. I was taking part in the team event but they also have solo and duo categories for those that are interested in a real challenge.
My team had a last minute scratch so I was scrambling in the days before the race looking for a replacement. I managed to find a runner but he was a complete unknown so I wasn't sure what to expect. I guess we'll find out on race day.

Transition area

The Pinnacle Challenge is a well organized but low key event. There's a good mix of uber-athletes and regular joes and most are very supportive of each other. Nothing like watching guys with $10k bikes racing against guys with $100 bikes. When I say racing, I mean they're in the same race. Plus with so many acidotic teams racing, there tends to be a lot of inter-team racing going on, not to mention my usual I gotta beat Chris' team no matter what attitude that I take into every race against Chris. However, since Chris is the master team builder in these events, chances are good that he's stacked the teams in his favor.
Jim Johnson decided to dump his teddy bear CMS singlet for the day and slip on the acidotic colors. Jim would run the 5m leg, followed by Austin Stonebraker on the mountain bike, Ted Hall on the road bike and finally me on the trail run. I liked our chances. Turns out a team of CMS/BAA guys liked their chances too!

Jim aR Johson

At 9:30 the 5m runners were off and the rest of us waited. We didn't have to wait very long. 24:36 later Justin Fyffe came into the transition area. Wow. That was fast. Not long after Jim entered the transition area in 24:59. Seriously, he barely broke 25 minutes for 5 miles. Who can't do that?? (apparently, everybody at the race except Justin). We had a problem though. I mean, we invite him into our cult, set him up with a styling sleeveless man-shirt with the acidotic logo on the front and then he slips on some arm cozies??? Sorry Jim, this relationship is NOT going to work out. Please turn in your singlet.
Back to the race. Jim did manage to give us a 1:21 lead over Team Chris and the race was on! Austin headed out for the mountain bike loop with Chris following shortly after. Less than 40 minutes later they'd both return, with Chris holding a 10 second lead. Ah, ya gotta love a good race! Christian and Ted would essentially head out for the road bike loop together. As I chatted with Chris I told him what needed to happen: my rider (Ted) needed to put 2+ minutes on Christian for me to even have a chance. That's because I was up against a crazy fast acidotic runner with dual citizenship (apparently he runs with CMS when he doesn't want to have fun) - Tim Cox.
As the riders approached the transition area I could see what was happening. Christian and Ted were actually riding together. Crap. Game, set, match. Ted came into the transition area with a 2 second lead over Christian. 2 SECONDS?? I needed 2 minutes!! Oh, well. At least I didn't have to run scared waiting for Tim to catch me. There was a good chance I wouldn't make it out of the transition area before he passed me.

Stairs on the run

As I ran as fast as I could around the track and headed to the woods, Tim pulled up beside me. I could hear Jim yelling "hang with him!" and almost cramped up from laughing. 1/4 mile into the run and I was at max heart rate. Finally, we turned into the woods and out of sight from the spectators and I commented to Tim that I could finally let up and off he went. I stayed with him on the stair climb but not much after that. It was fun while it lasted. I had a decent run. The first 2+ miles were all climbing as we headed to the summit before heading back down on some fantastic single track. Oh, and on the climb to the summit they threw in a 20' rope climb just to mix it up. Nice! Back to the downhill (since the uphill part basically sucked). I recovered pretty quickly and opened it up on the way back down. The footing was great, the trail flowed nicely and the corners weren't sharp. It was FAST. About half way down I passed a solo guy and came close to passing another one just before the finish.
In the end I ran 25:10 and our team finished in 2:07:54 (complete results). Last year this time would have been more than enough for the overall win. This year it was good for 4th team overall and 2:04 behind Tim (and Chris' team). See, I told him I needed 2 minutes!!!!
The team of Justin Fyffe, Mark Miller, Josh Ferenc and Greg Hammet scored the win and came within 18 seconds of breaking 2hrs (a feat that has never happened in this race). Not bad for a bunch of Pinnacle rookies.
Last year I ran the 5m road leg and had the 4th fastest split of the day. My team last year finished 4th overall.
This year I ran the 3.65m trail leg and had the 4th fastest split of the day. My team finished 4th overall.
If you want to finish 4th, I'm your guy.
I'm #4!!

Videos courtesy of Jim Johnson.

Part I

Part II

Reach the Beach 2010

2010-09-21T14:09:00.001-04:00

This was my 5th time running RTB (results) with the Mine Falls Milers (a mostly Gate City Striders based team), and it could have been really, really stressful. We've been fairly competitive each year (in the top 10 o/a each year), running mostly as a Men's Masters team. This year we seemed to struggle more with finding and holding onto 12 runners all summer long. We even had 4 new runners, 3 of which have never participated in RTB before. In fact, we lost one of our fastest runners in the last week and ultimately ran with just 11. But for some reason it wasn't really stressful (at least for me).

2010 Mine Falls Milers

There were so many unknowns this year, so many new folks that it wasn't possible to have any real expectation of what our team would do. So, I generally relaxed. In the end, it just didn't matter how anyone else ran. It would have no affect on how I would run my legs. So as long as we all generally got along, we should have another great year at RTB! Bottom line - we had another great year!

The Mine Falls Milers (Men's Masters) finished in 23:07:00 (6:38 avg), 11th overall (430 teams), and 4th in our division. This was definitely the most competitive field we've seen since we've been running. The winning Masters team finished in 20:52:59 (5:59 avg). That's faster than the Overall winner 3 out of the last 4 years. Even with 11 runners, it was our 2nd fastest avg in 5 years.

	Overall	Division	Avg Pace
2006	8	4	6:54
2007	5	3	6:44
2008	7	1	6:40
2009	8	2	6:30
2010	11	4	6:38

From a personal standpoint, this was probably my best run RTB ever. I felt really good (and strong) on every leg and never experienced any real soreness or muscle cramps. My only issue was a quarter-sized blister that I actually got 4 days earlier when I ran the Nahant 30k. Each run would aggravate it enough that it hurt to walk. After each run I'd take a safety pin from my sweaty BIB and drain the fluid out, throw some Moleskin on it and get ready for my next run.
With only 11 runners to start and having an injury to one of our runners late in the race, our legs were far from traditional. I ended up running 4 times for a total of 23.7 miles with nearly 1800 ft of climbing.

Leg 3 (Easy) was 3.9 miles from Bretton Woods to the AMC Highland Center and was mostly uphill, getting quite steep right near the end.

Leg 14 (Medium-Hard) was 7.8 miles from the Community School in Tamworth to the Center Sandwich School. The first 4 miles climbed steady along Rt25 and then had 2 steep climbs and descents before finishing in downtown Sandwich.

Leg 25 (Hard) was 8.6 miles from Bear Brook State Park to nearly the Deerfield Fairgrounds. It climbs steadily (and steeply at times) for the first 5 miles before finally heading back down to the finish.

Leg 35 (Easy) was 3.4 miles from the North Hampton School to Winnacunnet High School. No map required. This leg is flat (being only 4 miles from the finish).

Totals for the day:

Leg	Miles	Time	Pace
3	3.9	24:09	6:13
14	7.8	49:38	6:22
25	8.6	55:06	6:25
35	3.4	20:21	5:58
	23.7	2:29:14	6:15

So, after racing long each of the last 3 weeks, I shall take a weekend (or two) off from racing. The Pinnacle Challenge is next on the schedule.

Nahant 30k

2010-09-15T10:23:00.000-04:00

Yes, my 'training' is probably unconventional. I'll be the first to admit it. Most people probably don't combine their high mileage weeks (training for 2 fall marathons) with back to back weekends of 18+ mile races plus an upcoming 24hr 200 mile relay this weekend (RTB).Who the heck has time to taper anyways?? So with already tired legs, I made a last minute decision on Sunday to head down to Nahunt, MA and run the Nahant 30k Road Race and hopefully work on my marathon pacing. First I had to figure out where the heck Nahant was.

