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.

100th Post!

Well, it has been about a year and a half since I created this blog on September 8, 2012. A lot has happened in that amount of time and I am quite happy with the fact that I am still posting to this blog regularly (or semi-regularly now).

It was a nice trip down memory lane to read my first blog which laid the foundation for my posts to come. My original aim was to journal some of my adventures in skiing, and trail running. Well, the later has been the center of my focus for the last several years so the posts have almost all been focused on mileage, vert and how I am feeling as well as pictures of scenery along the way.

In looking at the future of this blog I don't feel the need to branch out from trail and mountain running as the main topic of my posts. In time I will have many posts on other adventures to share. What I do see a need for is some variety in writing style. I started doing this recently with poems and other ditties and I have made an attempt to make better reading by abbreviating my weekly run logs and posting several weeks at a time. My goals have evolved to provide 1st, a journal that I can refer back to on certain information (PRs for certain trails, weekly mileage at certain times of the year, pictorial evidence of trail conditions, etc.), 2nd, the use of the post as a creative outlet and my 3rd, to provide a little bit of entertainment for the few people who do read this blog (thanks Brenden and Josh). The areas that have lacked the most are the creative outlet and the "amusingness" of the posts. I see my writing and photography as skills that I need to develop to become a more rounded ultrarunner. I hope to continue my improvement by branching out in my writing style through the next 100 posts. Expect some creative non-fiction stories in the future.

Cheers!

A Thought from the Trail

View from Monadnock summit. 03/20/2012

Mountain Running is...

... a cross between hiking and parcour.

... focusing on little more than your next four foot strikes.

... knowing the closest, steepest, most sustained trails in the area.

... knowing the rockiest trail in the area.

... spending most of your recovery time studying maps.

... living for two things: vert and beer.

... stopping to enjoy a view before enjoying a descent.

A view west of Mount Massive, CO. 08/30/2011

Run Log Update

Week of March 4th to 10th: 12.2 miles in two runs. Long run was the Pumpelly Trail with a repeat of the steep section. 3,500' weekly vert.

Running up the White Arrow Trail on March 12th.

Week of March 11th to 17th: 14.7 miles. Long run was a tour of Monadnock. Ran the last race in the Winter Wild series at Bretton Woods. The course was shortened due to the lack of snow and the start time was pushed back a little but I placed 25th out of 107, finishing in 35:59. 3,800' weekly vert.

Week of March 18th to 24th: 15.7 miles in three runs. Long run was a double Monadnock by way of the White Dot then White Cross trails. 4,550' weekly vert.

The last few weeks have been unseasonably hot. Daytime temps were in the 70s and 80s for a solid week. Needless to say, work is done for the winter. I have saved a small chunk of cash that I think will be adequate for survival the entire summer long. I am ready to fall into a training schedule where my recovery days really are recovery days and not another day that I work, swinging chairs or dragging k-guns. I am ready for Spring and Summer!

An Ode to Microspikes

Your hard spikes bite into hard ice.

One or two teeth grab. 

That's all that's necessary.

Ice, snow, and rock you eat

like sausage, egg, and cheese burritos

from McDonald's.

Without you I would watch more TV in the winter.

Update of the Run Log

Week of February 5th to 11th, 2012: 2.25 Miles in one run, 100' of vert. total.

Week of February 12th to 18th, 2012: 11.2 miles in two runs; 7.2 mile long run, 36th out of 202 at Winter Wild Pat's Peak. 2,500' vert. total.

Week of February 19th to 25th, 2012: Sadly, no runs this week.

Week of February 26th to March 3rd, 2012: 6.25 in two runs; McCabe, and 37th out of 150 at Winter Wild Sunapee, 1,600' vert. total.

Technically, I have started training but my numbers don't show it yet. To be honest, I have needed some rest time lately because I started my laborious job (snowmaking) before I was completely recovered from the Bear. But as of the first week in March I am fairly well rested and ready to go!