Winter Presidential Traverse 01-13-13

Awesome day in the mountains with Coby Jacobus.

GPS data: http://app.strava.com/activities/37483546

Facebook video: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200329595145242

2012 in Photos

Spectated at US Cross Country Nationals in Rumford, ME on my birthday weekend

Hike up Rumford Whitecap on my birthday. Thanks Jess!

The awesome wrestling belts Jess and I made for trophies for the Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble

Awesome day for a run up Mt. Washington via Lion Head, mid February, courtesy Mike Pelchat, Mt. Washington State Park 

The run we almost died on, with Double J, on Pierce and Eisenhower

Flogging Molly and The Devil Makes Three for Jess's birthday in Boston

Tim Livingston and I skiing the Sherburne Trail, Mt. Washington

Great weekend in and around Quebec City for Snowshoe Worlds

Greg Hexum and I around 6k at Snowshoe Worlds, finished 7th

Double J and I running up and down Chocorua in March

Lincoln Brook "Trail" on our loop up and around Owls Head with Double J and Troy Shellhamer

Great 16 mile hike with Jess through the Pemi Wilderness on Memorial Day weekend

Run up Jefferson and Washington via Huntington Ravine with Pete Mallett and Coby Jacobus. It was steep.

Pemi Loop with Double J the NEXT DAY.

Finishing up a PR run at the Pikes Peak Ascent

Cool run with Peter Maksimow up the Manitou Incline the next day.

Great hike in RMNP up Deer Mountain w/ Jess.

Nice run up Fall River Rd. in RMNP.

Lots of elk in RMNP.

One of my favorite photos of all time. Bear Lake with Long's Peak in the background.

Full moon/sunrise run up the auto road with Double D.

Millen Mile

A few sunset shots from Mt. Jefferson after work one night.

Zealand River during foliage.

Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge

Heron (?) at Echo Lake

Foliage at Echo Lake & Cathedral Ledge on a foggy day

Foliage from Deer Hill

Snow and foliage from Lowe's Bald Spot, near Mt. Washington

Where to Begin...

It's been a while since my last blog post. Nothing too exciting. I won a couple of races, the Bradbury Bruiser 12 miler for the 3rd time in a row, and the Kismet Cliff Run "Beast of the East", a couple of weeks later. I rounded out my fall season with an ill-advised run at the Cape Cod Marathon, which pretty much ended any momentum I had going this fall.

Since then, I've struggled to get any type of training going since the couple of weeks I took off after Cape Cod. I've been dealing with a lingering plantar fascia issue that has subsided in the last week, and my overall energy has been pretty low. I've had multiple nights of 10-11 hours of sleep, even on days where I didn't do anything physical, which is usually a sign that something is up. I've been pretty wiped from all of the field work I've been doing the last few months, trying to finish up projects before we got any significant snow. This time of year is always busy at work, and I've never been a fan of trail running in the dark, so it's usually a good time to lay low and re-cooperate, but something has been off the last few months. I finally went in for a physical last week, something I haven't done in 12 years, and had some blood work done to check my iron levels and to check for Lyme Disease. I have a follow-up appointment on the 15th, so hopefully I'll have some answers then. Until, then, I'm going to just try to take it one day at a time and try to get outside when I don't feel completely run down. We have some snow here in the north country now, so I'm looking forward to some snowshoeing,  XC skiing and some winter hiking. T'is the season.

Hopefully some terrain I will see soon.

Millen Mile

Coming through the quarter. Photo by Jess Tilton

The mile is not my specialty, but this race is too cool to pass up. Last year was the inaugural Millen Mile, a one-mile track race held at half time of the Kennett High School football home opener, under the lights. It is held in memory of former Kennett High football coach, social studies teacher, and all-around good guy Gary Millen. I only had Mr. Millen for 9th grade Civics, but he was a good teacher and he took an interest in all sports, and you would routinely see him at many sporting events. Gary died of a heart attack in 2006; way too early, especially for someone who meant so much to the community.

