2nd Generation Ultra Runner

2011 Year In Review

2012-01-03T08:00:00.010-05:00

I'm not a big fan of getting all sentimental, blah blah blahs, but it's been another great year. And to pair up with the year in review video I add this.

Notes/Accomplishments from 2011:
I broke into another race (age) bracket
Keira's Frist Race
Started our own Mini-Barkley Race
Mandiee's First 10k
Grant PR'd his 50k
Took a trip back to Maine and completed the trails on Katahdin
Did the entire Belknap range in one day
Knocked out another Week on the LT
I was made fun of on a Nationally syndicated radio show
Loni, Grant and Leah all finished their first Marathons
Rob's first Race

Race Breakdown:
Non-Ultra Races - 9
Ultra's - 4
Fat Ass's - 7

Additional Nerd-esk breakdowns (Thanks to Steve Latour on Facebook)

Miles for 2011 - 849.9

Race Miles (Does not count fat asses) -227.4

Training Miles -622.5

Number of Runs - 134

Overall Mileage per times I put my running shoes on - 6.3miles
Highest Mileage Month - May (106.3)

Lowest Mileage Month - April (44.9)

Number of weeks with 0 Training Miles - 5

Stupid Factoids:

In September I ran 5 times totally 89.9 miles which averages to 18 miles per run!

Longest Running streak was 8 days, Once in Jan & once in July. Shameful

Shortest Run - 0.8 (April)

Longest Run - 50 (Vermont 50)

And last but not least, the year end slideshow video:

Direct Link

December Recap

2011-12-31T22:00:00.059-05:00

Week - 1

Leah and i did something a bit unorthodox in our relationship in the first week of the month. We had not one, but two date nights. Our first date was a lovely night of Tai food and watching The Muppets movie. I can't say enough good things about that movie. I bounced around in my seat, i cried, i laughed. They couldn't have done a better job bringing back a classic. Date night number two found us sipping amazing margarita's at Hermanos in Concord (Thanks Nate) as we waiting for our "sold out" showing of The Way. Actually, we had an entire theater to almost ourselves. Two other people came in just as the movie started. This movie was out of this world. It made me laugh, and i actually cried a little. It's got me pining to get back on the trail. I miss my 40lb backpack. I've been out of the woods and in a cubicle for too long. I highly recommend BOTH movies.

( Muppets and The Way )

Week - 2

A busy weekend was slated as Rob and Keira were to host their annual "Fancy Pants" party to give everyone an excuse to dress up and pretend to be classy while playing inappropriate card games and consuming some of their liquor bar. We descovered a new game that will have to work into rotation asap called Loaded Questions. Straight from one hangover to the next it was off to Stockbridge VT where we'd get to meet the newest member of the Fortin family named Lula. No, not a baby, but a million times better...She's a fuzzy little chocolate lab puppy!! After an amazing meal and several hours in the hot tub it was homeward bound. And nothing helps a hangover like making wine. The smell of booze and grapes in the air. Leah and I started our first attempt at making wine at home with a Pinot Noir. I'm sure you'll hear more about that as it progresses.

(Being Fancy)

Week - 3

The Third weekend was nothing much to write about. Loni was off to her Christmas party and i got to house sit my fuzzy buddy. Mr Surley old Buttons. He's still my best-est buddy even though the photo says otherwise.

(Sir Butt-of-Tons)

Week 4

Loni hosted her annual Solstice dinner where she treated the group to a wonderful Lasagna meal. A run was slated to happen, but we all wussed out, it's dark, it's cold, none of us were feeling up for the task. So beers and stupid amounts of food were consumed instead. Since Loni changed her dinner to Lasagna that opened up my ability to cook up a spiral ham for the small second annual "loser Christmas eve" where i cook for a few of my friends and family that don't have any other places to be on Christmas eve. Spiral Ham, Smashed potatoes, Green Been Casserole, Crescent Rolls, Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Pie, along with an amazing truffle/fruity dessert.