I knew it was on the coast so I assumed it would be fairly flat, making it ideal to run a consistent pace throughout the six 5k's (sounds longer that way), or 18.64 miles (that sounds pretty long too). Nahant is the closest thing there is to an island without it being called an island, and is landlocked by Lynn (city of sin) of all places. Who knew? What I did know was there would be LOTS of turns. How else do you pack in 30k of running on a land mass of 1.2 sq miles?

Lots of familiar (and fast) faces at the start, including the entire GCS men's masters team that will most likely be kicking my butt at Baystate next month but I digress. Jim Pawlicki gave me a quick overview of what to expect (aka it is not flat and you will turn a LOT) shortly before the race and the RD gave a quick overview as well. 15 miles on Nahant and a long run along the beach down and past the start/finish area (on the causeway) before looping back at mile 18. Got it?
I had heard this race can be a bit confusing if volunteers and signage are not in place. After being assured by the RD that the course was well marked, we were off.
Now I should mention I didn't do any warm up (pretty typical for me) so I went out easy and relaxed hoping to run close to my planned marathon pace (6:40 pace). Good news is my 1st mile was 6:37. Bad news was I had to stop for a bathroom break (yes I know, poor planning on my part). Thankfully there was a bath house right at the 1st mile mark. I still lost about a minute (2nd mile was 7:34) but I didn't panic and didn't try to get it all back in the early miles. I just kept telling myself to be patient and take your time. I did lose about 30 places though and that was frustrating but it gave me lots of targets to track down.
It turns out Nahant is not flat after all. The course can be described with four words: up, down, turn, repeat. In fact the only flat section was the start/finish area along the causeway. The rest of the route was constant rollers (which I actually enjoyed). I've never turned so many times in a race....ever. Run a 100ft, sharp left, run a 100ft, sharp right. Wow. And for the record I was curious how many turns there actually were. The North Shore Striders have turn by turn directions of the course on their website. Count them up: 77 turns. Yikes.

Back to the race. I was feeling great in the early miles. Very relaxed, strong and running fairly easy and totally happy with my pace. After 9 miles I was right at MP (6:41 avg) and continued to catch and pass runners. But there were a few runners I was with in the first mile that were still a ways ahead of me and I was determined to catch them before we finished. Around mile 10 I started to pick up the pace and really focused on tracking down these rogue runners. It was fun, especially watching them glance back on the turns, each time me being a little closer. Bwah ha ha! They were running scared and there's nothing they can do about it. They shall be caught and passed. You can write that in pen.
By the time we reached Nahant beach for the last 3 miles along the causeway I had reeled them all in. Now I had to hold them off. I never looked back but instead just ran harder. It's a tough finish since you run right by the finish line around mile 17, running directly into the wind until finally making a u-turn around mile 18 and heading back to the finish (this time with a tail wind).I finally got a glimpse of where everyone was when I made the u-turn and started heading back. I felt like I had a comfortable lead but didn't slow up at all (running 5:38 pace over the last .64 miles). I cruised in with a time of 2:00:45, 10th place overall (complete results). My legs felt great! For a brief second I thought about the time I lost during my bathroom break and whether I could have broken 2hrs but I got over it pretty quick. I probably would have run the race quite differently if I hadn't stopped. Heck, it was a 30k PR! Ok, so it was my first 30k, whatever.
The best part was running some very nice negative splits. I averaged 6:41's for the first 9 miles and 6:17's for the last 9.6. For the nerdy folks, all my splits are listed below.

	Time	Total Time	Avg Pace
1	6:37	0:06:37	6:37
2	7:34	0:14:11	7:06
3	6:31	0:20:42	6:54
4	6:53	0:27:35	6:54
5	6:40	0:34:15	6:51
6	6:27	0:40:42	6:47
7	6:19	0:47:01	6:43
8	6:33	0:53:34	6:42
9	6:31	1:00:05	6:41
10	6:24	1:06:29	6:39
11	6:29	1:12:58	6:38
12	6:29	1:19:27	6:37
13	6:27	1:25:54	6:36
14	6:11	1:32:05	6:35
15	6:23	1:38:28	6:34
16	6:02	1:44:30	6:32
17	6:13	1:50:43	6:31
18	6:24	1:57:07	6:30
18.6	3:37	2:00:44	6:29

They managed to squeeze 30k into the smallest town in Massachusetts and kept me on course. Nice job!
photo credits - Krissy Kozlosky
Complete photo set can be found here

Wapack Trail Race

2010-09-13T14:26:00.001-04:00

Last year I did this race when it was only 17.5 miles and it was hard. I didn't have any long lasting memories of why I shouldn't do it again so I decided to go back for round 2. The race follows the Wapack Trail from Windblown XC ski area in New Ipswich,NH to Asburnham,MA....and back, climbing 4 mountains each way with a total elevation gain of 3500ft. A reroute of the first couple of miles changed the distance to 18 miles this year and changed the start/finish setup dramatically (IMHO). Instead of staring UP the hill, we'd be facing the opposite direction and actually have a fairly long downhill start.
Having run the 'other' Wapack trail race in May (end to end 22 miler), I was familiar with the new trail up the first of 4 peaks (Barrett Mt). For some reason 99% of the runners just wouldn't line up at the starting line, choosing to mingle a good 10-15ft behind it (see picture below). I have no idea why, other than maybe they weren't quite sure which way to go.

At the starting line

Most of the first mile+ is a steady downhill on old logging roads, which led to a fairly fast start for an 18 mile trail race. The new climb up Barrett is much more runnable but still pretty steep. No wimpy switchbacks getting up this one, just a straight shot to the top. I went out fairly easy and climbed steadily, and was probably in my finishing position (10th to12th place) by the time I reached the 1st summit 2 miles in. It doesn't mean there wasn't any racing going on. I traded positions all day with various runners, mostly with Scott Patnode. Scott and I ran together a good part of the day. The Wapack is notorious for being a fairly hard trail to follow, especially when you're running it. Thankfully this year someone went out and marked (with blue arrows) some of the trickier sections (mostly on the summits). It was very easy to follow...for once!!
I was feeling pretty good on the way out and eventually opened up about a 3 minute lead on Scott by the time I hit the half-way point in 1:24 (10th place). If you want to know where your competitors are, an out and back will let you know. Keith Schmitt was about 5 minutes ahead, Jimmie Cochran about 4 minutes behind and the eventual 10th place finisher was right behind me. He would pass me pretty quickly on the steep climb back up Watatic.

Battle wounds for the day

Once you summit Watatic (on the way back) you have a fairly long downhill/flat stretch of about 3 miles on mostly logging-type roads. It's a nice recovery for your feet and legs. Unfortunately I chose this easy section to verify gravity really does exist. While I'm not entirely sure what happened, I'm guessing I was reaching for a gel in my front vest pocket when I crashed and burned, landing on my left shoulder and left side of my face. I went down fast and hard, laying in the middle of the trail for several seconds waiting for the stars to go away before eventually sitting up with a splitting headache. I was somewhere between mile 11 and 12. I sat there for several minutes trying to relax, settle down and make sure I wasn't injured too badly. A couple of runners (still on their way out) eventually came by and asked if I was ok and whether I thought I needed medical attention. At the same time Scott went running by.
That was all the motivation I needed to get running again. I immediately took off, hoping to chase Scott down. I caught him about 1 1/2 miles later, mostly because he was slowing down. Several times I thought about packing it in. If there was a way to get off this stupid trail and get back to my car with very little effort I would have done it.
I'm pretty sure I walked the entire way up Pratt Mt and ran sparingly over to New Ipswich Mt as well. I saw some hikers near the summit of New Ipswich so I decided to get running again and at least make it look like I was racing. Ugh. They were nice enough to cheer me on which I appreciated. However, about 10 seconds after passing them they began cheering someone else on. Who the heck was right behind me? Jimmie C. had caught up to me. Damn. Still 3 miles to go.