Last year I won the race in 4:38, about 3 seconds slower than my PR, but I was pretty happy with it as I pretty much ran alone and hadn't really done much track work to prepare for it. This year I knew I would have my hands full as Tim Livingston has been running well and Fryeburg Academy and University of Southern Maine alum Tim Even would be toeing the line. Adding to difficulty of this race would be the fact that I have felt like garbage all week. I wasn't sick, but I felt run down everyday and each run was not pretty until Thursday, where I managed 3 miles and some drills and strides and I didn't feel like I was going to fall over from dead legs.

All that aside, I got in a good warm-up with plenty of drills and strides and just tried to stay loose. The timing of the start of this race is interesting as you need to keep an eye on the game clock, but you never really know when you'll start because of all the timeouts and such. After each runner was introduced we got on the line and got ready to burn our lungs for four and a half minutes.

Tim Even took the lead early, as expected and Tim L. and I filed in behind him. The pace was a bit quick for me, but then again, any pace on the track is probably too quick for me. I came through the first quarter in 67 just behind Tim E. with Tim L. on my tail. I knew it was a bit quick, but I wanted to take advantage of having both Tims to run with and maybe run a PR, so I went with it. I tried to stay close, but Tim E. accelerated onto the back stretch on the second lap and Tim L. went by me at the 600m mark. My goal was to stay smooth on this lap and see what happens. I stayed on Tim L. to the 1/2 mile mark (2:17) and went around him going into the turn. At this point Tim E. had a pretty good gap on us, but I didn't know what his fitness was like, so I just tried to keep running hard and see how things would shake out.

I was tying up a bit on the third lap, but sub 4:40 mile pace will do that to you. Tim. L passed me backsoon after, and I stayed as close to him as I could and banged out another 70 (3:27). The bell lap hurt like hell, but I felt like I was speeding up. I tried to closer the gap on Tim L. (Tim E. was long gone at this point), and I was hoping to make a move on the home stretch. Fat chance of that. Despite the cheers of the crowd, I couldn't close on Tim and ran a 71 for the last lap. Ugh.

Overall, I am happy with the race as I did zero prep for it and ran as fast as last year. One of these days I really should run an indoor season and try to break 4:30 for the mile and 15:00 for 5k. I don't have the wheels to do that without any track training. Congrats to Tim Even on his 4:29 and the win, Tim Livingston on his fast race, Darin Brown for nearly cracking 5, Gabe Flanders for jumping in at the last minute and running a 5:22 (a PR!), Steve Piotrow and Allen Whitley for pushing themselves on the track, Leslie Beckwith on her win in the women's race running a 5:44, and to Cathy Livingston and Meredith Piotrow for going out and racing hard! Also, thanks to Bernie Livingston and the Millen Foundation for organizing such a cool race and to the spectators for cheering us on. It's a really unique experience to run in front of a crowd like that under the lights.

2012 Pikes Peak Ascent

Getting chased by Gerald Romero near the finish

Well, that was fun. A week away from the heat, humidity and bugs of New England was just what I needed. Summer is my least favorite season and the crash that I usually experience after Mt. Washington, good race or not, leaves me longing for the cooler air and changing foliage of fall. I wasn't planning on going anywhere for vacation this summer, but early in July Jess and I decided we might want to head out west somewhere for a week. We have both wanted to go back to Rocky Mountain National Park since our trip in 2008, so Colorado it was! No trip to the Rocky Mountain state in August would be complete without racing up Pikes Peak though, so Jess was gracious enough to give up a few days in RMNP to stay in Manitou Springs with our friends Peter Maksimow and Nora Duane.

It was good catching up with Peter and Nora after not having a chance to see them after Mt. Washington. Peter took me on a nice 7 mile run on the Intemann Trail on Friday morning. The legs felt good, but my lungs and head were definitely feeling the altitude a little. I knew I hadn't hydrated on the plane as well as I normally do, but I figured I would just try to catch up before the race. I also caught up on the awesome beer selection of Colorado in Peter and Nora's fridge!

Race day dawned a little warm and humid, but nowhere as near as humid as the weather we've dealt with in New England this summer. Peter, Rickey Gates and I warmed-up by heading to the start from Peter's place, about 1.5 miles away. There are a lot fewer butterflies for me at this race than Mt. Washington, despite the looming task of running uphill for two and a half hours. Lowered expectations will do wonders for your intestinal systems. I got a few last minute pointers from Pikes Peak legend Scott Elliot, then we were off.