(A Buffet of Food and Beers were served)

Week 5

Christmas was fantastic. I hid at home, watched old time cartoons from my youth and sketched. My goal is to have logos for most/all of our club's events and some additional nonsense to give my blog some more cartoon-y flare. I've got a long way to go. Most of my work isn't that original just yet, using other artists work as visual (postures, facial expressions, etc.) examples and tweaking their characters to suit my needs. I'll get there eventually. I just need to spend more time putting pencil to paper.

Thursday night was a treat when I got to run a nice nighttime 8 miler with Sherpa John back in town from Colorado. His stories are always second to none and helps the mileage fly by. Even when he lived a few hours away we never ran together that much. But the short time we shared on the trails really made me miss the miles that we had.

Leah and I transferred one of our wines into the second carboy and hopefully it'll be clearing off and ready to bottle in a few weeks. And in a perfect world, drinkable come spring/summer-time. Along with starting a new batch of cabernet sauvignon for summertime as well.

When this posts the gang will be gathered in Nashua partying down. Hope you've had a great year. I know i sure have. For those wondering, the 2011 Year In Review video will be up in a couple of days so stay tuned!

(First Sketch of the year)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):

Miles Run: 46.6 (18.5)
# of Runs: 12 (7)
Average Miles: 3.8 (2.6)

Month Starting Weight: 176 (172) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 180 (179)Lbs
Weight Change: +4lbs

Race Results:

n/a

2012 Events/Race Schedule

2011-12-28T10:00:00.014-05:00

Jan:

21st - Thank God the Holidays are Over Party

28th - Winter Blahs 25&50k (Bear Brook)

Feb:
18th - Leah's 7th Annual Luau

26th - Hammy Slammy in Hillabamy III - aka Birthday Run (31 on 31)

Mar:
15-19th - Shamrock Marathon Weekend

24-25th - 10th Annual St Patties Day Bash   (Details to Follow)

April:
1st - Foxley Book Hunt  (Details to Follow)

xx - Muddy Moose 14 Miler

May:
5th - Cinco de Mile?? (Details to Follow)

12-13th -  An Adventure Run (LT Southern Section?)

28-30th - Pineland Farms Running/Camping Weekend

June:
xx-xx - Leah's Camping Adventure   (Details to Follow)

xx-xx - Long Trail NB Section??

July:
xx - Grant's July 4th Bash

8th - Hillsboro Balloon Fest 5k

xx-xx - Grant & Josh's Summertime fool's run

29th - Escarpment Trail Run

Aug:
4-5th - 3rd Annual Summer BBQ Bash  (Details to Follow)

xx-xx - Long Trail/AT NB Section??

26th - Fox 40 (Details to Follow)

Sept:
2nd - Jay Peak 50k

8th - Susquehanna Super Hike & Ultra Trail Run

16th or 23rd?? - Pisgah 50k

30th - Vermont 50

Oct:
6th - Oktoberfest in Hillsboro  (Details to Follow)

7th - Oktoberfest in Windsor

T.B.D. - RANH V - 2012  (Details to Follow)

26th-27th - Ghost Train Trail Run Ultra

Nov:
23rd - Turkey Trot

25th - Loni's Birthday Run? (Details to follow)

Dec:
REST!!

November Recap

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Week - 1

The Month started out with the Stonecat Marathon. The day started cold, but the sun came out it warmed into a perfect day. Complete recap can be found here.

(Parting with the Cat)

Week - 2

11's are Wild Run happened on friday night. I don't need to any anything more than what Loni wrote on her wall. Seemed to sum it up perfectly.
"Ran an awesome11k at 11pm on 11-11-11 with Josh and Leah. Highlights including walking threw Fox forest with no lights on and hearing ice crystals/rain hit the dry leaves. Watching the full moon go in and out the clouds. Awesome narly old trees silhouetted against the night sky. Moonlight horse pastures. Quacking nervous ducks in cages. Watching my shadow glide in front of me, felt like I was flying watching it. Silver moon reflected in puddles and streams. Yep it was good :-) thanks josh for the idea and hosting !"

