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

Training Week 5/7-5/13

M- 9.7 miles in 2:17:01 in the Moat Mtn. Range w/ Jim. Went north to south on this one. The climb up North Moat is brutal, but I felt pretty good on it.

Tu- 12.1 mile Glines Hill loop with Jim in 1:24:44 (6:59 pace). Hilly loop. 1500 ft of elevation gain. Solid run. We didn't kill it, just rolled along. 9:00 for the full mile up Glines Hill Rd. 7 strides in the last mile.

W- 4 x Cathedral Ledge Rd. hill circuit. This workout is brutal, but makes you strong as hell. 8 minute pace at 12% grade feels easier after this one. 3.5 mi wu, 8.7 miles total.

Th- 11.7 miles in 1:31:16 on the snowmobile trails near Chocorua Lake and the Hemenway State Forest. I was pretty tired, and Jim was more than happy to run easy with me. Soaked in the lake 10 minutes after.

F- 3 mile uphill fartlek (1:00 on, 1:00 off) on the auto road. Quads were a little stiff going into this, but nothing major. Mile splits of 6:52, 8:22, 8:49. It was spitting snow at 3 miles. That last mile was pretty tough. 2.0 mi wu.

Sa- 10.8 miles up Rattlesnake, Middle and Peaked with Paul in 2:17:44. A little tired and I probably overdid it with this one, especially with a race the next day, but with 5 weeks until Washington I still have some time for some solid training before worrying about freshening up.

Su- Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race, 2nd place, ~1 minute behind Josh Ferenc. Fun course and a good race against Josh. I knew it would be an interesting race with Jim, Josh, Todd Callaghan, TiVo, Ross Krause, Double D and Mike Quintal, but I had no idea how it would shake out. Reading the course description it sounded like a lot of fast downhill, which is not my strong suit, but I knew I was probably the strongest climber in the field, so I made it my mission to do as much as I could on the climbs.

Unfortunately, after the start I found that my legs could not get moving despite a 2.5 warm-up. Josh took it out with Mike and another guy and I tucked in hoping that my legs would wake up. After about half a mile and swallowing a couple of black flies, I moved up behind Josh and gave chase on the way to the high point of loop 1, the king of the mountain preme point. I covered the first mile in 6:47, but Josh got to the top about 5 seconds ahead of me. From there Josh opened up a good gap on the muddy downhill. I moved as fast as I could, but was feeling the effects of the cumulative fatigue of the training week and the fact that I got 2.5 hours of sleep last night after seeing Flogging Molly and The Devil Makes Three in Portland. Oops.

On the second lap I just focused on working the uphill hard and making it the best workout I could. I could see Josh up ahead of me, but he wasn't out of reach. I slowly made my way up the hill and managed to take the lead about 2/3rds of the way up the climb. Josh hung tough though and we were even at the 3 mile mark. From here, he took of like a bat out of hell while I just tried to keep him in sight. I was barely able to do that on the way through the loop 2-3 transition. I hoped I could pull another rabbit out of my hat on the last climb, but I only saw Josh one on the singletrack climb from 4-5 miles. I did see a porcupine climbing a tree though.

From 5-6 miles I just tried to run the smooth downhill as fast as possible and hope that Josh was just around the corner where I couldn't see him. He was around the corner, about 1 minute around it at the finish line.

Overall, I was pretty happy that I raced hard despite being tired, and Josh is a hell of a downhiller, so to be even that close to him in an up/down race makes me happy. It was good to see that Jim pulled out a good race. I know he's making me a better runner, and I hope I'm helping him.

A big thank you to Paul Kirsch for driving my sleep-deprived ass to VT after my late-night hi jinx. Paul is a glutton for punishment though since he's headed to a concert in Boston tonight.

Also a big thank you to Kasie Enman for putting on a great race and sharing all the trails in her backyard with the New England mountain running community. The 1/2 gallon of maple syrup was a nice touch too!

Splits: 6:47 5:37 8:28 6:02 7:53 5:34

Totals: 69.5 miles, 11.0 hours, butt-load of vertical. Another solid week. I was pretty tired all week, but that's a sign of good training. I need to be careful this week about getting plenty of sleep, eating right and staying hydrated so I don't put myself into a hole after the late night Saturday. 5 more weeks.

Training Week 4/30-5/6

M- 5.2 miles in 43:42 on the Lower Nanamacomuck with Double J. Legs were pretty beat. We took it easy, then iced our legs in the Swift River. I made it about 2 minutes, took a break, then went in for another 2 minutes.

