Run Log Catch-up through Hardrock

I am back in New Hampshire now and have some time to write about my adventures of the last couple of months. In the next couple of days I am going to attempt to complete serveral things:

1. An update to my run log through to Hardrock
2. Hardrock Race Report
3. A look forward to Mountain Masochist in November

Here is the Run Log update.

June 03-09 2012: This was preparation time for departing for Colorado so I only ran three times this week. The schedule revolved around my long run: the 31.9 mile Pemi Loop on my birthday (see write-up). Weekly Summary: 41.0 miles, 9450' vert.

Along the Buckeye Trail, CVNP.

Along the Buckeye Trail, CVNP.

Along the Buckeye Trail, CVNP.

Catching the train back to my truck.

June 10-16, 2012: The majority of this time was spent traveling towards Silverton, my home until Hardrock. On the way I was able to pull off an 18-mile long run along the Buckeye Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park as well as a 10 mile run up Bear Peak and Green Mountain in Boulder with Brenden. Additionally I was able to jog up Mosquito Pass in Leadville unacclimatized but still feeling pretty good. It was a week of classics across the country. Weekly Summary: 34.5 miles, 6700' vert.

The pass to Dives.

June 17-23, 2012: My first week in the San Juans was fruitful. A long run out-n-back from the Bear Creek Tunnel to Virginius was hot and dusty but boosted the amount of reconned run route greatly. Other runs included a quick jog to the South Mineral crossing, an out-n-back to Dives-Little Giant Pass from Silverton, and a jog up to Oh! Point. Weekly Summary: 56.4 miles, 12,750' vert.

June 24-30, 2012: A week broken up by being needed on an Outward Bound course. My long run was a two-day adventure involving 4WDing up Maggie Gulch, riding my bike and camping at Grouse Gulch, and running to my truck again (see my previous post) - a pretty neat way of reconning some run route. Other runs included a run from Cunningham to Dives-Little Giant Pass and a run from Molas Pass down the 34 switchbacks to the railroad to Needleton to Ruby Basin at 11,600' of elevation. Despite being choppy I think it was a good week mileage-wise: 49.2 miles, 14650' vert (does not include hiking out from Ruby which would have added another 15 miles and 2400' of climb).

July 01-07, 2012: Helping out with an Outward Bound course, helping with the Aid Station supplies, and a backpacking trip with Bob cut down on my mileage for the week. This was the middle week for tapering, anyway, by my mileage was sightly less than I had planned. Besides the backpacking my runs included a run up Arrastra Basin cut short by a thunderstorm, a short run to Kite Lake from Beartown, and a long run of only 6 miles part of the way up Kendall Mountain. Weekly Summary: 9.5 miles, 2600' vert.

July 08 - 14 (and 15), 2012: Did a little more running than I had hoped in the week leading up to Hardrock with an 8 mile high altitude run on the CDT looking for a lost OB patrol. Took the rest of the week off up until Hardrock and then ran a great race. I'll post a race report soon. Weekly Summary: 110.5 miles, 35600' vert.

Hardrock 2012: Grouse to Maggie, June 24, 2012

"Shit!" I said. I looked frantically down at my campsite, 500' below me. 6 switchbacks. 1 mile. I turned back to my backpack again and removed all of its contents again. "Where are my salt capsules and electrolyte tablets?" I asked myself aloud. I knew the answer. As I repacked my backpack for the third time the debate raged in my head. Should I go back down to my campsite and get my electrolyte tablets or should I just push on without? I could use this as a lesson in humility and put the extra miles on to have them. I could also use this as a lesson in problem solving and find my way to my destination 26 miles away using my resources (the large amount of food in my pack). Finished with the repacking I decided to push on. "Let's just see what I can do with this body and my food," I thought.