(The Evil Night Tree)

Week - 3

"Anyone intested in this run?" Was sent out to the team. The response came at a a fevered pace. YES! Run only 1.25 miles and then HAVE to drink 23oz of beer AND eat a hot dog in a relay?? Boy that sounds like a perfect race for us. Our team of 30-ish year olds still trying to relive our college days that do a "beer mile" annually. Needless to say we didn't put together one team for the event, but two! And the photo recap of the day can be found here.

(The Team)

Week 4

Per yearly tradition. After a trip to Vermont for Thanksgiving it was off to knock out some miles on Loni's Birthday Run. We had a bit of a concern after the recent snowfall of what the woods would have in store for us, but the only thing we had to deal with was some cold wet feet on the last lap.

(Happy Birthday Puma)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):

Miles Run: 95 (45)
# of Runs: 12 (13)
Average Miles: 7.9 (3.5)

Month Starting Weight: 178 (?) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 176 (172) Lbs
Weight Change: -2lbs

Race Results:

Stonecat Marathon -6:30:54
11s are Wild - n/a
Hallo-wiener Relay - 54:27
Loni's Birthday Run - 18.5M - 5:15

Upcoming December Events:

n/a

Stonecat Race Report

2011-12-21T22:00:00.001-05:00

Saturday November 5th, 2011

It had been 6 long years since i'd made the trek down to the GAC stomping ground in Ipswich, MA. Last time, it was a frigged lonely solo race. I had a cold, and i struggled through two laps. This year, after being pier pressured into signing up for the race at the last minute, i'd be running with 6 or 7 ultra buddies along with having many many more miles of training under my belt.

(Dark Start)

For those unfamiliar with the race the 50 milers and the marathoners all line up on the edge of a massive sports field and take off into the dark. The marathoners having to do an extended lap around the field and down the road n back to make up the extra 1.2 miles needed to tack onto our two 12.5 mile laps through the state park. Grant and I fall in line as we tend to do and shoot the breeze. Our conversation interupts from time to time when the crowd yells from in front. "bench!" or "swingset!" and the pack splits around whatever obstacle blocks our path. One older fella turns with a disgusted look and says to us "This needs a cone!"

Grant, myself, and the rest of the pack shrug, run around it, and go about our day. We laugh about how he must be a road runner, because a trail runner wouldn't get hung up on anything foolish like that.

As we work our way down the road we shoot the breeze about how Grant had just got power back for the first time in a week after the unexpected early snow had knocked out much of southern NH. I told him about how i hooked up my new transfer switch and should be able to power all essential items in my place. Blah blah blah, boring i know, but it helped pass the out and back on the flat straight pavement and before you knew it we had ducked back into the woods.

We were following what seemed like an atv trail just off but paralleling school grounds 50 feet away from where we started. I heard the whoops from a few runners ahead but didn't notice the giant puddle until my left foot was ankle deep. So much for my new shoes being new. Yes, like a fool, i had purchased new shoes after the VT50, but couldn't have been bothered in even putting them on before this morning.

The sun is rising and the trail is slowing lighting up more and more. After shedding a few layers we're finally able to ditch our headlamps and start enjoying the trail. I had forgot how much fun this course was. Funny what time does to the mind. I swore i'd never come back for years after the last time. Leah, Peter, Grant, Loni and I all swapping leads depending on what the terrain was like. One of us would cut off for a bathroom break and the other would jump right into the conversation like we'd been running together for years.

Grant and I started talking about our strategy in the upcoming Halloweenie race. Which then of course turned into a, well lets take our Cinco De Mile run and add food to it. Which soon turned to even more bad ideas. Other ultra runners will understand what running in the woods for 26 miles with 5 of your closest crazy friends will do. Grant mentions his friend that was growing ghost peppers. "Enjoy your colostomy bag," Leah chimes in with the quote of the day. A few turns later and we got to the water crossing. It was pretty awesome. I'm not going to lie. I love water crossings. It really separates trail runners vs road runners. The poor souls that showed up hoping for a flat marathon in the woods would be bitching for the rest of the day.