Making my way to the finish

My goal anytime I race at altitude is to find my red line, but DO NOT GO OVER IT. Especially in a race that's two plus hours long. Some people may look at it as a wimpy way of racing, but you have to know your limits. Blowing up 4 miles in isn't going to do me any good running up a 14,000 ft. mountain. One thing I wasn't expecting 4 miles into the race was to get passed by Kim Dobson. Or maybe it was earlier, my brain was already a little fuzzy. The hard part about running by feel and ignoring mile splits is that you never really know how you're running time-wise. I knew Kim was either flying or I was really dogging it. I felt like I might be going a touch fast, which made me think Kim was REALLY moving. After she passed me in the W's I just tried to run smart knowing that I still had 2 hours of mountain running ahead of me.

I was pretty much in no-man's (or no-woman's) land until Barr Camp. Just before we reached the aid station I actually caught Kim and the guy from Arizona with the pink socks. At this point I still had a low grade headache, but I felt like I was getting into a good rhythm. I came through Barr Camp around 73 minutes, about two minutes slower than 2009. Scott Elliot reminded me at the start that Barr Canp is about half way time wise. Just after the aid station I passed Kim and the pink socks guy (Brian Folts). I was able to open a bit of a gap on them as the trail started to get more technical. I also spotted Peter up ahead a little ways and I made a move to catch him.

Peter has done a ton of running on this mountain and I knew I was in good company to be running with him at this stage in the race. We worked together to keep moving up the hill and hopefully catch some stragglers past the A-Frame. As we approached the A-Frame aid station Kim and Brian caught Peter and I and Peter went around me. I guess I was slowing us down and holding us up, but it was imperceptible as we climbed the rugged switchbacks. My fingers were starting to swell and my hands were tingling. The pressure in my skull was getting greater, but it was nothing to be alarmed about. I came through the A-Frame checkpoint in 1:43:26, about a minute and a half behind my PR from 2009 and 14 seconds behind Kim and Peter. I was a little worried that I was slower than PR pace, but I remembered that I did a lot of walking above treeline in 2009, and I was determined not to do that this year.

Running above treeline at Pikes Peak looks a lot like the terrain above treeline on Mt. Washington, but there is actually a trail on Pikes. There are a few rocks to hop over, but it's not constant scrambling like running up the summit cone on Big George. That being said, running above 11,000 ft. is pretty damn tough. At this point my quads were starting to feel the cumulative fatigue of 1:40 of running uphill, and I was getting twinges in my calves from dehydration. I just tried to keep my head on my shoulders and put one foot in front of the other.

At this point I wasn't thinking about racing, just getting to the top as fast as possible. I could see Peter and Kim ahead of me every once in a while, but the trail switchbacks so much you never really know how far anyone is ahead of you. You can also look up 1000 vertical feet and see people near the summit, but you're still a couple of miles away via trail.

Speaking of seeing people above you, I spotted mountain running god Killian Jornet coming down the mountain when I hit the 2 miles to go sign. He was bounding from rock to rock on his way down. He offered some encouragement as I trudged up the mountain. Not long after that he decided to turn around and pass me on the way up. I used him as a carrot and stayed with him until just before the 16 Golden Stairs. There was a search and rescue crew hanging out here and they were playing "America the Beautiful" on kazoos. I kid you not. I asked them if they knew "Another One Bites the Dust". They got a kick out of that.

I got a kick out of knowing that I was almost finished. The 16 Golden Stairs look a lot like New England mountain running terrain, and I take pride in running everything in front of me, but I put my hands to my knees and did the Euro-hike on most of this stretch. Lack of oxygen and fatigue weren't going to allow for any explosive movements from my body, unless they were coming from my bowels or esophagus.