My plan had been executed fairly well to this point. Yesterday I had "four-wheeled" my truck up the Maggie Gulch road and left it parked, waiting for my return. I filled my large backpack with enough food and gear to last a comfortable night out and rode my bike the 2000' descent back to the Animas River and then up the road toward Animas Forks, stopping at Grouse Gulch. I spent a comfortable night in a comfortable spot. No key piece of gear or food had been left behind.

At least until I discovered my electrolytes missing causing my mind to start the constant loop - assess my state and take actions according to my resources: If I start to feel sick, eat some more food and slow down. If I feel good keep going.

Show me your "Duh" face!

Sloan Lake from the trail up Handies.

Though quite dehydrated from my night of sleep I hiked 2200' to the top of American-Grouuse pass and dropped into American Basin. Reaching the bottom, I started the climb up to the highest point on the Hardrock run route, Handies Peak, standing at an elevation of 14,058' above sea level. I reached the summit in 2:36, meeting two Hardrockers at the top we had a long pleasant conversation about the upcoming race and the race in years past.

Handies from Gizzly Gulch.

Departing the summit of Handies I was able to run all the way down to to Burrows Park. Running the Cinnamon Pass road, a nice gentlemen stopped and offered me some gels, cliff bars and Doritos. Calculating the sodium content of each I took a huge handful of Doritos and started walking down the road. Folks in passing cars smiled and waved at the gentlemen walking the road with the orange hands and orange ring around his mouth. The gentlemen waved back enthusiastically.

The 2600' climb up Cataract Gulch was slow. Most of the elevation is gained quickly and then the trail flattens out for several miles as it slowly climbed to the continental divide.

On the far side of Pole Creek the elevation was lost even slower. The section is pleasantly mellow and running the entire trail was possible. The scenery changed abruptly from steep, rocky, loose valleys and peaks to mellow, wide, grassy valleys with meadows in the bottoms and rounded peaks standing above. The ease of travel in this terrain makes for a tangled web of trails which caused confusion in the vicinity of the Pole Creek Aid Station. I spent about 35 minutes tromping around the meadows and hills looking for the spot by the lake where the Aid Station would lie. All I found was a dried up mud hole where the lake should have been. The trails and location of the Aid Station at Pole Creek remain to be seen.

Ominous looking clouds but ultimately just a tease.

The final climb up to Maggie-Pole Pass was long. Mostly because the trail doesn't really gain any altitude for about 1.5 miles. Though running up the West Fork of Pole Creek seemed endless it was broken up by the small herd of 15 or so Elk on the other side of the basin. I could have sworn I heard a male bugling. Isn't it too early?

Pulling over the summit of the endless climb that is Maggie-Pole pass, I was greeted with another climb as the route continues along the ridge for several hundred feet before leveling and then plunging toward the Maggie Aid Station at the end of the 4WD road. Because the directions could use some updating in this area I gave up trying to find a trail used by the Hardrock in past years and beelined it to my end point of the day.

Arriving at my truck I grabbed my can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli and Coke that I had stashed and replenished did my best to replenish my lost salt. This was my final long run, three weeks before the race, marking the start of my taper period. What a relief. I could use a rest!

The Pemi Loop

Like most of my long runs I try to schedule them for days with good weather. I check the weather forecast daily until a day with sun and pleasant temps is forecast. As the day approaches I check for updates on the weather almost hourly in anticipation for the optimal time to run.

I like the idea of running the Pemigewasset Loop on my Birthday - June 7th. This would be my 31st birthday and some mileage estimates put the Pemi Loop's mileage at 31. It seemed appropriate. The weather forecast made it look possible right up through the the evening of June 6th. At 5:30am on the anniversary of my birth I woke up, checked the forecast one last time, and was shocked out of bed by possibilities of rain and thundershowers. Just 5 hours earlier it had been sun and nice temperatures for running.

I rushed out of bed and out the door without eating. I felt like grabbing something on the way would be more time efficient as I would need every minute possible of daylight if the weather were to be rainy. Rain makes for slick footing in New England. The algae and moss that grows on rocks making up the trail becomes slippery the second it become wet. It causes a person with a conservative running style to slow down dramatically. I was running alone and needed to be running conservatively.