(Crossing lap 1)

(Same Crossing, Looking back, Loni close behind)

Soon after the crossing you pop out into Al's Cat Lounge where we are greeted with a ton of volunteers and smiling faces. Grant and I joke with the volunteers and how they must be holding out on us because there isn't any beer out yet. "Next lap" we're promised. We top off our water bottles and take off chasing the rest of the group weaving through the single track.

(The Lounge)

A few miles of single track later, before we popped out into the second aid station, I let the group run ahead and i ran off trail to snap a photo and take a breather. It's spots like this and times like that where i really appreciate to do what i do. Perfect silence. Sun rising the background. Cool, crisp, natural beauty.

(Swamp Mirror Reflection)

Before too long we're heading back to the start. Peter and I having some GI issues were pining for the school and a restroom. We jetted ahead and before long we were crossing the beaver pond that you could hop from rock to rock to get across without getting wet if you were careful.

(Navigating the wet trail)

Back at the start after our first lap the winners of the marathon (two lap-ers) came screaming in. I know, some runners would feel shame, or whatever about these guys. Personally, i have too many interests to train like these guys train. For a road runner, i'm sure there is a cash hand out. To many a trail runner, a win means nothing more than the first pick of sizes at a finishers jacket. And that's why I'm a trail runner.

I made a b line for the rest rooms before anyone else came to our drop bags. Peter was close behind, as was the rest of the gang. I promised that we wouldn't leave without him. Funny part of the day was when one of the volunteers said. "Breakfast is on." while pouring a massive pot of bacon into a warming dish while i was getting some water. I of course looked at my running mates and said....bacon?? And of course went for a strip or two. "Protein, fat, salt. I'm down in all of those." I joked with the aid station crew.

(Everything is better with bacon, even marathons!)

With daylight on the first part of the second lap it seemed like everything was new. I got to snap a photo of the corkscrew tree/vine that was a bit hard to see on the first lap.

Loni was shocked that she was keeping up with us. She is not the fastest runner, but currently she was the most trained of the group. She hadn't gone out of the gate too fast, but like the wild cat description i gave her many a month ago, she'd closed the gap. And passed us with silent grace while we'd fool around in the aid stations.

(Sunny Single track)

(Smiling Ferret)

Loni volunteered to run through the water crossing on the second lap before us to record this pretty awesome footage. Leah and Peter out in front. Then Grant and I playing like a couple of kids. It's pretty awesome.

Like last lap, you ran just far enough to warm up your legs from the crossing and you'd pop out at the first aid station of the lap. This time I needed water in my pack for the first time. While the friendly volunteer poured the pitcher into the bladder i had taken out of my pack he asked me if there was anything else he could get me?
"Yeah, how about that IPA you promised on the last lap?" To which i didn't get a smile, but a shocked, "OF COURSE!" I said id' split one with that guy, pointing ahead to Grant further down the table, still in shock of how responsive he was. "Anything else i can get you? a shot?" I smirked...."sure what the hell." Before i could finish answering the fella had called around the ez-up tent to another guy. Who emerged and said, "you want some 'booka?" in the thickest accent i have ever heard. I'm 18 miles into a trail race, the sun is out, i'm running with my best friends. With the biggest smile i had on my face responded to this guy, "is the sky blue?"

Loni and Peter had headed down the trail. Grant, Leah and I were enjoying the open bar. Marathon? What Marathon? God we're a bunch of jokers.

(Beer at mile 17? What "wall")

Uh oh, i started hitting a sugar low and the pack started pulling away. I took a recap of what i had eaten all day. Only one gu, 2 strips of bacon and two drinks. I quickly slammed down 2-3 GUs and chugged a bunch of water. This is what i ALWAYS run into when i do these race with a group of people. I lose track of what I need to do and blow up. Today obviously was no different. So i paused, looked up and took in the scenery as the sugar and carbs got into my system.

