Sunday, August 29, 2010

Catching Up

8/23-8/29

M- 6.9 miles Black Cap via Kettle Ridge, down Red Tail 1:18:04, 45:57 to summit, quads and calves stiff, light rain and fog, 10x80m strides after

Tu- 4 miles in about 40 minutes at Whitaker Woods with the local crew. A little stiff from the mountain running this weekend.

W- 5.5 miles Black Cap via Kettle Ridge, down Hurricane Mt. Rd. 1:03:15, felt good, 43:35 to summit, rolled ankle pretty hard about a 1/4 mile down from summit. Walked it out to Hurricane Mt. Rd. and ran the last 1.8 down on the roads

Th- Tonight I jumped in to the "Kennett Challenge", a 2 mile xc race against Kennett High School, Fryeburg Academy and the local White Mountain Milers running club. Ran the 2 miles on grass xc course in 10:26 (5:06, 5:20), got smoked by Silas Eastman, a sophomore from Chatham, NH. He ran 10:07 going away. Remember that name. I raced pretty hard, but never could catch Silas. I ran 4 sec slower than last year when I had just come back from Pikes Peak and was in pretty good shape. It was a fun event (potluck dinner and dessert after!) and a hell of a workout on xc terrain. 2.5 wu, 2.0 cd. I wore my ankle brace and it seemed fine.

F- 0 long day at work

Sa- 0 didn't make it happen

Su- Got out today for a fartlek on Rob Brook Rd., a gated, gravel forest service road. Ran a 1.6 mile warm-up, then ran 33:47 of random fartlek over rolling terrain (5.4 miles), then 1.6 cd. Felt ok, certainly nothing special, but it was pretty hot.

Total: 31.5 miles I really need to work on the consistency, even if it's a mile a day. 5 days this week is better than none though. 31.5 miles on the week.

8/16-8/22

M- 0

T- 0

W- 0

Th- 0 spent last 4 days installing flooring in our condo

F- 5.0 Wal-Mart Singletrack w/ Paul and Frank 52:00 felt good, ran easy, amazed I could even walk after putting the flooring in

Sa- 27 miles Hut Traverse Attempt +/-10:30 After not running all week I decided attempting a hut traverse would be a great idea! Jim Johnson thought it was a good idea too, so we left the 19 Mile Brook Trailhead at 5:10AM and headed to Carter Notch Hut. After 50+ minutes on running over rocks in the dark and nearly breaking our ankles, we tagged the hut.
Our trip through Madison Gulf was pretty uneventful, but we were catching glimpses of the northern Presis as we climbed. We refilled our camelbaks at Madison Springs Hut and scored some free chocolate chip blondies from the hut croo (Thanks!). From there we started some running again along the Gulfside Trail. Jim's hammy was starting to bother him a little, but kept moving forward on a beautiful day.
We refueled at Lakes in the Clouds. At this point we were both a little tired, but running down the Crawford Path will rejuvenate you. We were making pretty good time until Jim took a pretty good header, skinning both knees and his hands in the process. I was seriously worried that he had broken something. After Jim dusted himself off we headed towards Mt. Pierce, the only 4,000 foot peak we would summit during the day. I was starting to bonk a little, but we took a quick break at Mizpah Springs Hut and our energy came back; for half a mile.
Once we started descending the Crawford Path, both of our quads we starting to feel the last 8 miles of downhill running. We reached Crawford Depot about 10 and a half hours after we left the 19 Mile Brook Trailhead. It was 3:30PM and we knew we still had a long day ahead of us. My lovely wife Jess met us at Crawford with food and water and was able to give us a ride back to the start once good sense came over us. Pretty fun day.

Su-

Total: 32.0 miles

8/9-8/15

M- 7.5 Bolles Preserve w/ Brown University Coach Al Bernier, 57:31 felt ok, stiff

Tu- Jim Wellinghurst Memorial "5k" 15:50 3.0 miles. 1st. Good racing, but the time was not pretty. The first mile is downhill (5:07) then turns onto a dirt road that has a slight incline. Tim Livingston and I battled up the hill. I was able to open a slight gap before the logging road section. I did have to avoid a skunk in the last mile. I wasn't the only thing that stunk that night. 2.5 wu, 2.0 cd

W- 0

Th- 0

F- 10.5 Merrimack Rivah and Andover Trails 1:14 w/ Double J, nice run, felt good, ran easy

Sa- Bridge of Flowers 10k 35:05 40th place. Not pretty. I was able to race until 4 miles, but fell apart after that. The lack of training, motivation, and lack of focus the last few weeks added up to a shit show. Not terribly surprising though after the Wellinghurst race on Tuesday. 2.5 wu, 2.5 cd

Su- 0, 2 hours of mountain biking w/ Jess on the Guinea Pond Trail

Total: 36.7 miles

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Training 7/26-8/8

7/26-8/1
M- 11.0 Sawyer River to Birch Hill to Sawyer Pond 1:43:00 felt good, nice loop, first time looping those trails together, 5x80m strides after

Tu- Whitaker Woods Fun Run 3.1 miles 17:53, felt ok, legs heavy, ran in control w/ Tim, 5:45 6:03 6:04(1.1), 1.5 wu, 2.0 cd

W- 8.0 Nanamacomuck to Rocky Gorge, dead legs 1st mile, better after, ballistic exercises after

Th- 6x1600m, 400m recovery (2:30-2:40) 5:38 5:34 5:32 5:33 5:34 5:29 felt ok, hard to find pace, little windy, not hot! 2.75 wu, 1.0 cd barefoot

F- 6.5 Rec Trail 50:19 felt ok, ran easy, 10x100m at track after (15.3-15.9, 14.6 on last one)

Sa- 3m on 3m off fartlek on Kennett XC course (flat, grass), 1.1 mile loop, 5 laps, 32:05 5.5 miles (5:50 pace) solid workout, 2.0 wu, 1.0 cd

Su- 6.0 Wal-Mart singletrack 56:10 ran easy w/ Tim and Kennett XC crew, hamstrings tight from 100s on track

Total: 59.9 miles. Pretty good week running wise, back on track and in a routine. My dad passing away definitely sent me through a loop though.

8/2-8/8
M- 0

Tu- Whitaker Woods Fun Run 3.1 miles 17:23, felt good, ran w/ Tim, 5:26 5:59 5:57(1.1), 3.0 wu, 2.0 cd

W- 2.9 Alpine Garden & Lion Head Trails, 44:56 nice run above tree line, bad planning so limited on time

Th- 0 Dad's funeral

F- 0

Sa- 12.0 Wal-Mart to E. Conway Powerline Junction (hilly snowmobile trail) 1:20:21 (6:41 pace), 9.0 tempo in 56:12 (6:14 pace), pretty good workout, struggled but gutted it out, 3.0 wu. Ran this same route this winter and spring and was slightly faster today.

Su- 19.6 Owl's Head Loop, 3:30:09, good run, quads tired last 3 miles. This run made me realize how much I love trails. Most of it was old logging railroad bed and pretty dry. Quite a wild area. Photos on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71924&id=1315312930&l=14aa4ccdf3

Total: 42.60 miles. Not a great week all around, but really felt good to get back to running.

Bridge of Flowers should be interesting this weekend. Could be good or bad, but I'm willing to run it as a fitness check / rust buster.