Approaching the finish

If nothing else, the sight of Jimmie got me racing again and I began to push a little harder hoping to stay in front. My pace definitely quickened as I tried to open up whatever gap I could (on the uphills), only to lose it all on the downhills. As we headed down Barrett he was right on my heals but passing was tough on the single track and I wasn't about to step off to the side and just let him pass. When we reached the bottom and turned onto the logging road he made his move and passed. I tucked in behind him and tried to keep him as close as possible. I guess I wasn't really paying attention on the way out because this last section lasted FOREVER and was mostly uphill. Rough guess I'd say it was around 1 1/2 miles from the bottom of Barrett Mt to the finish. We were running it like it was 400m. Around every turn, every corner the trail just kept going. I got close a couple of times but I didn't have any gas left in the tank, and eventually finished 7 second back in 3:00:12, 12th overall (complete results). Not a bad day.

photo credits - Kim Allen & Wapack Website

24 Hours of Great Glen

2010-08-18T17:01:00.001-04:00

Having done this race once (last year) and having significantly upgraded my bike, any anxiety I may have had (see last year) was non-existent. I was totally looking forward to this race and couldn't wait to get started.
acidotic RACING would be sending two 4-person teams to compete: aR-Black and aR-Grey. Hey, don't blame me on the names, blame Mr. Dunn.

The 'Boneyard'

The course was a roughly 8.5 mile loop at the base of Mt Washington with nearly 1100ft of climbing...EACH LAP. You climb early and you climb often. I'm not sure what the breakdown is but I'd guess it was roughly 60% carriage roads vs 40% single track. The course was nearly identical to last year with the exception of an additional climb (go figure) up behind the Great Glen Center and a short section of single track that took some of the speed out of one of the carriage road corners. Oh, and the 'boneyard' or 'plunge' hill near the finish (popular with spectators because of the potential for crashes) was redone with the addition of a million 'stairs' on the steep hill (which made for a jarring ride each lap).

Blueberry Hill

The race itself goes from noon on Saturday to noon on Sunday. However, we all headed up on Friday and camped at the base of Mt Washington. Chris 'do you know who I am' Dunn was able to get a huge camp area reserved for us right at the base of the auto road. Although I think the effort is somewhat easier than a 24hr running relay (like Reach the Beach), the logistics are harder and the rest is shorter. We had roughly 2 1/2hrs between rides. In that time we had to get back to the campsite, change, clean & fix your bike, eat, change, check your bike and head back to the transition. The 'downtime' definitely wasn't relaxing. However, this year we made a change, actually two changes: we had a camp cook (Nancy Clark) and a camp mechanic (Jay Meyers). Both did a fantastic job keeping 8 hungry, tired, 'I don't want to work on my bike' guys happy.

aR-Black and aR-Grey

Mountain bike racing is weird from a runners perspective. They have a gazillion categories (32 I think), some folks are WAY too serious and most are WAY to into their bikes. Other than that I'd say most are a much nicer version of road bikers. One of the best features of this particular race is the real-time scoring. Each rider carries a RFID card and we scan in and out of each lap. Results are updated in real time throughout the race. So as soon as you finish your lap you can find out have fast you did, and where your team is in the standings. Very cool. This year there were nearly 200 teams, 28 in our class (Mens Sport..whatever that means??). In reality there is only one team though: the other acidotic RACING team. That's what makes this event such a blast. You're out there riding with 400+ riders but you pretty much ignore them all except the rider on the other aR team. Chris attempts to stack the teams, I mean match the teams evenly, each year. After all, we want to race head to head. We want it coming down to the last lap.

This years teams were:
ar-Black (Austin S, Chris D, Ri F, Steve S)
ar-Grey (Ted H, Jay D, Steve W, Brayden D)

Ted near the finish

Near the finish

Although there was some friendly trash talking going on between the teams, I'd say most was between Chris and I (probably started by Chris...as usual). As I wait for Chris to mature as a runner (and catch up), he is clearly a stronger mountain biker, kicking my butt last year. I had two goals this year: beat Chris on as many laps as possible and make sure aR-Grey takes home the acidotic Team Title. In addition to upgrading to a spanky new Trek this year, I've also put in a lot of miles on the trails. I was ready to challenge. As it turned out, Chris would be their 2nd rider and I'd be our 3rd. Therefore, we weren't riding head to head. He'd post a lap time and I'd have to go out and try to beat it.
On lap #1 Chris rides a 52:24 lap. As soon as I finished I check my lap time: 52:21.
On lap #2 Chris rides a 52:42 lap. As soon as I finished I check my lap time: 52:34.
Of course I wasn't rubbing this in his face at all...nope, not me. I was pumped.

My next 2 laps would be ridden back to back and at night. We do this to give everyone a little more downtime at night and hopefully get some sleep. The first lap went well and I felt good. Night rides are always slower (for obvious reasons) and my time was 58:47. My second lap was a disaster. Maybe not that bad but I was bonking badly. I had run out of energy and was literally struggling to stay on my bike. I crashed nearly a dozen times, coming completely off my bike every time but each time I landed on my feet. I guess if you're going to crash, this is the way to do it. I finally made it back in 1:05:56.
Lap 3: Chris 1:00:17 vs my 58:47
Lap 4: Chris 1:07:58 vs my 1:05:56

Coming off Blueberry Hill

Wow, this was going better than I thought (at Chris' expense of course). Well it wasn't long after that our little fun and games would come to an end. As I was coming into the finish of my 5th lap (58:51) I came across a biker pushing his bike....with no chain. The racer was Chris. I was totally bummed. I think one of (if not the biggest) fear of all riders is getting a mechanical failure. It's one thing to lose on ability or skill or training but nobody wants to lose on a bike failure. The same failure would plague him on his final lap as I passed him again around mile 6. Although rideable, he couldn't really climb well with the chain. I tried to get him to ride with me (mostly down hill at this point) but he clearly wasn't in it anymore. Within a 1/2 mile he was out of site. My last lap went well as I finished up in 54:55. In the end aR-Grey crushed aR-Black, finishing 2 laps ahead. It's not the way we all wanted it to end. I mean, I knew aR-Grey would kick butt but we wanted to compete on ability, not on who had the better running bike.
I had a fantastic time regardless. I was happy with most of my riding (except the climbing..I still stink). The course was rideable and in great shape and I barely had to get off my bike for anything. Can't wait until next year!

Final results:
aR-Grey was 18th in the Sport Class and 40th overall (with 26 laps completed)
aR-Black was 22nd in the Sport Class and 49th overall (with 24 laps completed)

Bradbury Breaker Beatdown

2010-08-10T12:05:00.003-04:00

I know, it sounds like a Channel 7 news flash. There just isn't any other way to describe what I did to the acidotic anchor (again). He may never race again, and for that I feel bad......Ok, I'm over it now.
About a dozen acidotic RACING folks headed up to Bradbury Mountain State Park just west of Freeport, Maine to dish out the latest whooping on our hairy friends to the north (Trail Monsters). A near perfect day for racing on this exceptionally hilly 9 mile trail race (results).
I had warmed up on the first mile or so of the course so I knew it would be a fairly fast start with plenty of room for passing. With this in mind I seated myself 3-4 rows back at the start and 'went with the flow'. A ton of folks took off really fast and I just tucked into the pack and went along for the ride. Within a 1/2 mile or so I had picked my way through quite a few runners but didn't see any familiar faces in front (ie Chris Dunn or Jeff Walker, both masters). I knew little about the course other than we'd climb Bradbury Mt 4 times (or so I was told). For most of the race I'd go back and forth with Adam Zukowski, he'd climb a bit better and I'd descent a bit better. In either case we'd stay within yards of each other for most of the race.

