Rockingham Recreational Trail

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

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

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).