May Recap

Week - 1

May's schedule was chuck full. Something that hasn't been out of the ordinary for the last few years.  The first weekend the gang suited up for another Muddy Moose Trail race.  Again with 6 runners.  Mandiee and Greg were to run their first Muddy Moose.  The day was perfect.  Grant beat the snot out of me for most of the race before taking off in the last several miles.  I wasn't monitoring my water and food and it caught up to me. A lesson i learned the hard way a few times in May.  

(Before we went and played in the mud)

Week - 2
The second weekend Loni was to yet again lace up her shoes for the tough 21 miler across the Wapack Range.  Last year Dustin and I thru-hiked it northbound.  This year as part of a now annual tradition.  Grant and I decided to "ultra" the range.  The weather would turn out to be a 100 times nicer than last year where it was a 12 hour trudge in the rain.  We were treated to miles and miles of views throughout the day.  The rest of the gang (Leah, and the Coe's) were hiking over the Temple range, but we wouldn't have very much time to chat due to the black flies when we crossed paths.  We saw loni trucking up Temple during her race a few hours after she saw us depart.  She was in good spirits and went on to finish her race strong and faster then the year prior.  This was however when our training run took a turn.  My stomach had been percolating for hours and then twisted, i hadn't been drinking much water.  Again, one week later, another foolish mistake.  The next 2-3 miles are generally my favorite.  This time they were my worst, taking several break on rocks and any bench i could find.  Luckily i wasn't too far into bonktown and my massive consumption of water and food had me back and racing Grant down the north pack to the truck.  If anything it was another lesson learned and more time on my feet in preparation for Pinelands and Peak.

(1 mile down, 21 to go)

Week - 3
On the 3rd week Mount Kearsarage was calling.  After hiking Sunnapee and Bog already this year we continue to knock out the "peaks" on the SRK Greenway.  I say peaks, because they are hardly peaks by any means, but they are still fun trails with great views of the local area.  The 5 of us meet Grant at the trail head on an overcast day.  We dawn our packs and head off.  Leah and I are the only ones to have done this stretch before, having hiked it or run it with Sherpa a few months prior.  I enjoy this trail in spots.  It has a sustained fire road climb, then twisting single track, then it slabs the side of a hill, and then just before the top, a brief stretch of bouldering.  In a short amount of time you are treated to just about every aspect you'll find in hiking.  The higher we get the more the clouds close in around us.  And before too long we have to dawn our rain gear.  At the top the wind is howling and the rain and/or mist soaks us through and we quickly chomp down any lunch or snack we have brought.  With more rain in the forecast we quickly scoot down the mountain.  Reaching the cars what seems like minutes before the storm hits.   Cinco-de-Mile was supposed to happen that afternoon.  But, after getting home and piling all of our clothes into a wet mound we decided it'd be more enjoyable to put that off until another day.  

(Leah climbing in the fog)

Week - 4
Week four came with much excitement.  All of us had a perfect view of Monadnock a few weeks prior (on Wapack) and we were excited to climb it.  The weather was again overcast but we hoped for the best, tossed on our gear and off we went.  The trail was a stretch that i had never done before so it was refreshing. Although i knew the gang was interested in some of the bouldering on a side trail that had always made me a bit uneasy in the past. We'd stop briefly from time to time to check out the view, or the non-view as it seemed.  The clouds were blowing through the valley and up and over us for most of the hike.  Occationally, if we were lucky and timed a vista right we'd be treated with a snapshot of the land below.  Luck again was on our side as we were able to eat lunch on a nice flat rock in the sun about a mile from the peak.  From here it was just a few rock hops to the summit where we were surprised to see what had to be hundreds of people milling about.  As per usual on the top of Monadnock, I want to get to the summit, stand on the US Geo Survey plaque and get away from the mob as fast as possible.  So we made quick work of the last of the climb and slid down the mountain as fast as possible.

(Strike a pose boys!)

(Sliding down)

Week - 5
Finally, Pinelands weekend was upon us. It was a perfect weekend for camping.  The big group of us showed invaded New Glouster Maine over the course of two days.  Mandiee ran her first 10k on Saturday and Grant set a PR at the 50k on Sunday. Race Recaps to follow.  Summer has officially started!!

(Post Race)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):

Miles Run: 106.3 (123.9)
# of Runs: 10 (4)
Average Miles:  10.6 (30.9)

Month Starting Weight: 177  (172) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 175 (172)Lbs
Weight Change:  -2 lbs

Race Results:
1st - Muddy Moose 14 - 2:37:34
7th - Wapack 21 Mile Fatass - 7:23
28th - Pineland Farms 10k - 1:09:06
29th - Pineland Farms 50k - 6:13:23


Motivational video of the month:
Best Motivation Video

Song of the month:
A Good Day to Run - Darryl Worley


Book of the month:
UltraMarathon Man - Dean Karnazes
I know it's old and expected.  But I did and still do enjoy picking it up and reading a chapter or two to get motivated


Upcoming June Events:
4th - Peak Ultra