About 13:30 in I thought I had reached the summit for the 1st of 4 times. I'd be wrong. It was close to the summit (about 40 vertical feet short) but it was not the true summit. Darn it! All the elevation gained was then abruptly lost in about 1/2 mile as we screamed down the South Summit Trail to the lower parking lot, before heading back up the Summit Trail to the actual real first summit of Bradbury. The climb up was short but very steep and I did a mix of run/walk/power hike most of the way up. Right near the summit I peeked back and saw Jeff Walker just a few seconds back. Darn it! I hit the first summit in 20 minutes even.
Ever since I let him beat me at Washington I figured he was probably a better climber so my plan (non-existent up until now) was to run the downhills and flats (if there were any) as hard and fast as I could and try to put some distance between us. By the time we came around Tote Rd and headed back up to the summit for a second time I knew he was back there but I didn't think he was as close as the first time up. Second time up and over the summit: 30:30. Now it was time for a little downhill running on the Switchback Trail, right back to the start/finish line. I came through lap one around 34:05ish I believe. Both Adam and Jeff were behind me (although I never looked back). As I headed out for my 2nd loop I almost missed the first turn, taking one step past the sign before barely seeing it out of the corner of my eye. Jeff apparently doesn't have corners in his eyes since I think this is where he allegedly went off course.
I continued to go back and forth with Adam on most of the second loop and even started seeing runners up ahead, something I didn't see at all on the first lap. I thought I had finally dropped Adam somewhere along the Boundary Trail since I couldn't hear him behind me (or Jeff for that matter). I'd be wrong (more on that later). I was just a few seconds back of Andy Kiburis as we reached the summit for the THIRD time (5th time if you count the two fake summits). I would stick with Andy around the Tote Rd and finally passed him coming up the Northern trail for the 4th and final summit of Bradbury Mt.
The final trip down the mountain to the finish would be a different trail this time. I had heard it was a screamer and true to form the Terrace Trail was all that and more. I was flying down this trail! About 1/2 way down I caught up and passed Mike Dowling and hoped that neither guy would stick with me. I'd be wrong. Are you sensing a pattern here??? As soon as we made the u-turn at the end of the trail and jumped back on the Northern Trial to the finish I realized I had LOTS of company: Mike D, Andy K and out of nowhere comes Andy Z......and they ALL start running all out like it was a 100m sprint!. I started to recognize where I was and knew we were close to the finish so I hung with them. Yes, this old guy still has a bit of a kick left in him and I wasn't about to just give these young guns the lead without a little work. As we broke out of the woods and into the field for the finish Adam and Mike were a step in front and Andy a step behind. It was a fantastic finish with the four of us all finishing within 5 seconds of each other. In the end it was Adam in 6th, Mike in 7th, me in 8th (1:09:15) and Andy in 9th.
For my efforts I walked away with first old guy (Masters), followed by Chris and Jeff (where were those guys???).
The acidotic 12-pack came to Bradbury and stomped all over the Trail Monsters on their home turf, and picked up 2 cases of warm beer for our efforts (Hey TMR, how about COLD beer next time??). Seriously though, these guys (and girls) are great hosts and put on a mighty fine race. Thank you!
It was so much fun I think I'll come back in a month and run the 12 mile Bradbury Bruiser...

Rockingham Recreational Trail

2010-07-26T10:54:00.000-04:00

Rail Trail - Auburn to Raymond

I decided to try something new for my long run this weekend (besides actually doing one). The Rockingham Recreational Trail runs right by the FOMBA trails where I mountain bike often. The plan was to run for a couple of hours and then ride for a couple of hours (not a well thought out plan).
The rail trail travels 25+ miles from Manchester to Newfields and is a mix of gravel, dirt, sand other non-asphalt type surfaces and is off limits to wheeled (powered) vehicles.
I started a little later than planned (8am) but the morning fog kept the temps under control and it was fairly pleasant to run. I went with my Inov-8 295's (good plan) and a 40oz Camelbak and a watch. Plan: run 1hr 10 minutes, and turn around.
Early on the trail crosses a few roads in Candia but gets fairly remote in no time. I only saw one person once I got away from Massabesic. Since I was running by time and not mileage, I wasn't exactly sure how far I ran but I turned around somewhere between Onway Lake and the Raymond Depot, estimated at 8.75 miles. I ran the return trip in 1:07 for a total of 2:17 (~17.5 miles).
When I got back to my truck I changed my clothes and hopped on my bike for a little riding. Oddly, it was more difficult riding on tired legs. Note to self: riding technical single track on tired legs is dumb.After struggling for about an hour, I decided to throw in the towel and call it a day, otherwise I'd be getting way to personal with the ground.

The good thing about running long on trails is it doesn't beat up your legs (I know...duh). I was able to get back out on Sunday for 6.8 miles plus another 1:16 on the bike.

More trails to explore someday - Southern New Hampshire Rail Trails

Ultimate Runner, Ultimate Consistency

2010-07-23T07:59:00.001-04:00


Near the finish of the 5k...painful.

Wednesday night was our annual Ultimate Runner night at track (results). Our club puts on a age and gender graded competition during the break between spring and fall outdoor track sessions. The competition consists of running a 400m, 800m, 1 mile and 5k race all in one night. On paper it seems kind of fun, in reality it's much harder than it looks. I wrote about Ultimate Runner in more detail last year if you're interested
Once again temps were in the low 90's and sunny (sound familiar?). Have I mentioned this is my least favorite weather to run in? Probably. Anyways, nothing outstanding to write about this year. I took it easy (relatively speaking) in the shorter events, hoping to have a decent 5k. Long story short, I got a stomach cramp shortly after the 1st mile in the 5k and really struggled just to finish. Not sure if it was heat related or not. Legs were fine.

So, not a great night but I'm glad I did it anyways. Lots of fast masters out there! I thought the interesting part was comparing my times from last year to this year. Almost scary consistent, which at my age I should be grateful for!

	2009	2010
	Actual	Actual
400m	01:07	01:08
800m	02:31	02:32
1M	05:34	05:27
5k	19:06	19:08

	2009	2010
	Age Graded	Age Graded
400m	01:00	01:00
800m	02:16	02:16
1M	05:05	04:57
5k	17:44	17:37

Last year I finished 5th overall, this year I finished 4th. In three more years I should win this thing!

Photo credit - Jim Rhoades from Coolrunning

All quiet in July

2010-07-07T13:47:00.000-04:00

I was looking at my 2010 race calender and noticed July was the only month without a race scheduled. Odd I suppose unless you know me just a little. Did I ever mention how much I unlike the heat? The only thing worse is running in the previously mentioned unlikable heat. The summer is my off season.

On a totally unrelated topic, I've officially gone vain-less. I finally decided the thieves in Concord take enough of my money and I didn't need to give them $40/yr for the privilege of having my vanity plate. For now the blog will remain the same (unless they charge for that too).

Mt Washington Road Race

2010-06-21T12:40:00.003-04:00

Walkers to the front, please!

Here's my goal for this report: maintain a positive attitude AND write about my experience. Wow, this is going to be tough...I mean I'm looking forward to the challenge! Ok, here we go!!

My day started early. Technically the previous day ended late. I was so looking forward to this race that I stayed awake as long as possible, giddy with excitement. Seriously, does anyone really need more than 2hrs sleep? There's so much to enjoy out there! My alarm went off at 4am and I was out the door by 4:05. I wanted to make sure I saw the sunrise over the Ossipee Mountains. Thankfully most Dunkin Donuts don't open until 5am so I was able to drive the first hour North without coffee, which as you know only distracts you first thing in the morning. Who wants to struggle with the cup holder so early in the morning, especially when it's dark out?