Running along the Pemigewasset River.

I arrived, clothed and prepped myself, and was on the trail for 8:00am. I had chosen to do the loop the counter-clockwise way, running the 4.7 mile section of abandoned rail first, rather than at the end of a long climbing day. I covered it quickly and was starting the climb up my first climb (Bondcliff 4265') within 49 minutes of departure. I was struck by how nice the Bondcliff trail actually was once it really started to ascend. Below that one steep section the trail was washed out and loose and slow going. It would have been much easier to descend. Probably why many folks do the traverse in the opposite direction.

Looking back at Bondcliff from Bond.

The summit of Bondcliff was pleasantly exposed. I had hiked this peak about a decade ago but could did not remember it. It was probably socked in that day. The run up to Bond (4698') went well. The weather was holding in there and I could see all of the peaks of the loop were not shrouded in clouds at all. Still I quickened my pace. In the mountains sometimes speed is safety.

A nice view from Galehead Hut.

The trail took a lot of concentration to keep up a strong pace. If I let my mind start to zone out into daydream land (a place I usually like to go on trail runs) I would slow my pace to a quick walk. I kept having to remind myself to step it up. The trail junctions came and went and soon I was at the summit of South Twin (4902') looking down the 1,100', 0.8 mile decent to Galehead Hut. The decent went slower than I had imagined. much of the ledge was steep and very slick, causing me to stop often and figure the best moves down to the next island of safety. It was slow going and I arrived at the Galehead Hut at 4:11 elapsed time some 15 miles into the 31.9 mile traverse.

I filled up on the only water that does not need to be treated and hit the trail again, noting the darkening clouds and intermittent sprinkles threatening to ruin my mood. There is one place on the loop I would consider bailing out to avoid a storm. Taking the Franconia Brook Trail would be only slightly shorter than running the remainder of the ridge but it would take me to the valley floor and level out - a much safer place in a thunder storm. By my appointed bail out point I had heard no thunder but the rain had dampened my mood a little. The decision to continue was difficult. If I continued out the Garfield Ridge there was nowhere to go but to the exposed summit of Lafayette (5260') or turn around. The turn around would make my run much longer but easier. I didn't like the thought of having to turn around. Still I made the decision to run the ridge and I am glad I did.

My memory of the Garfield Ridge Trail was that it was a lonely, long and rough stretch of trail. Of these only the rough seemed accurate on this day. Hikers came with great regularity through this section and time passed relatively quickly. Before I knew it I was running up the six false summits of Lafayette. Thank goodness I had remembered the false summits as I would have been mentally drained by the time I had finally gained the summit if I had not.

Looking down at Greenleaf hut (on the left)

and the top of Cannon Cliff to the right of it.

Looking back at Garfield Ridge in the middle of a shower.

Franconia Ridge.

I had one last shower on the flanks of Lafayette and then the sun came out for my cruise of the Franconia Ridge. It couldn't have been better timed. The concentration of people is much higher on the Franconia Ridge and I passed people left and right on my gradual descent by Lincoln (5089'), Liberty (4459'), and Flume (4328'). It was nice seeing people on my Flume as it marked the end of the summits and the start of my final decent. They were doing the Presi Traverse the following week and were out doing a training hike. We had some good laughs over very little and parted.

The decent down the Osseo Trail was painful but I was happy to finally drop out onto the Lincoln Woods trail for the final flat run out to the truck. I ran at a 7:45 pace for the last 1.5 miles to the truck and hit the stop on my stopwatch - 10:26.

Presidential Traverse

I spent last week monitoring several weather forecasts, looking for a day that would have sun and warm temperatures. Being in New England, I really would have just settled for a partial day of sun, but I was indeed rewarded with what would be a beautiful day on Friday, June 1st. I booked a spot on the hiker shuttle, the first day of operation for the 2012 season and was able to wake up at the reasonable time of 5:30 in order to make the shuttle at 9:00am.

