Training Log May 13- June 02, 2012

 Standing on bald ol' Moosilauke looking toward the 

heart of the White Mountains

 View from the Beaver Brook Shelter.

May 13-19, 2012 - 35.3 miles in 3 runs. Did a four-day fastpacking trip to the Moosilauke-Kinsman region of the White Mountains (NH). Two of the days of this trip were included in this week's mileage while a rest day and another run were included in next week's. Long run was an 21 mile, 7,000' of climb, 9,000' descent, out and back summiting Moosilauke (4,802') twice and then running out the Kinsman Ridge Trail across route 112. Scared a cub (bear) up a tree while descending the Glencliff Trail. I quickly pulled my camera out, took one step into the woods, and then thought "What am I doing?" I didn't stick around to snap any pictures or find out where momma really was. 10,150' of climb for the week.

Looking down Pillsbury ridge to Lovewell (2,473')

in the upper left.

May 20-26, 2012 - 39.3 miles in 4 runs. Long run was a 21.6 mile run with 5,000' of climb that I have wanted to do for a while. I was dropped off in Washington, NH by my parents on the way to the family cottage. I then ran the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway to its terminus on Mount Sunapee (2,743'), traversing Lovewell Mountain, Pillsbury State Park ridge, and Sunapee State Park ridge. I added a lap on the ski trail Wingding and descended the Goshen Trail, ending at the family cottage and a swim in the pond. It started as a hot steamy day, but the temps, humidity and beautiful breeze on the ridge made for pretty good running. At least until I ran out of food about an hour out. I was in rough shape when I finished. 11,050' of climb for the week.

May 27-June 02, 2012 - 41 miles in 3 runs. Long run was ~24 miles with 9,000' of climb in one of my favorite runs in the Northeast: The Presi Traverse. I'll save the run commentary for a post of its own because I set a new PR in this running. 12,500' of climb for the week.

It has been a wild couple of weeks (in more ways than one). The level of my training has increased and is going really well. My weekly mileages and especially my weekly vertical is much better preparation for Hardrock. The increased mileage has brought me some beautiful runs with phenomenal views and wildlife encounters. My wildlife sightings have included the bear cub listed above, 1 moose on the trail, 2 moose sightings in the car (one of which was with a calf), turkeys, porcupine on the trail during a night run (Wapack Trail several weeks ago), Garter snakes, many wood ticks, black flies, and mosquitoes.

I have to say that I am feeling pretty good about my training for Hardrock. While weekly elevation totals just over 10,000' might not seem like all that much at a glance I am doing the bulk of my elevation on climbs with grades that fall between 750' to 1,600' per mile. Recent notable climbs have been at Sunapee on the front side ski trails and the Beaver Brook Trail on Moosilauke. The Sunapee ski trails offer 1000' of climb in 0.6 miles and I have been averaging 20 minutes per climb and 8 minutes per descent. Four laps the other day gave me a good workout. Climbing the Beaver Brook Trail to the shelter offered 2,000' of climb in 1.5 miles, climbing next to cascades almost the entire way. It took me 0:42 to get to the shelter. I am stoked to have this level of training under me and am looking forward to more gnarly training runs in the next few weeks!