As I came through Meredith I wondered where all the bikers were? Isn't this motorcycle weekend? Who knew bikers weren't morning people? They're missing a fantastic sunrise! Looking back I should have beeped my horn and squealed my tires in front of their motels, just in case their alarms didn't wake them. I feel kind of bad I let them all over sleep. Sorry bikers.
I arrived at the base of Mt Washington around 6:40am. and got a sweet front row parking spot. Within seconds of arriving I was giving instructions on how to park cars in the beautiful, shadeless fields. I needed to stretch out my legs anyways after all that driving. Plus, I could work on my tan for a couple of hours before the start of the race. And who could complain about this weather? 75-80 degrees by 7am? How great is that?? Things were falling into place for the perfect pre-race preparation! Oh, as a bonus I met up with a couple of ticks. One I had to return to the fields prior to the race, the other sneaky guy managed to hook a ride to the summit of Mt Washington and made it all the way back to Merrimack! You can say we bonded.
I met up with Chris Dunn at the start and lined up about 2/3 back in the pack. I thought we were a bit too far back so we moved up a few rows. The plan was to stick with Chris as much as possible in his quest for Dunn family bragging rights. Our initial goal was 1:30 but the nice weather made me rethink this plan. We may want to spend more time on the mountain than planned and enjoy the great day, not to mention get our moneys worth out of this race!
With the whisper of a cannon blast we were off..sort of. I was determined to start of easy so I decided to take 25 seconds just to reach the starting line. It gave me time to gather my thoughts about the upcoming challenge. It seems some people took more time than I to gather their thoughts, choosing to walk a little right from the starting line. I know, at most races they ask you to seed yourself appropriately and put the walkers in the back. But not at the 50th Mt Washington Road Race. No sir. You can start where ever you feel like it. Heck, it gave some of us an opportunity to work on our bob and weave moves, a little lateral motion never hurt anybody!

Such a nice day...memories.

This would be the slowest and easiest I've ever started this race. The pace was very comfortable and I was not working hard at all. Somehow I lost Chris right from the start. For the first 2 miles I would look back several times to see if he was near. I really planned on working together on this hill. The good thing about starting so far back is you get to pass a lot of people. I mean A LOT. I passed the mile mark in 10:18, 24 seconds ahead of Chris. I even slowed a little to give him a chance to catch up. My plan was working, passing the 2 mile mark in 22:05, only 20 seconds up on Chris. The 3rd mile I slowed even more, all to give Chris a chance to catch up. I was determined to work with him on our way to the summit. Mile 3 was reached in 33:30, a mere 2 seconds a head of Chris. Finally, we would be able to work toget....hey wait a minute, wasn't that Chris that just went flying by? Maybe he didn't see me, he did have his head down after all. Not a big deal, I'll just work extra hard on the steep sections to catch back up. I probably should have said something to him, my bad. I let Mike Wade pass me right around the half way point. He really wanted to hear his name called first by Steve Moland as we came through the next water stop. Your welcome my friend. Little did he know I was actually running in his shadow. My sunblock had washed off with my bodies natural cooling mechanism and I was afraid of getting a sunburn. Again, I should have said something as he too left without me, charging up the hill. The lesson here? When you don't speak up you get burned (sunburned).

The wall doesn't look so steep?

Chris was in a zone and somehow didn't notice me behind him. By mile 4 (45:56) he was 11 seconds up, by mile 5 (59:24) he was 52 seconds up. Something's wrong. He should have realized I wasn't running with him by now. I hoped it wasn't altitude sickness setting in. Around this time I decided to take a little fuel (Honey Stinger Gel) and try to catch up with Chris, you know, to make sure he was all right. In my intense focus on checking on my friend I almost missed Mike Wade as I passed him again. I figured Mike looked great and he didn't need me hanging around distracting him. By mile 6 (1:12:12) I had closed the gap to 28 seconds. Gee, I hope I can catch him before the finish to make sure he's alright. For a few seconds I wondered if I would run out of road before reaching him but then I noticed Chris really only has one gear. It was sort of like watching the Cog Railway Train ascend the mountain. With a little hard work (which I didn't mind at all since we've barely been running more than an hour and 24 odd minutes), I was able to catch up to Chris and check on him, right at the 7 mile marker (1:24:25). For some reason he shook his head in disbelief. He must of thought I was in front of him or something, and didn't realize I've been chasing him down for the last 5 miles. Like I said, he probably never realized he passed me earlier.
With less than a half mile to go I chugged along, doing my part up front for a change. Chris had done the work up front for way too long. It was only fair that I take over the duties up front, especially since we were so close to the finish. He looked really tired so I figured he could catch my draft and maybe even stay in my shadow to stay out of the hot sun (he is fairly light skinned, you know). Somehow he dropped out of my draft. (I swear I didn't know it). As I made my way up the final 22% grade (some referred to this as the wall for some reason), I smiled and waved to the Trail Monsters and then made my way to the finish (1:31:50). With all my hard work I easily pulled Chris to the finish in 1:32:00, just 10 seconds back but more importantly shattering the Dunn Family record for the Rock Pile. You're welcome Chris, the pleasure was all mine.
Gee, that was fun....thanks!

One Hill Too Many

2010-06-20T20:28:00.001-04:00

The 50th Mt Washington Road Race is in the books, and so is my running on this hill. I'm officially done with Mt Washington. Any success I may have had at sea level never materialized on the mountain. I tried. I just never figured out how to run this race well (my definition). I am not disappointed, probably more relieved than anything else. If you're a runner and you live in New England, this is a MUST DO race (once). You'll be glad you did it. It's very satisfying to say you ran up Mt Washington. After that it's up to you if you want to come back year after year. I hope the rest of you have better luck with the lottery than I did over the years. As far as I can remember, I was never actually selected in the lottery. I guess it just proves the point the lottery isn't the only way to get into this race!

I've been part of some memorable events at the Mt Washington Road Race.
2002 - My 1st year running this race (42:19). For the first (and only) time in its history, the race to the summit would not happen. Freezing rain at the summit made driving cars to the summit impossible. Without a way to get nearly 1000 runners back down, the race was shortened to 3.8 miles (half way). All runners had to run or walk back down to the base after finishing. My plan was to ONLY run this race once. Since I didn't make it to the top I had to give it another go.
2004 - After missing the lottery in 2003, I returned in 2004 to make it all the way to the summit (1:43:20) I kind of liked this race but was not in great shape. I think I might come back again. With some nasty weather at the summit, Jonathan Wyatt of NZ smashed the course record by nearly 2 minutes, finishing in 56:41 (7:28 avg pace!).
2005 - So much for one and done. I set my PR this year (1:28:46), beating my previous best by 15 minutes. Maybe this race isn't so bad. Oh, and it rained again.
2006 -I should have quit while I was ahead (1:34:00). 5+ minutes slower than the previous year. I was in better shape last year but I still had a good time. 2006 had nearly PERFECT weather, 50's, sunny and zero wind...at the summit.
2008 - I missed 2007 due to knee surgery on both knees, but was back in 2008 (1:30:42). This was my worst experience to date. I felt awful right from the start. This was the first time I started thinking how much I hate this race. No plans to return. Hate it, hate it, hate it.
2010 - So much for not coming back. This year was the 50th anniversary and was a BIG deal in NH. It just seemed like the place to be so I decided to do it again. All the cool kids were doing it so what the heck, ONE more time (1:31:50). Ok, I'm done now.

Goodbye cruel mountain.

Bow Lake Dam 15k

2010-06-13T13:24:00.003-04:00

Strafford, NH
Ok, so it wasn't on my racing calender but I do like to compare races from year to year. Until my body says otherwise, I still expect to run faster than the previous year. I ran the Bow Lake Dam 15k last year with Chris Dunn (beating him of course...), and enjoyed the race (especially the beating Chris part).
I had two goals this year: run faster than last year AND run under 1hr.
It's a scenic but challenging course around Bow Lake. The early miles (1-5) are mostly gentle rollers with a couple of short hills mixed in to slow you down a bit. Miles 5-7 are VERY challenging, with a Mt Washington-like climb for 1+ miles. Finally, the last 3 miles are mostly downhill with a long, flat finish to the Bow Lake Dam.