Peter Maksimow, myself and Gerald after the finish

Despite being thoroughly exhausted and having a pounding headache, I was determined to finish strong and run as much as possible. I was even more determined when I spotted Gerald Romero behind me with less than half a mile to go. I was one spot ahead of Gerald in 2009. He was a lot closer this time and I knew I was close to a top 10 spot and didn't want to lose it. I managed to find another gear, the one past the red line, and kicked it in to stay ahead of Gerald and squeak under 2:30 in 2:29:48, a 2 minute PR. My lovely wife was there to catch me and make sure I wasn't drooling all over myself. I was definitely feeling the effort and the altitude after I finished, but I was able to choke down some water, Gatorade and some food before heading back down the mountain. I ended up wearing the new Inov8 TrailRoc 235s which worked great on the hardpacked Colorado trails.

A big thank you to Peter and Nora for allowing us to stay with them in there awesome cabin, and a big thank you to Peter for pulling me along in the race and reminding me how much fun it is hanging out with so many cool runners, even on the weekend of your biggest race of the year.  And a big thank you to the organizers of the Pikes Peak races for putting on a great race and event. Also, congrats to Kim Dobson on an amazing run. Each time she went by me she looked so strong. You could tell she trained hard for this race and was a woman on a mission. She had the 3rd fastest split from A-Frame to the summit! 

As painful as it sounds, I thoroughly enjoyed the race itself and the atmosphere around it. It was nice going into the race with not a lot of pressure to run a certain time or place. I still had goals, but they weren't all consuming. Running is funny. Sometimes the harder you try the further you'll find yourself from what you're trying to attain.

This one says it all

http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/race_results/2012_pikes_peak_ascent.htm

7/9/2012

AM: 4.0 miles in 33:57 on the Conway Rec Trail. Nice and easy.
PM: 10.0 miles in 1:13:14 with Double J and Joe Shairs on Town Hall Rd. About 40 minutes up and 33 minutes back.

Time to get serious for UROC and Pikes Peak.

Training 5/14-6/3

5/14-5/20
M- 12.1 miles in 1:29:18 with Jim on Corridor 19. Felt ok.

Tu- 8.9 miles in 1:09:05 with Jim on the Lower Moat Brook singletrack. Stomach felt awful. Need to eat better.

W- 1:08:36 on the auto road. Pretty psyched. Did this one after work. Ran in control. A little windy above treeline, pushed it a little the last 1/2 mile.
Splits: 8:01 8:43 8:46 8:47 9:24 9:20 15:32 (last 1.7), 1:15:47 down!

Th- 8.2 miles in 1:00:44 w/ Jim on the back roads of Eaton and South Conway. Lunge routine after.

F- 9.4 miles in 1:22:04 w/ Jim on the roads and trails around Whitton Pond and Whitton Ledge. Pretty nice loop. Quads stiff.

Running along the top of Whitton Ledge. Photo by Double J

Sa- Bedford 12k 39:32, 11th place. Best NEGP race in a LONG time. 3.5 wu, drills and strides, 3.0 cd

Su- 5.0 miles in 40:43 with Peter on the Mineral Mine Loop. Felt ok, just tried to run easy.

Totals: 72.0 miles, 9.55 hours

5/21-5/27

M- 0 half day at work, then travel to Ashland, MA for the Inov8 brand conference.

Tu- 5.0 miles in 32:57 around Ashland Pond with Dwight & Chris (Inov8 sales reps). Felt ok. Spent the rest of the day checking out the new models and presenting my feedback on some models I've been testing. There is some great new stuff in the pipeline!

W- 4 x Cathedral Ledge Circuit. Felt like junk. Travel and bad eating caught up to me. 2.0 wu.

Th- 0 Long day at work.

F- 6.2 miles in 1:01:17 with Jim on some random trails in Albany. Fun run, felt good.

Sa- 1:00 on, 1:00 off fartlek up the auto road. 33:15 to 4 miles. Much better than last time.
Splits: 7:00 8:33 8:52 8:50, 36:57 down., 2.0 wu, drills and strides.

Su- 0 running. 16 mile hike with Jess through the Pemi Wilderness though, which was a lot of fun!