Tu- 10.9 miles in 1:23:09 around the Trout Pond area and Pine Barrens with Jim. Felt much better today. Ice bath helped, I think.

W- 4 x Cathedral Ledge Rd. repeats (0.9 miles) 6:52 7:00 7:04 7:08. Pretty psyched with this workout. Two weeks ago I went out way too hard on the first one in 7:16 and had to dial back to 7:40's for the last two. These all felt way better this time. 7:12 = 8:00 pace, so they were still pretty quick, but in control. They were still a little harder than tempo effort, but I wasn't dying at the end of each one. 2.0 wu, drills and strides.

Th- AM: 8.8 miles in 1:00:49 from Jim's house over Eidelweiss, Modock Hill and Pound Rds. Hilly-ass loop and managed to average 6:56 pace for the whole thing. 1000 ft. of elevation gain.
PM: 4.0 miles in 37:41 with Roger and Jim after the KHS track meet. 5 barefoot strides after felt much better than the run itself.

F- 0 Bruised my right foot pretty good while trying to set a metal fence post at a volunteer function at work. I don't think I did any damage, but I decided to be smart and let it heal for the night. Plus, we had pizza and beer at Brennan's after, so I couldn't pass that up.

Sa- 7.0 miles up and down Black Cap in 59:51, 28:53 to the summit (2:02 PR, 8:15 pace).1.0 wu on flats. Hard effort. I was hoping to do a run this morning on the auto road with Paul, Leslie and Frank, but I didn't know how my foot would react to 4 miles of downhill running on pavement, so I headed to the Red Tail Trail. I am really pleased with this effort. I have only run this trail hard a handful of times, but when I have I was in pretty good shape. Also, the foot was completely fine, so I don't have to worry about that.

Su- 12.5 miles in 2:10:58 on the Flat Mtn. Pond Trail, bennett St. and Whiteface Intervale Rd. Nice run with Jim and Sam Wood. Quads were a little tired, but it was a quality run.

Totals: 58.6 miles, 8.30 hours. Not as much volume as the past two weeks, but I needed the easy day on Monday and the day off on Friday I had no control over. Body feels good though and got in some good workouts. I'm having fun with the mountain specific workouts and feel myself getting stronger with each one.

Bucket List

I've had this list floating in my head for a while. I thought I'd put it down on paper the web.

Running Races:
Boston Marathon - A must do for every runner, especially if you're from New England.
New York City Marathon - I'm not much of a city person, but big city marathons are pretty cool (other than the logistics).
Pikes Peak Marathon - I have always said I would never run this, but after having to turn around at mile 10 of the 2008 Ascent and run back down I decided that racing down the Barr Trail might be fun.
Western States 100 - The most prestigious ultra in the country and it covers some awesome terrain.
Leadville 100 - I've been through Leadville once and wasn't too impressed, but the race course looks beautiful.
White River 50 Miler - awesome course, great scenery and usually pretty competitive.
Dipsea Trail Race - A classic trail race in California with a unique age/gender handicapped start.
La Ciaspolada - The biggest snowshoe race in the world, in Italy (6,000+ finishers!)
Sierra Zinal - one of the European mountain classics

Other:
AMC Hut Traverse record attempt
Ski the American Birkbeiner XC ski race in Wisconsin
Ski the Tuckerman Ravine headwall - will probably never happen unless I work on my downhill ski skills and grow some gonads
Ski from the Mt. Washington summit to Pinkham Notch Visitor Center
Hike the length of the Appalachian Trail in NH as a thru-hike
Ski from my house to Canadian border on snowmobile trails (~200 miles?)

I am sure I should have something related to road or mountain biking, but I can't think of anything yet. Feel free to add any suggestions or post your list on your blog!

Training Week 4/23-4/29 & Muddy Moose

M- AM: 6.0 miles in 51:14 with Jim at Purity Springs. Cold and wet and no dead moose.
PM: Black Cap fartlek (1:00 on, 1:00 off, all uphill) 3 miles, 25:31. 6 seconds slower than when I did it a couple of weeks ago, but considering I ran 22 miles a few days ago, I'll take it. Cold and wet. Horrible weather for training, but I wouldn't complain if it's like that on June 16.  1.0 wu, 3.0 cd.

Tu- 10.5 miles in 1:07:06 (6:23 pace) from Jim's house on the Silver Lake Loop. Way quicker than I would have run on my own, but I think I need some runs like that. He was dropping me like a bad habit on the climbs which were plentiful in the second half.