The weather this year would be different, with temps in the low 60's and overcast skies (which would turn to a light rain eventually). For a 2nd year race, it's fairly organized and seems to have lots of volunteers. Registration was quick and easy, the race started on time and results/awards were posted quickly. And like last year, they had good food and music after the race.
I only recognized a few folks at the start, Ernst Linder (who ran last year) and Sarah Prescott (who I knew but never met). Sarah mentioned she had read my blog the previous day, looking for info on the race. I asked if she read my race report from last year and she said she couldn't find it. Odd, I thought at the time. When I got home I checked myself. Apparently I didn't do a race report for this one. I have no idea why since I tend to write about all of them. Explains why she couldn't find it :-)
The eventual winner (Derrick Hamel) I recognized but wasn't sure from what. I assumed it was probably at a race. More on that later. My plan was simple: try to go out easy, work the hills hard in the middle and finish fast. As the "gun" went off, a few young kids jumped out near the front with Derrick and I immediately found myself in 4th in about 10ft. It's hard to run easy when you're near the front! Derrick had stopped to tie his shoe within the first 1/4 mile but was soon back in the front by the 1/2 mark. By the time we hit the first mile I was already in 2nd, right behind Derrick. I think he was testing the field to see if anyone was going to challenge him. Shortly after the 2nd mile he picked up the pace and was gone. For the remainder of the race I'd run alone in second (although Ernst would shadow me early on before dropping back a bit by mile 4). The first 4-5 miles went by quickly and surprisingly easy as I waited for the hills.

Mile marker 4 and 5 were a little hard to spot as they were written in chalk and it was now raining but I did (barely) see them. As soon as I hit mile 5 I started to pick up the pace and pushed hard up the hills. Last year I struggled big time on the hills (heck, even Chris left me in the dust!). I did not want a repeat performance (sans Chris). I have to admit, it was still hard but I felt so much stronger this year. I was checking my mile splits and felt comfortable I was ahead of last years time but I wasn't about to do any math to figure out if I was on sub-1hr pace. The high point of the course is reached just after the 6 mile mark. From there it is mostly downhill, with some very steep descents. I could see Derrick off in the distance but he was easily up 2 miinutes on me. Not since mile 4 (when I could see Ernst off my shoulder) did a I sense another runner behind me. In typical fashion I would not look and just kept running hard. I knew I could knock off a couple of pretty fast miles on the way to the finish. I finally peeked over my shoulder around the 9 mile mark. I didn't want to be surprised in the final stretch. All clear so I ran in hard, hoping to break the 1hr mark. I was actually surprised at how close I was, crossing the line in 59:45, 2nd overall (a little under 2min behind Derrick).
Afterwards I was talking with Derrick about where I might have seen him. He rattled off a couple of races but they weren't ones that I had been too. Oh well. It wasn't until I was driving home that it finally clicked. Derrick had joined acidotic RACING last year at the Pinnacle Challenge. We both ran the 5 mile road leg. Derrick had the fastest split of the day (26:20) vs my 28:20. Yep, still 2 minutes ahead of me!

Below is the comparison of my splits from last year and this year. I was pysched to see the improvement in the second half.

	2009	2010	Delta
1	6:24	6:19	-05 sec
2	6:17	6:11	-06 sec
3	6:29	6:27	-02 sec
4	6:41	6:36	-05 sec
5	6:33	6:24	-09 sec
6	7:58	7:31	-27 sec
7	6:50	6:36	-14 sec
8	6:29	6:07	-22 sec
9	6:07	5:49	-18 sec
0.3	1:53	1:45	-08 sec
Finish	1:01:41	0:59:45	-1:56 sec

Complete results can be found here.

Pack Monadnock 10m Race Photos

2010-06-08T08:08:00.000-04:00

On Sunday the Wolfe family was out in force at Pack Monadnock. Five of us were in Miller State Park, Alec was working with the timing company at the summit while the rest of us were manning the water stop at the base. Technically Deb, Jess and Ben were manning the stop, I was supervising, also known as taking pictures. All are veteran water-stoppers so they managed fine without me. We also had the help of 2/3 of the Delahunty triplets (Delahunti's?)

Water Stoppers in Action

At around 10:30am I left my photo duties and moved on to my bonus task for the day: riding my mountain bike to the summit and shuttling the results back down in a timely fashion (pun slightly intended). For some reason many runners thought this was easy and I was lucky. It certainly wasn't fast (I think it took me 10-12 minutes to reach the top). For the record, I did not ride the last 100m. The ride down took 47 seconds (or something like that).

Pack Monadnock Photos

Hmm, I see a trend here...

Pineland Farms 25k Trail Race

2010-05-31T18:56:00.011-04:00

Pineland "Farms". Oh, I get it, it's an actual f-a-r-m...

NOTE: Long Post - This was such a great event with so much to talk about.
On Sunday I headed up to New Gloucester, Maine for the Pineland Farms 25k trail race. I have no idea where New Gloucester is, I just followed the GPS. This would be another acidotic RACING team event. Initially we were focused on knocking off the host team of Trail Monster Running. However, my thin skinned and apparently sensitive 'teammates' on my other running club (Gate City Striders) decided to put a team together as well, most likely to challenge aR. Oh what a tangled web we weave...

Needless to say, there were a lot of familiar faces in Maine this weekend. Pineland Farms is actually a 2-day Trail running festival, with something for everyone: a 5k, 10k, 25k, 50k and a 50 miler plus a barefoot 5k and a canicross 5k. Our race would be a single 25k loop starting at 10am. We'd be on the same course as the 50k and 50 milers (who started earlier in the day), so there were a lot of runners on the trail. The 25k alone had 320 finishers (results)
The overcast skies cleared just about the same time we were starting (how convenient). Although temps were in the high 70's, thankfully it was fairly dry and breezy. It was warm but not oppressive but it still made a few struggle.

Lovely fields if you're a cow)

Now if you've never done Pineland Farms and are thinking about it, I'll give you one word of advice - FARM. Ok, you've been warned. Now I knew we'd be running in fields. I just didn't realize how much running we'd be doing in fields. I thought we'd be crossing some fields to get to the woods. At times it seemed like we were crossing the woods to get back to the fields. When it's sunny and warm, running in a hay field is not the ideal spot to be. Ok, rant off.

Such a nice picture. Just wasn't nice to run in it.

When it comes to trail racing, the course footing doesn't get any better than this. The majority of the trails were XC ski trails (I think), wide and free of roots and rocks. The fields were dry. There was zero water crossings and no mud. That's not to say the course was easy. It was 25k of non-stop roller coaster hills.

I was feeling pretty rested from a fairly easy week (thanks to the 95+ days thank you very much), but I never like to race in the heat (heat means anything over 50 degrees in my book). My only plan was to try to go out easy, get acclimated to the temps and then increase the effort. Race plans stink (or I can't follow them).I was trying to go easy, it felt easy but I always seem to go out too fast. Immediately I was surprised by the course. There were hills everywhere! We would snake down one section and snake back up. The course twisted all over the place and you could see runners in all different parts of the course. It wasn't always clear if those runners were in front or behind you. The first 5k probably had a net loss of elevation but felt good.
I hit the 5k mark in 20:17. I think Justin Soucy went by me before the 5k mark. There wasn't a chance I was hanging with him today and he was out of sight in no time. Denis T caught up to me shortly after the 5k mark. We'd run together for the next 5k or so. This section seemed long but in reality it was probably because it was mostly uphill (and slow), and also had a ton of fields to run in. We hit the 10k in 44:32 (24:15 for the 5k).