Totals: 27.3 miles, 4.13 hours


5/28-6/3
M- Mt. Washington training run w/ Jim, Nate Jenkins, and Melissa Donais. 1:08:02. Pretty psyched with this one. No real plan time-wise as Jim, Nate and I were planning on something at tempo effort. I felt pretty smooth the whole way and my breathing barely ever felt labored. My hamstrings were super tight on the warm-up and I noticed them while running, but they didn't seem to slow me down! This run was a huge confidence booster. A big thank you to Jess for driving us down so our quads wouldn't be sore for the next week! 2.0 wu
Splits: 7:28 8:44 9:00 8:53 9:30 9:16 9:09 5:57

Tu- 1.0 One stinking mile with Jim at Whitaker Woods. I hate lightning.

W- 0 Stomach bug. Called in sick to work. Felt better near the end of the day, but still low on energy.

Th- 4 x Cathedral Ledge Rd. 6:52 6:59 7:09 7:16 (7:04 avg., 7:51 pace) Slower and harder than I hoped, but a solid workout either way. Might still be feeling the effects of yesterday's stomach bug. (1:01:56), 2.0 wu

F- 8.4 miles on Peaked Hill Rd. (gravel) and Province Pond Trail with Jim in 1:02:30. Gradual climb on the way out and gradual down on the way back. Felt ok. Body feels fresh but legs feel a little weird. Apparently my body doesn't know how to react to not being sore all of the time. 3 strides after while Jim pooped in the woods.

Sa- 6.5 miles in 52:30 with Jim and MIT-bound Peter Haine on the Jackson XC Hall Trail and Maple Mtn. Loop. Wet, overgrown and muddy, but fun! I was hoping to go up Washington this morning, but the conditions above treeline were unfavorable.

Su- Pack Monadnock 10 Mile Road Race, 3rd, 1:02:45, :42 behind Brandon Newbould and :15 behind Justin Freeman. I knew this was going to be a tough race as I haven't been working on my road speed at all this spring, but I knew I needed to work on some race tactics, such as reeling people in, and I figured this would be a prime opportunity.

Brandon and Justin went out front right from the start, but the pace seemed manageable, so I latched on until we crested the hill just shy of the mile mark. From here they slowly opened a gap on every down and flat. Tim Van Orden caught me not long after this, but I was able to pass him back just past the reservoir.

I was working pretty hard, but was seeing that my splits were slower than when I did this race back in 2010. I had the luxury of running with Eric Blake that year, and I was in really good road shape at that time too. I knew I would be slower this year when I hit 5 miles in 28:47. I was 27:40 in 2010. I just kept telling myself that Washington could feel like this and that I needed to keep pushing and try to reel Brandon and Justin in on the 2 mile climb at the end.

Unfortunately, my legs were spent at 7 miles, but I kept plugging away. I was relieved to see Route 101 (for the first and only time in my life) as I knew the climb would start once I got on it. My legs were still tired, but I was looking forward to the climb, knowing that I could have a chance of getting back in the race if I ran this section well. I know, I'm a sick f*ck.

I was able to keep my eye on the leaders as I saw Brandon open a small gap on Justin. I could sense that I was slowly closing the gap, despite the fact that my stride felt choppy. I lost sight of both of them just before we entered Miller State Park. The steep climb starts not long after entering the park. I downshifted and tried to stay smooth. I covered the 9th mile in 6:32. I knew I was just under 9 minutes for the last mile in 2010, so I told myself I had 9 minutes to go. On the next steep section I was able to see Justin, and saw that he wasn't that far ahead. I tried to open my stride on the few flat stretches, but lost sight of Justin as the road curved back and forth. I kept plugging away and was rewarded with the view of Justin's and Brandon's backsides on the last steep climb. I hammered it with everything I had. I knew I probably wouldn't catch them, but I figured I would give it a shot anyways. I covered the last mile in 9:04, 10 seconds slower than 2010, but about 30 seconds faster that Justin and about 20 seconds faster than Brandon. I would have loved to had been closer, but I was happy that I still had my climbing legs under me despite my legs being dead at 7 miles.

Splits: 6:08 5:42 5:22 5:55 5:39 (28:47) 6:02 5:47 6:30 6:32 9:04 (33:58)

4.0 wu, drills and strides, 0.5 cd

Totals: 49.2 miles, 6.36 hours