(Looking skyward as the gang pulls ahead)

As the much needed fuel starts hitting my system i start to run again. I catch the gang quickly and just as quickly, surprising to me, i dart ahead. WAY ahead. And i actually wait at the next aid station for a good 5-6 minutes for the rest of the gang to catch up to me. I later find out that Leah had a rock in her shoe and was digging it out on the side of the trail.

Leah darted in and out of the aid station like a rocket. Peter was amazed and said that he had to get her before she burned out miles from the end. I said it was ok, and that she'd slow down on her own terms, and that she had other things on her mind. But like a stubborn father protecting his offspring, like my father many a time with me, he went after her and slowed her down. It made me really miss my dad and i was bummed he couldn't have been here today.

(I think the flagging on the tree sums it up)

After passing through the last field we could hear the honking in the distance. THE CAR! that i had rememberd so well. The mascot, the horn, the corney music, the booze! The memory of 6 years prior came flashing back to me as i rounded the corners.

(Cat Coffee Car)

Cat - "What can i get you guys? Coacoa? Coffee? Kahlua?"

Me - "How about one of them there PBRs my furry friend?"

(PBR's FTW!)

A beer and a few turns later the 4 of us were crossing the finish line. I was about to hand my gear to Leah and run back out to see where Loni was only to find out that she was seconds behind us. We were all a little bummed that we didn't see her first and we could al finish together. A few hamburgers and hot dogs later we all parted ways until another time. A new yearly staple? Perhaps?

Results:
Leah - 6:27:28
Peter - 6:27:28
Grant - 6:27:28
Josh - 6:27:28
Loni - 6:30:52

Hallo-wiener Race Recap

2011-11-30T12:00:00.001-05:00

November 20, 2011

A Race that someone said, "this seems like a race that Team Robert came up with." Well i say no, we didn't come up with the idea. Nor put on the race. But dang it, we kicked it's but with a smile on each and every one of our faces. Normally i do race recaps of ultra's but this thing was so odd and unreal that i figured a mostly photo and caption recap would suffice. Hope you enjoy!

(Team Scooting Schoolgirls)

(Team Hillsboro Hell Runners)

(The Starters taking to the line full of nerves)

Mandiee (14:39) DOMINATES the first leg and gives Keira a nice cushion before Rob takes over for the winded Greg (16:35)

(Greg Making the handoff)

(Keira Strutting her stuff in the lead. She's sexy and she knows it)

(Rob putting the hurt on an Angry Bird)

(beer soooo big!)

(Rob taking the task in stride)

Rob(15:30) (running his first race) not only reduced the gap in the run, he killed the beer and hot dog and left Keira (17:31) in the dust and passed me the baton WITH A LEAD!

(Off like the wind)

(But Loni is close behind)

(Easy peasey, had i looked back though Loni was in site)

(Omnomigon)

(Strike a pose, tap tap...uh oh)

(Loni's closed what little lead i had)

I (11:33) finish my hot dog and slam the rest of my beer and see that Loni(16:52) still has a ways to go i know it's in the bag now.

(Grant, the anchor, is out ahead)

(Leah too a few minutes later, but she's got a game plan)

(wayyyy out ahead)

(Grant decides he's not only going to win the race, but also beat the girl sitting next to him)

(Piece of cake)

(Meanwhile Leah is battling her own demons, they just happen to be a pirate)

(Leah's technique, the dunk!)

(*hurk* Am i done now?)

With our fastest runner Grant(10:49) as our anchor the lead only increased over the schoolgirls. Poor Leah(12:22) even with the schoolgirls fastest time didn't stand a chance.

Official Results
Hillsboro Hell Runners Scooting Schoolgirls
Greg - 16:35 Mandiee - 14:39
Rob - 15:30 Keira - 17:31
Josh - 11:33 Loni - 16:52
Grant - 10:49 Leah - 12:22
54:27 1:01:24

(The Gang, all smiles again once the beers and hot dogs settled)

October Recap

2011-11-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

Week - 1

October kicked off with a perfect Sunny weekend. Loni, Leah and I took advantage of the weather and didn't run a step. Fresh from the VT50 we were all still licking our wounds and decided that yard work was where it was at.