Early in the race (I'm still ahead of Justin)

Not long afterwords Denis decided he didn't want to be my friend anymore and left me in the dust. I tried to stay close (30-50m) but I wasn't reeling him in. Occasionally I'd peek behind me on one of the many 180 degree turns. Teammate Ri Fahnestock was always just a few seconds back. I crossed the 15k mark in 1:05:25 (20:52 for the 5k) and eventually passed the start/finish area to head out for the last 8k or so. I was warned this section would be difficult, especially the last 5k. There would be a lot of climbing and it would be coming at the end of a 25k race. I think this might have been the only 5k section without any significant fields to run in (I'll keep that in mind next year). Denis was now closer to 100m in front but I could still see him on the trails. I just couldn't close on the bum. In reality he was picking up the pace and increasing his lead on me, so I just focused on the next runner instead. I reached the 20k in 1:26:20 (20:54 for the 5k) and the course was pretty easy in this part. We were gently heading downhill. Of course all I could think about was 'we'd have to come back up'. Sure enough we began the long switch back ascent...sort of. We'd climb up for a while and then turn around and head back down again. All that work for nothing! We did eventually make it back up the hill and with about a mile to go I peeked back once again and there was Ri, right on my heels. He asked me to 'pull' him to the finish but in reality he was 'pushing' me. We had one more 'field run' before the finish. I think we probably passed 3-5 runners in this section. I picked up the pace as best as I could and tried to hold off Ri to the finish. I took one last look with about 100m to go and cruised in for a 1:51:44 finish (25:23 for the last 5k), good for 21st overall. Ri finished just a few seconds back.

Post race chillin with Austin (photo credit Richie Blake)

Overall I was pretty satisfied with my race today. I didn't cramp up and I raced hard, in spite of the heat. This was a fantastic event and I had a lot of fun out there, trading spots with several runners throughout the day. The post race was totally relaxing as we all (acidotic and Gate City) sat around enjoying the day, cheering on runners and hanging out with good friends. In the end, acidotic decided to give the team victory to the boys from Gate City. It was the least we could do. You're welcome GCS! I'm pretty sure all of us will be back next year to battle it out again.

Photo credits - David Colby Young

There are a bunch of photos and video from the various races that took place this weekend. They can all be found here.

Update - Blaine Moore (TMR) has a nice summary of race reports and photos here.

USATF-NE 12k Championship (Bedford 12k for the rest of us)

2010-05-24T09:15:00.001-04:00

1st mile (I think everyone in this photo finished ahead of me)

I really wasn't looking forward to this race. I've been telling anyone who would listen (not many) that I currently have no speed. I could feel it. It doesn't mean I'm slow, it just means I'm not in road racing shape. I really haven't done any significant speed work since indoor track ended in February.
I've still been racing (trails) but nothing real fast. In fact I've only had one weekend off since Boston, and that was because I was sick. I really wanted a weekend off from racing. Oh well.
With all the traveling I do for races it would be hard to miss the one that's 9 miles from my house so on Saturday I headed over to Bedford, NH for the 36th Bedford Rotary 12k (results). It turns out it was a great decision. The weather was near perfect, I felt rested. I had no excuses.Today would be a good indication of my current speed. Just what I needed.

I lined up several rows back, looking for teammate Denis Tranchemontagne. I sensed we were pretty close in fitness and was looking for someone to pace off of. I couldn't find Denis so I settled in behind Justin Soucy (Pelham singlet in above pic). Justin was looking to run sub 6 pace so I figured I'd try to hang on. That lasted about 2 miles. Although I felt ok in the first 2 miles (11:48), I could tell I wasn't going to hold it for 7.5 miles. That was the last time I looked at my watch and the last time I was even remotely close to Justin.
Just after the 2 mile mark I found Denis. Actually he found me. As he went by I told him I probably went out too fast. I stayed with Denis for the next 4 miles or so, occasionally trading places, mostly running shoulder to shoulder. It was good racing. The climb in mile 4-5 wasn't too bad and the pace only slowed a bit. We weren't setting any speed records but we were working. Somewhere during this section we got passed by the lead women (3 total I think)

Entering the track for the finish

I picked up the pace a bit as we approached mile 6. I was hoping to put some distance between myself and Denis. I could hear footsteps behind me but didn't look back to see who it was. I just tried to keep up a solid effort to the finish. The race finished with nearly a full lap around the high school track. As I made the final turn I finally peaked over my shoulder to make sure nobody was going to sneak by in the last 100m. I finished in 46:07 (6:12 avg). Although it was way slower than I had hoped, hope alone doesn't make you fast :-)
I think it was a fair assessment of my current speed so I finally have the baseline I was looking for. Now I need to work on getting faster....again.

Photo Credit - Ted Tyler from Coolrunning
The rest of the photos can be found here.

Soapstone Mountain 24k Trail Race

2010-05-17T12:05:00.002-04:00

In 2008 I voted the Soapstone Mt 24k Trail Race my favorite trail race. I loved the course and the great weather didn't hurt. Not much changed for the 2010 version (results). The weather was perfect....again. The course was probably a bit better this year too. Not nearly as much water as I remember from 2008. Surprisingly not a lot of folks from NH come down for this one. At first glance the location sounds far way...Connecticut. However, it's actually closer than some of the Western Mass races, a short 1hr 45min from Merrimack.
Trail races have been hit and miss for me this year. Some times I feel good, other times I feel terrible. Most times I don't know which until after the race starts. It's been frustrating to say the least. 5 minutes into this one I knew what kind of day it would be. I would struggle early and often. Bummer. Oh well, such is racing. Good thing it was a beautiful day and I like the course! Don't get me wrong, an off day running is still better than not running at all so I'm not complaining. I expect more from myself, that's all.

Summit of Soapstone Mt

If you haven't run Soapstone, you should. It's a great race, with a nice mix of single track and fire roads, both fast and technical stuff plus a bit of mud and water. Oh, and it does have a couple of nice climbs (and descents). But most of all it's nearly all runnable (accept for a couple of climbs).
For a trail race it has a lightening fast start, a slightly downhill stretch on a fire road. It's hard not to get sucked into the 5k dash. Thankfully it settles down after about a mile when the course takes a sharp left onto the more familiar single track (which is the majority of the course). Even going out fast I still found myself around 15th once we reached the single track. Just after the 2m mark we climb 'Killer Hill', maybe a 1/3m climb up the side of Soapstone Mt. It's probably one of the steepest trails I've climbed in a race. Everybody walks this one. I took it pretty easy (if that's possible), and had quite a few folks pass on the way up.
Once at the top, the trail descends quickly on a steep technical section before hitting a series of rollers. The rollers would make up most of the remaining race. Nearly the entire race I was right in front of or right behind John Agosto and would also go back and forth with several other folks I did not know. We'd trade places often throughout the day. I hit the first aid station at 3.6m around 30 minutes in. I'd do alright on the flats but couldn't hold the pace on any hills..up or down. Grrr.

This year I was hoping not to get lost. So much for hope. This time it was only about a minutes worth so not a big deal. A whole group of us missed a flagged sharp left turn between the first and second aid station. I don't want to say the course is hard to follow, it just requires you to pay attention (more than normal), a hard thing to do when you're watching where to place your next foot. All part of the experience that is trail running :-)
The second aid station is around mile 7 and I think I reached it around 58 minutes or so. For the most part I was still hanging with the same group of guys I'd been with since the top of Soapstone Mt. Shortly after the aid station we start a long descent down a stream bed. In 2008 it was more of a stream. 2010 was totally different, with very little water. It is VERY technical and once again I got crushed on this section with several runners flying by. John went by me for the last time, finally putting me out of my misery. For the rest of the race I just tried to keep his yellow Shenipsit Strider singlet in site. Except for an occasional glance of his shirt, I would not see another runner for the remainder of the race.

The finish is near

I limped into (emotionally not physically) the last aid station (11.6m) in 1hr 38m, a full 8 minutes slower than the first time I did this race. Ugh. The guys at the aid station kindly inform you it's only 2.9m to the finish. Of course they don't mention you have to climb Soapstone Mt again. I did some math and thought I might have a shot of breaking 2hrs. After walking most of the way up Soapstone I changed my mind. Not a chance today. The trail down Soapstone is VERY steep so all I could do was fast hike it down. We actually run on pavement for a short bit (oh the horrors!!!) before jumping back on some fire roads for maybe a 1/2m. Finally it turns right onto a short single track before a short climb through the fields on the way to the finish. Not necessarily a disappointing finish, just not a satisfying run. I believe I finished in 2:02, 20th overall out of 160-170 runners.