W- 7.5 miles in 1:11:29 up Kettle Ridge and down Red Tail on Black Cap with Jim. 41:46 to the summit. Second fastest time I've ever run up that trail. We weren't pushing just running a consistent pace. 1st time I've ever been sub-30 down the Red Tail on the way down too. 5 strides after.

Th- 7.4 miles in 1:11:14 on the Bloody Arm Loop with Jim. Felt good to go easy on the singletrack. Lunge routine after.

F- AM: 3 x hill circuit on Cathedral Ledge Rd. 3 x (:30 high knees, 1:00 tempo, :30 butt kicks, 1:00 tempo, :30 A skip, 1:00 tempo, :30 bounding, 1:00 hard, 10 squat jumps, all up a 10+% grade, jog down recovery). Quads were smoked after this. Great workout to work on leg strength though. 2.0 wu, 3.9 miles for workout.

PM: 6.8 miles in 58:21 at the Bolles Preserve in Chocorua with Jim. I felt like junk on this one and thankfully Jim took it easy on me.

Sa- AM: 8.0 miles in 1:07:53 on the Lower Moat Brook Loop w/ Jim. Nice and easy was the name of the game. Quads felt better.

PM: nice easy 5.6 mile hike into Zealand Falls Hut with Jess. I love that place and it was nice to get out for a hike with my lovely wife.

Photo by Josh Spaulding, Granite State News

Su- Muddy Moose 14 Mile Trail Race 1:25:06 (CR), 1st place, almost 3 minutes up on Justin Freeman and 3:45 faster than my course record from last year. I am super pumped with this race. I was psyched with my time last year, and honestly wasn't sure if I could run faster this year despite better training all of this winter and spring. I did know I was fit though and was looking for a good race with Double J and Justin. RD Fergus Cullen told us that the course was pretty dry, which wasn't surprising since we had a lack of winter or any rain this spring. I figured my trusty Inov8 X-Talon 212's would be perfect for the conditions though.

The three of us took it out at a pretty quick pace, but in control for the first mile or so, with Justin inching ahead before we hit the first mud pit. This first muddy section had been logged recently and was still covered in logging slash. I was able to tip toe may way through it and take the lead as we hit some drier ground. I stayed out front with Justin right on my heals as we hit the junction for the 4 and 14 mile races at around the 2 mile mark. We came through here in 11:36, about 45 seconds faster than I did last year. The pace still felt manageable though, so I stuck with it.

From here, the course dumps out on a gravel road for about a mile, and my worst fear came true when Justin went by me and upped the tempo on the fastest part of the course. I am nowhere near Justin on the flat stuff in road races, and he ran away from me on the few flats at Mt. Washington last year. I was having a hard time staying with him on the road, but I just tried to stay close and run as smooth as possible.

Right before the infamous escarpment I was able to pull ahead and take the lead as we made the hard left hand turn up the steep bank. I opened a little gap on Justin on the nasty climb, but worried that I may have worked myself a little too much on the 1/4 mile climb. Luckily when I reached the top I was able to recover a little as I shifted gears on the singletrack, which, little did I know, would be the theme of the day.

While bombing down the backside of the escarpment, I could hear Justin's footsteps as we worked our way down the smoothed out snowmobile trail. I just kept hammering along at a good clip, knowing that if I backed off Justin might go by and I might not be able to answer. We made the turn onto the Jeep roads at the bottom of the hill, which were dry and there were no puddles in sight.

Coming through the 5 mile aid station I checked my watch and saw a split of 29:16. Last year I was 31:00, so I knew our pace was still pretty quick, and well under the course record. I opened up a little more of a gap as Justin stopped for water and a gel, as my tiring legs kept motoring along. At this point I could tell I was slowing a little, but I just kept telling myself to stay smooth and let the fitness do its work. Easier said than done as Justin kept closing the gap on me on the way to the beaver dam loop.

Every year I take the left hand turn on this loop as I like to run the technical section uphill rather than downhill. The downside to this is that you have to get wet at the beaver dam crossing and your feet and legs might be numb on the climb from the cold water. Today was no exception. The water was about mid-thigh deep this year, but I managed to splash my whole body with frigid water as I tried to keep my momentum going forward. It took a little while to get warmed up again, but my legs were on fire once again when I reached the top of the hill. I still had Justin in tow though and couldn't afford to let up. Soon after, I passed Double J going in the other direction and he warned me of the rough footing ahead, but I couldn't manage to squeeze out a warning about the beaver dam.