Week - 2

To make up for our lack of a long run the previous week the three of us went out and put in a 4 mile run out and along Farah Marsh before dipping into Fox Forest for a short while. It was a much needed butt kicking with what was to lie ahead later in the day. I was to host my 5th Annual Oktoberfest, and with a massive menu as per usual i'm sure we ate all of the calories burned back instantly.

(Taking a Break in the sun to enjoy the view over Farah)

(Another Oktoberfest, more of the same old shenanagans)

Week - 3

Going into the 3rd weekend of the month Leah and I decided to head up to Laconia and watch the FB&HW show and got our 15 minutes of nationally syndicated fame. You can read up on that here. Then it was our chance to help our friend Nate on his Painful Summer finally. An annual RANH Crewing adventure. You can read his write up here and here. Compounded with after being up all night with Nate that we'd head to Bedford to be part of the Animal Rescue League 5k. Oddly enough, after 1 hour of sleep, Grant and I knocked that sucker out of the park coming in 4th and 5th in our division.

(Beard 2 and Beard 1)

Week 4

In our final chance to get in a "long run" before the Stonecat Marathon Loni, Leah and I decided to head out on a 15 mile run down by the river. No there were no motivational speakers in a van. There was however, a cute dog that we dubbed "10k" after she followed us 6.1 miles from Henniker all of the way back to Loni's house. After no help at all from either town's police and animal control i decided to just bring her to the animal control barn. Boy the dildo that was in charge of that place STILL leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Although, after calling back a week later we were told that she was picked up by her owner within the hour.

(Fall colors)

Later in the night, to recover from the run and ensuing traumatic interactions with the disasters in town we fired up some good old fashion Hockey Night in Canada. To relive my favorite times in college i made sure i had at least two games going at once. The Canadians on the big screen playing the leafs and Bob Cole calling the game between the Jets and Canes.

Week 5

The Coe's were throwing their annual Halloween Party Saturday night. One trick was that New England was going to get wolloped by our first snowfall of the year. I didn't really pay much attention as news pretty much blows anything and everything out of proportion these days. But i didn't entirely discredit it either and i got my tow straps and come-a-long tossed into the bed of the truck before we headed 20 minutes away. While picked up some tastey beverages in town I got a phone call. My neighbors wife had slid off the rode and he was wondering if i could help her get out. Sure no biggie, or so you'd think, until you see someone dressed as myself(see photo) approaching you blizzard like conditions. Before the end of the night i had pulled 3 people off of the side of the road and about an hour after we got home the power went out. The total snowfall was AWESOME! I can't recall having this much snow so soon.

(Imma sexy Beer B*tch)

(The following morning)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):

Miles Run: 52.1 (34.3)
# of Runs: 10 (5)
Average Miles: 5.2 (6.9)

Month Starting Weight: 174 (169) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 178 (?)Lbs
Weight Change: +4lbs EEP!

Race Results:

Harpoon Oktoberfest Road Race - 30:50
ARL 5k - 24:38

Upcoming November Events:

Stonecat Marathon
11s are Wild
Hallo-wiener Relay
Turkey Trot 5k
Loni's Birthday Run

September Recap

2011-10-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Week - 1

As per every Labor Day i'm off to Vermont to catch up with Ramon. This year my old friend Amy is back in town from California visiting family with her son. We haven't seen one another in years so i extended the invite to a Lake Monsters game figuring her little guy would have a blast. The Monsters dominated the game from the start and a good time was had by all. Upon return to Ramon's place another marathon of NHL11 was in order. In the morning my phone beeped at me with an unfamiliar number. It was my boss. My boss NEVER texts me. Well, obviously Hurricane Irene had done some serious damage to VT and VTrans had put out the requests for help and my company said we'd send out people ASAP. So i had to cut my time in Vermont short and scoot back home that night, to get my house set up and pack to return BACK to Vermont all in a 12 hour period.