The "short bus" used by the Appalachian Mountain Club as the shuttle was full of backpackers heading for various huts  and campsites in the Presidential range. I enjoyed listening to the chatter in the back of the bus filled with hiking oneupsmanship, excessive pride, and the comparison of gear. Pretty sterotypical conversation for Northeasterners in the mountains.

A little after 10:00 am I was dropped off and immediately I started my watch and took off up the Valley Way Trail.

The one-day Presidential Traverse is a rite of passage for me each season. About a decade ago it was the crown jewell of my summer. I would train for it and somewhere in the middle of July I would attempt the hike with a small group of friends. I seem to remember hiking it in times ranging between 14 and 17 hours. Our route always included Mt. Jackson (4052') and Webster (3910') at the end which not all people include in their traverse.

After living the Outward Bound life for several years in Colorado I came back to New Hampshire with a new love of trail running and naturally this led me back to the Presidential Traverse. Last year I ran it for my first time in a time of 9:10 during a return visit from Colorado. My blood was rich and the uphills didn't cause my cardiovascular system much stress. This year my blood was not so thick, but my overall climbing condition was much better. I was interested in seeing how much better.

Looking north along the ridge toward Mt. Clay.

My first indication that things were better was when I hit the lap button at the top of Mt. Madison (5366') at 1:35 taking 17 minutes off my fastest ascent of Madison. I continued to wrack up time a few minutes at a time as I ticked off the summits one by one. Adams (5799'), Jefferson (5716'), and Clay (6288'). I arrived at the high point of the traverse, Mt. Washington (6288'), in 4:24 having completed the longer half of the traverse. I lost a little time on the ascent of Washington having taken a wrong turn next to the cog railway tracks. This added a little mileage to the journey and caused me to lose my mental edge for a bit.

Summit of Mt. Washington.

At Mt. Washington I had traversed 11.6 miles with 7250' of climb over what is essentially just talus. I was looking forward to the next half which was mostly downhill and had greater sections of singletrack trail, much more runnable.

Lakes of the Clouds hut below 

Mt. Washington.

I arrived at Lakes of the Clouds Hut with no water. I wasted no time in filling my bottles and getting back out for the immediate short, steep climb up to the summit of Monroe (5372'). From Monroe it is a long downhill to the col before Eisenhower. The trail was in good condition and I floated along day dreaming all the way to the the push up to Eisenhower (4760').

Looking south from Monroe.

It gave me a chance to think about why I had loved this traverse so much. It does have a variety of terrain: talus in the Northern Presis, Singletrack in the Southern. Much of it is exposed, but some (mainly from Pierce to Webster) is in the trees. There are huts perfectly spaced for water and human interaction. There are just enough people traveling the trails so that one doesn't get lonely - unless it is a busy day when one might be annoyed with the numbers of people. The views are tremendous. The drop off some of the ridges is striking as you run along the top. And last, but not least, the traverse is a great physical challenge. There is something almost spiritual about the Presidential traverse for me. All of the above mention create one holistic experience as I run through the wind and the rock.

But enough of that hippy shit.

The run from Eisenhower to Pierce included more quality singletrack. The trees, their growth stunted to just above head-high, offered some protection from the slight breeze and sun. Come to think of it, I have rarely been above treeline in the Presidentials without it being very windy. It goes to show how unique weather-wise this day was.

The climb up to Pierce (4310') went well, as did the descent to Mizpah Spring Hut. It went very quickly from this point on. I was astounded as to how easy the running was in the southern Presidentials. Maybe it speaks to my condition this year, but the last 6 or so miles went by quickly. It felt like I was arriving at the next summit just as I was leaving the last one. Having the splits helped me in this regard as I could look at my watch and just expect to go about 30 minutes more to the next checkpoint. I wasn't watching my altimeter like usual so I didn't feel as though it was taking forever. Mount Jackson (4052') and Mount Webster (3910') were pleasant runs through the woods. I kept expecting to run into the ass of a moose along the extremely windy trail but, luckily, it never happened. Visibility on this type of trail is generally no more than 20 feet and chugging along at even a fast powerhike can lead to some great surprises.