After exiting the loop, I was able to open up my stride a little as the trail turns into a smoother Jeep road and has a slight downhill. I didn't dare look back to check on the gap, and kept my head down and watched out for rocks, roots and washouts. I came into the 9 mile aid station to the encouragement of Tad and Sheri Thomas in 54:06, compared to 58:00 last year! I had to double check my watch as I didn't believe that I had actually cut more time from last year's pace. At this point I couldn't hear Justin, but I still didn't dare to look back.

The last 5 miles I had to constantly switch gears as the course changed from Jeep road, to brutal climbs, to singletrack. Each time I changed my stride though, I would recover a little and use a different set of muscles to keep barreling along. The mile long gravel stretch was tough, especially with the head wind, but I was determined to keep hammering. I was slipping all over the place on the last muddy sections, but that was not surprising as my legs were tired and the trail was pretty rutted from 200 runners passing through it earlier.

I crossed the line in 1:25:06, 3:45 ahead of last year. I had no idea I would run that fast, especially after a less than stellar time at The Rivah. This raced showed that the work I have put in this winter and spring has really paid off. I probably wouldn't have run that fast without Justin and Jim pushing me though. I would rather run a fast time against competition and risk not winning, than win easy in a slower time with no competition. Also a big thank you to Fergus Cullen for putting on another great race.

2.0 w/ Jim, 3.0 cd w/ Jim and Justin (bonk fest).

Totals: 78.10 miles, 10.47 hours A pretty good week. Two solid workouts and an awesome race. Some of the "easy" days with Jim are a little quicker than I am used too, but I need that little kick in the butt, and I think we're both going to run better as a result.

Training Week 4/16-4/22

M- 12.5 miles on the Mt. Washington Auto Road. Progression run past the 6 mile mark (57:55). 8:09 9:15 9:06 8:57 22:26 from 4 mile mark to past the 6 mile mark. Road was clear of snow and ice until just past Cragway. 56:35 down

Tu- 5.1 miles in 48:12 at Whitaker Woods fun run. Earliest we've started these that I can remember. Ran most of it with Jim. Drills and strides after.

W- AM: 6.6 miles on the Conway Rec Trail with Peter Haine in 52:19. Nice and easy.
PM:  4 x Cathedral Ledge Rd. (0.9 miles, ~10% grade avg., much steeper in spots) 7:19 7:16 7:44 7:39. Goal for these was to run tempo effort and I went way too hard on the first two. Settled in nicely on the last two. 1.6 wu, 0.2 cd.

Th- 9.0 miles in 1:24:12 on the Upper Moat Brook Loop plus dirt road add-on. Felt ok. Just tried to run easy as my quads were fried from all of the downhill running so far this week.

F- 4.9 miles in 55:05 with Jim on Hedgehog Mtn. Good solid run and Jim was pushing the climb, so I just tried to stay with him. Quads still not feeling great, but that's part of training. Soaked in the Swift River for about 2 minutes after until I couldn't take it anymore.

Sa- 21.8 miles in 5:20:27 up and down and around Owls Head with Jim and Troy Shellhamer. What better way to get your legs to feel better than to go for a 5 hour trail run? This run was a lot of fun and it was good to run with Troy as I have known him for a few years, but we've never had a chance to run together. The conditions were mixed, but it was good running, especially for mid-April. Soaked in river after.

Coming down the Owls Head Slide

 Lincoln Brook "Trail"

Nice swimming hole / water refill station near 13 Falls

Su- 7.3 miles in 1:04:27 with Jim on the Wal-Mart Singletrack (Outer Limits). I forgot how much that trail climbs. I also forget when the last time someone ran away from me on singletrack on a training run was, but now I know it is April 22. Lunge routine after. felt surprisingly good.

Totals: 76.2 miles, 13.6 hours. Solid week. A good amount of volume, two good workouts and some up-tempo running in there. I'm not used to getting pushed on training runs, but I definitely need it. Good first week of mountain specific training. 8 more weeks until Washington.

Training Week 4/9-4/15 and Racing on the Rivah

M- 11.0 miles in 1:16:13 with Double J on the dirt roads of South Conway. Original plan was to do a few miles easy as a warm-up, then 12 miles of 3 min on 3 min moderate, but neither one of us was feeling great, so we just ran steady 7 min pace on the hilly roads.