Scott Mason was kind enough to come out and take some photos, which can be found here. Scott gets credit for all photos above. Thanks Scott!

Morfun Wapack Trail Race

2010-05-09T14:40:00.002-04:00

After this week, I promise not to mention Seven Sisters again (at least for a while). The memories of that dreadful race are seared, SEARED in my mind. Ok, maybe it's not that bad but it really was a stinker. I guess more importantly, it hurt physically. My legs were toast and I couldn't muster a run until Wednesday of this week (and even that was painful and slow).
But I had a dilemma: the Big Lake 1/2 Marathon was this weekend and I really like this race. However, I didn't want to attempt it unless I felt like I could do ok (which I didn't). My confidence was shot and I didn't want to run a race I've done before, you know, just in case I stunk up the joint. So I did what any abnormal human being would do: I signed up for a 21 mile insanely challenging trail race instead :-)
Trust me, it made sense at the time I signed up on Monday.

On Saturday morning, I headed down to Ashburnham, Ma. to pick up my number and park my car. This would be a point to point race so you really wanted your car at the finish. They would bus us to the start for a roughly 9am start. I chatted with my fellow racers waiting for the bus. Surprisingly the topic was Seven Sisters (again). About a half dozen or so folks had also done this race last weekend and all felt exactly the same way as I did. Misery loves company.

The actual race is a 21 mile point to point adventure along the entire length of the Wapack Trail. The trail starts in Greenfield,NH (about 5 miles north of Pack Monadnock). It then travels due south crossing North Pack, Pack Monadnock, Temple Mt, Burton Peak, Barrett Mt, New Ipswich Mt, Pratt Mt and finally Watanic Mt. Yes, it's a very hilly trail and since it would rain nearly the entire day, it was also wet and muddy.

We all lined up at the start (in the rain) until Norm (the RD) gave us the "GO" command just before 9am. Thankfully, it wasn't a mad dash to get up the mountain as fast as you can. The climbing starts pretty quickly and continues for about 1 1/2 miles until the summit of North Pack. The pack moved pretty easy and I settled in with the top 10-15 runners. The cool (45 at the start) weather was perfect, although the rain was a bit much. The Wapack is pretty rocky and rooty but there are lots of sections which are completely runnable. It can also be very hard to follow. The yellow triangle trail markings can be hard to see on the trees and rocks, especially when they're wet. In fact the leaders got off trail at the summit of North Pack, allowing the rest of us to catch up with them again. I'd venture to say every runner got off trail at least once during the race. I personally got off trail multiple times, for a grand total of a couple of minutes (max). Most occurred at trail intersections which weren't clear which way the trail went. A few happened on the summits. Back to the race.

Right from the start I felt really good. I think the cool weather definitely helped. Surprisingly I felt better on the climbs and seemed to gain on my fellow runners, only to lose it all on the descents. I hooked up early with a couple of runners and we stayed pretty much together until the first aid station at the base of Pack Monadnock (5.4 miles). I reached the station in 1hr 7min and felt great. I saw Mike Wade (who was running hill repeats) in the parking lot and walked over, shook his hand and took off down the trail to Temple Mt. The next aid station at Windblown XC was roughly 7 miles away. This section was nearly all runnable. None of the climbs were steep and the trail wasn't as rocky as the first section. I ran with Clayton (5th o/a) and Ken (3rd o/a) the entire section. Heck, I've been running with Clayton since the start. We were all running this race for the first time. Ken asked me what my goal was. His was 4hr 30 minutes, mine was 4hr 15 minutes. Somebody was wrong since we were running together. We all took turns taking the lead and we kept up a pretty good pace through this section. We all strolled in to aid station #2 about 1hr 13 minutes after leaving Pack. We've been running for 2hr and 20min, covering about 13 miles.

The next section of the Wapack is totally new (this year?). Part of the trail was rerouted because of private land issues (in protest of being charged a view tax by New Ipswich). I personally think the trail's a little longer, but I also think the climb up Barrett Mt is a bit easier now. It avoids some of the steep rocky climbs leaving the Windblown XC parking lot. The new trail to the summit follows some old logging rounds, has no rocks and is generally runnable. However, if you have 13 miles on your legs already you're still going to walk a bit. It was during this section that I passed quite a few runners. Can you believe it? Me, passing runners on the uphills? Weird, I know.
Clayton dropped back during this section and Ken took off ahead. We'd stay that way to the finish. The trail from Windblown to the next aid station at Binney Pond (approx 5 miles away) is pretty technical (ie rocky). Wet rocks, steep ascents and descents and tired legs are not a good mixture. Thankfully I did not fall. Stumbled yes, fall no. My descents slowed to a crawl. Another 1hr and 13 minutes and I was at the next aid station. Approximately 17 miles were in the books, I've been running for over 3 1/2 hrs and I was getting tired. The trail gets much easier at this point, following old fire roads nearly to the summit of Watanic Mt. I couldn't see any runners in front or behind at this point but I definitely didn't want to get passed in the last few miles so I kept the pace up as best I could. My hydration and nutrition has been going great all day and nothing really hurt. I was just tired of running. The rain finally stopped during the climb up Watanic (the last mountain of the day). I took off my soaking wet windbreaker for the first time all day. A few minutes later I would reach the finish. I stopped my watch. It read exactly 4:15:00. Are you kidding me?? Talk about nailing your goal! I was also surprised I ended up 4th overall. Not a bad days work.

Results posted here.

Note: Photo credits (I think) go to Steve Latour. Steve ran the 42 mile version last year and took a bunch of pics along the way.Gives you a great idea of what the trail is like. The rest of his photos can be seen here.

Seven Sisters Trail Race

2010-05-03T10:18:00.007-04:00

The start of the race

I knew this race was hard. I ran it once in 2008 when temps were in the 40's and overcast. What I learned yesterday was this race is brutally hard when it's sunny and temps are in the mid 80's. It was probably the worst racing experience I've ever had. So, I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about it. I think you'll find people either love it or hate it. There is no in between. I'm in second camp, I hate it.

The final descent

The out and back 12 mile course takes you up, over, down and across the peaks in Skinner State Park in Hadley, Ma, known locally as the Seven Sisters. It will leave you battered, bruised and bloodied. Challenging does not begin to describe this insane course.
During my leisurely 2hr and 45min trip I consumed:

60+ oz of water
at least 6 Endurolyte tablets (they did their job, no cramps)
4 Honey Stringer Gels

I physically bonked at least 3 times during the race, with my legs nearly refusing (or able) to take another step. Without the Honey Gels I'd still be out there. If you're considering this race, don't ask my advice. You can always read Chris Dunn's account of his first (and most likely last) experience if you don't believe me. Of course, you could check out the pic of fellow aR teammate Rich Lavers below (taken minutes after finishing). Need any more convincing??

7 Sisters Carnage

A few folks from Locallyrun.com were kind enough to take some pics and video of the race.
Pics from the Start

Pics from the Finish

Short video from the race

A list of fools who ran today can be found here.

Bostonitis

2010-04-25T14:28:00.000-04:00

The good news is my legs are 100% refreshed. Three days after Boston and I was ready to go!
The bad news is I haven't run a single step since 1pm on Monday (4/19).
Shortly after the marathon I started feeling sick. I've spent a couple of days in bed (boring) watching some of the dumbest TV imaginable and the rest of time basically moping around. After 6 days with seemingly no improvement I broke down and finally went to the doctors. The diagnosis: Bostonitis - the sickness one gets after running a marathon and high-fiving 100's of strangers (mostly kids) when your immune system is weakened. Ok, she called it Bronchitis, whatever.
My guess is I picked up some cooties while riding the T on Friday when I went to get my number in downtown Boston. I hate the city.
Antibiotics, heal me now!!