(Labor Day Lake Monsters Game)

Week - 1-2

After driving the better part of 500 miles in 12 hours we were sent out to start checking routes and verifying road closures around the southeastern part of the state. I knew that the damage was bad, but i guess photos online didn't really do it justice. Over the course of the next week and a half i would put in 100 hours and drive 2200 miles. In that amount of time it was impressive at the work that was accomplished and it was equally as amazing to how small of a dent they had put in the damage.

(Cavendish Wash out)

(Before/After's of Route 107)

Finally after getting back to NH it was time to relax and catch up with normal life. The long days, the hours and hours in my truck. It was great and all, but i had ZERO time to run, ZERO time to just unwind, and mostly, ZERO time to enjoy my favorite fall beer.

(Harvest!!)

Week - 3

Finally being back home for a weekend meant i could swing into town and hit the last weekend of the Hillsboro Farmers Market and take advantage of the last of their fresh corn on the cob and summer squash. Can't go wrong with BBQ Veggies on a night before a big race. The Pisgah 50k! Race Recap here

(Team Robert)

Week 4

Vermont 50 Number 11. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year. The buzz around packet pick up. The Ice cold Long Trail Beer and blackened chicken wrap on the deck overlooking the Ottauqueechee. Followed by a night sleeping on the ground and a day of pain and suffering. Race Recap Here

(50Milers at the Start)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):

Miles Run: 89.9 (123.9)
# of Runs: 5 (12)
Average Miles: 18.0 (10.3)

Month Starting Weight: 172 (169) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 174 (171)Lbs
Weight Change: +2lbs

Race Results:

18th - Pisgah 50k - 7:22:23
25th - Vermont 50M - 11:44:43

Motivational video of the month:

Brooks Superfans

Song of the month:

Great Big Sea - Ordinary Day

Book of the month:

n/a been struggling finishing anything of late

Upcoming October Events:

Oktoberfest!
Harpoon Oktoberfest Road Race
Nate's RANH 2011
ARL 5k
Hall-o-Weenie!

We're Live!!!

2011-10-14T14:01:00.002-04:00

So today (10-14-11) Leah and I ventured up to Laconia to be part of the FreeBeerandHotWings at the Pitmans frieght room. The 3:30 am alarm was rough, but being part of the show was awesome. I've been a listener/fan of the show for the better part of the 6 years they've been on the air on The Hawk. Leah was hooked after crewing for me one year at the VT50 and the only thing i had was a podcast on my stereo. So when the email came out for the live show, off we went. The event was BYOB and after a few hours a live woman's forum was announced, and with little coaxing Leah took the microphone.

The beat up wasn't over when later in the show during the "What have i learned today" segment, we came up again. We were a call back, our 15 minutes of fame wasn't over :)

All in all it was an awesome show. I can't wait for them to return to the area, even though they killed the hell out of my stupid facial hair and my lack of commitment ability.

2011 Vermont 50 Race Report

2011-10-12T20:00:00.005-04:00

September 24-25, 2011

My 11th start, and second without Rik. I'm a little saddened that Rik doesn't make it out to this event anymore, but our group has expanded and more and more friends have come out. It's makes the weekend and event something I continue to love year after year. As per every year, we started out by spending a good chunk of Saturday on the patio at the Long Trail Brewery. Beers are flowing, people are having a grand old time, but the afternoon is wearing on and we're getting antsy to move a little. Peter, Leah's dad is up again from Pennsylvania to run the relay, says, "Well, we can always go to Harpoon, they're open until 9." Well that was all the convincing we needed and within an hour we were at a second brewery having several more rounds of frosty brew. Grant was the Vermont 50 virgin this year, so to give him the true Vermont50 experience my father gave me all of those years ago we slept on the ground, no tent, under a tarp. Why you ask? The theory is, if you put in enough time suffering the night before, the running gods will show you pity and spare your soul during the race itself.