Tu- 3.2 miles in 35:57 with Double J and Roger after timing the KHS track meet. Roger and I were ready to skip the run, but Jim guilted us into getting out.

W- 4.0 miles in 31:55 from Jim's house on the roads to the McNair easement, then the trail around the pond. Another day where I wanted to take a zero after hiking 12.2 miles up and down Cranmore for work. http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/82751775



View from my office for the day, Cranmore Mtn.

Th- 5.0 miles in 44:49 with Jim on the trails behind my house. I don't run there very often because most of them are dead ends. I really need to get out there and do some trail work to make some loops.

F- 6.1 miles in 48:06 from Jim's house over Chamberlain Ledge, Modock Hill Rd. and Pound Rd. Solid run.


The gloves say it all

Sa- Merrimack River Trail Race, 1st place, 59:13, 16 sec ahead of Tim Van Orden. Decent race. My legs felt like garbage all week, and race day was no different. No soreness, just felt like I had battery acid running through my veins all week. My goal was to just run smooth the first half and hope I could run a harder effort the second half.

I passed the first mile in 5:09 in the lead, right about where I am every year and was a little surprised as it felt slower that. I took my splits and tried to not think about times, more about the effort. I was running fairly quick despite how my legs felt. I wasn't breathing terribly hard, so I knew I was running smart. All the while I was being dogged by a mysterious runner, but I didn't dare look back to see who it was as I don't look behind me in races. The mystery runner stayed behind me all the way until just after 4 miles where we hit Powahline Hill. He was close on the hill, but I recovered quicker and was able to open up a good gap by the time we hit the 5 mile turnaround. I had 28:59 on my watch at half way, which I knew projected out to about 59:00 for the full race. I was hoping to run a couple minutes faster when I started looking at splits a few weeks ago, but I didn't feel like complete ass back then.

Making my way back I saw that my pursuer was TiVO. I was a little surprised to see that it was him, but I shouldn't have been as he's been running really well this winter and spring and is tough on the trails. I just tried to stay smooth knowing that I wasn't going to set a PR, but I wanted to put in a hard effort. I made my way back through the masses, each mile split a little slower than on the way out, some from running into oncoming traffic, but, mostly from fatigue. This race course should be right in my wheelhouse, but I've only managed to run really fast on it once.

Around 8 miles the course climbs up from the river onto a high bank and I had to opportunity to look behind me without turning my head, and I spied TiVo about 10-15 seconds back. I was running hard, but wasn't in the mood to have the race come down to a kick, so I put in some hard work in the last 2 miles to make sure that didn't happen. As bad as I felt the last 2 miles trying to run hard, a kick would have hurt a hell of a lot more.

I crossed the line pretty light headed, mostly because of my dead legs and not because I was breathing terribly hard. My face was encrusted in salt too. I'm guessing I have been dehydrated all week after the head cold I had last week and my 12 mile hike at Cranmore on Wednesday. I pounded 1/2 gallon of Gatorade on the ride home and drank more water when I got home. A good night of sleep helped.

A big thank you to Double D and Petey for putting on a great race.

3.0 wu, drills, no cd

Splits:
1 5:09
2 5:20
3 5:55
4 5:50
5 6:43 28:59
6 6:57
7 6:13
8 6:14
9 5:30
10 5:19 30:15 2nd half

Previous River Results:

57:46 2008 1st
58:58 2005 3rd
59:05 2010 1st
59:07 2011 2nd
59:13 2009 2nd
59:13 2012 1st
59:35 2006 2nd
59:48 2007 2nd

59:06 avg. time, 1.75 avg. finish. At least I'm consistent.



Su- 11 miles in 1:26:24 with Peter Haine at Lincoln Woods. We ran the Wilderness Trail out and the Pemi Side East Trail back. Some crazy damage from Hurricane Irene on the East Side past the Wilderness boundary. Soaked in the river for a few minutes after, but it was too damn cold!

Totals: 53.3 miles, 6.71 hours. A ho-hum week. It would have been a lot worse if Jim didn't drag me out the door a bunch of those days. Tim and I cut out the morning runs this week in order to catch up on sleep and get the legs feeling good again, but it didn't work. I didn't realize that dehydration was the problem until after the race on Saturday. A little disappointed that I didn't get the strides and drills in this week. This coming week leaves 9 weeks until Mt. Washington. I know I'm in better shape than last year and will start doing mountain specific workouts. It's going to be a fun build up.