The descent down Webster is tough only because the footing is strange. The ledges caused me to stop and ponder the best line often. The trail descends quickly until the final 1.4 miles throw in a few "F You" hills. I was expecting them and cruised them with ease. The trail spit me out in Crawford Notch with my overall time being 8:31. I had sprinted to make 8:30 but missed it by 1 minute. Regardless this is my new PR for the Presi Traverse, leverage for my confidence in finishing Hardrock. Bring it on!

By the numbers: 11 peaks (including Clay and Franklin), 9,000' of climb, ~24 miles, 8:31.

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!

Run Log Update - April 15-May 12, 2012

I have fallen behind on the posts of my progress toward Hardrock. All is going well.

April 15-21, 2012: 21.0 miles in two runs: Recovery week from Traprock. Still managed a 13 mile run on the rail trail that took 2:14! Only 70' of climb for the week.

April 22-28, 2012: 26.1 miles in three runs: Long run was a 6 mile out and back on the Wapack Trail including Watatic (ended in a surprising "trail closed" sign) then stopping in Sharon to run a 9 mile out and back to save the day. 15 miles was a conservative guess for how far I really ran. 3,950' total of climb for the week.

Lonesome Lake and a wonderfully placed farm 

from White Ledges on Sunapee.

April 29-May 05, 2012: 29.5 miles in three runs: Long run was a tour of Sunapee with laps on the Goshen Trail, Wingding ski trail, and Newbury Trail for a total of three summits or 4650' of climb. 6800' of climb for week.

May 06-12, 2012: 31.0 miles in three runs. Long run was volunteering at the Wapack and Back 50 and 21.5 mile Trail Race. Swept the final 9.1 miles and then returned by the light of my headlamp and the city lights of Boston some 70-80 miles away. Ran into a porcupine (figuratively, not literally). 3,600' of climb for the week, 3,500' in just the sweeping of the Wapack and Back.

The training has been going well this last month. I am consistently climbing well. I am just feeling sluggish some days and feel like I am walking the thin line between trained and overtrained. This probably means I am training appropriately. I would rather be walking this line than the trained/under trained line.

The next couple of weeks will have me finishing up my training in New Hampshire. I have some trips to the White Mountains planned to do some multi-day trail running trips. I hope all goes well and I am able to recover well.

After a surreal Spring the weather is back to more of a normal pattern with 3 to four days of rain and one to two days of sun. It has been uninspiring to run at times but I have been able to get out regularly to get my mileage in. So far this has probably been the most regular training period yet for any 100 miler. My mileage would probably graph pretty linearly and follow the 10 percent rule. I have been throwing easier weeks in every third week in which I keep to my mileage schedule but I keep my effort minimal (flat runs as opposed to lots of climbing). I think it has been working fairly well but time will tell.

Starting to plan the nitty-gritty of my Hardrock experience. The manual is out...

Run Log Updates

Week of March 25-31, 2012: 16.6 miles in 3 runs; long run was the Pumpelly Trail to the summit of Monadnock. 4850' vert total.

Week of April 01-07, 2012: 15.9 miles in 3 runs; long run was Sunapee up the Goshen Trail, down the Summit Trail, and back up and over. 4,400' vert total.

A fellow Traprock 50k runner along one of the more exposed areas.

This photo doesn't really give a proper snapshot of the technical difficulty.

Week of April 08-14, 2012: 35 miles in two runs; speed work on the rail trail and the Traprock 50k where I ran 6:19, placing 30th out of 88. Vert for the rail trail was none and the vert for Traprock was somewhere between 4,200' (I figured from a topo) and 7000' (website). With the rolling terrain I would say that 5,000' would be the most appropriate amount of climb.