(Steve Latour and the Gang again Pre-Race, yes Leah may STILL have been tipsy in this picture)

(Team Bounding Belanger)

After waiting around for an hour in the dark watching wave after wave of biker disappear up the hill we were finally ready to start. Julie, Steve, Peter, Grant, Loni and I take to the starting line. Julie, all nerves still, battling her own demons was chomping at the bit to get going. Steve, the calm in the storm, always with a smile and a good story to tell. Peter, excited to be running the other two legs after running the middle leg last year. Grant and Loni beating themselves up already about how he should have trained more and how ill prepared they were for this.

It's not 2 minutes into the run when my stomach grumbles. I roll my eyes at how I opted to NOT eat that bagel this morning after i discovered how hard it was and quickly eat a GU and start slamming down water. Grant notices this and says "Wow, you're starting already?" By the time we make the first couple of turns the group is well spread out. Julie is long gone, Grant, Peter and I trotting at our usual pace, and Steve at the back of the pack keeping Loni company. We hit the dirt and a familiar face says to me, "Hey, where's your pop?" It's Martin Philip, another trail runner that i had crossed paths with several times now at either a WNHTRS or Pisgah It took me a second to place him. I think it had been two years since we'd crossed paths last. We pass a guy with no water bottle, no food, and no shoes? Is that guy wearing Vibrams? boy that poor bastard is in for a long long day. I learn my first lesson of the day when the trail is re-routed due to the Irene damage. Had I read all(any) of the 20 emails leading up to the event, or had even thought about it after all of my fieldwork it would have been a no brainer, of course the bridge would be out. Needless to say we were treated with several more hills in the first stretch of trail than I was used to. My calves were screaming and I wasn't even at mile 3. I tried to keep that info to myself. Commiserating about pain at mile 40 of an ultra, is OK, at mile 3, you're probably out of your league.

(If you look closely you'll spot a llama-llama-duck!)

I tell Peter and Grant to load up on food and that there's a long climb out of the first aid station. I swear i pass 15 people just standing around at the table and catch up with Andy Weinberg and Joe Desena on the climb. For those who don't know, they are the directors of the now infamous "Death Race" and other Peak Races/Camps just up the road in Pittsfield. I try to match Andy's pace for awhile to catch up, but have to let him go after 1/2 a mile because there's no way I would have survived.

The guys catch up to me again and we trot along through the pines. I love this stretch of single track. It's still early enough in the race where you're fresh, it's a slight downhill and the ground is soft and spongy. That and I know that there are several miles of hard packed road ahead so I enjoy it while i can. At the turn there are huge signs telling you to go right down the hill if you are a 50 miler. Yet, every year, some boneheads miss it. I overheard someone saying that they missed it this year too. Unbelievable. Martin has done a lot of training on these stretches of roads which is good. He's well prepared for his first attempted at a 50. Grant, on the other hand, after the first aid station really felt the climb and the tiredness from the run the week prior. I tell him not to sweat it, pop some pain killers and push on. At a climb he tells me it's time to take some salt, and i do, but while doing it, promptly spill my container all over the ground. I begrudgingly pick a handful of them up and put them back into my bag. Little did i know that later i would end up using the extra salt tabs that i would have left there.

The Mud is pretty epic in spots. I can't imagine trying to ride this stretch on a bike. I found out later that Martin had actually lost not one, but BOTH shoes in this stretch of trail. I mention that drink up, we'll be at the aid station in 5 minutes at our current pace. And perhaps we'll catch up to Leah after all.

We run into Skunk Hollow about 30 seconds after Peter, and catch a glimpse of Leah darting off down the trail. And about 30 seconds AFTER us, Steve L has caught up. Grant loads up on food while i fill both of our bladders. This next stretch of trail is one of the longest un-aided stretch of the day and it's mostly long painful climbs on hard packed roads. As per usual i load up on a ton of food and take off knowing that i'd have 15 minutes to eat it on the next climb, i just had to get there without dropping it all first.

(Town Farm Hill stretch)

Steve and Grant pair up while i try to stay just ahead of them. I'm going through a rough spot and am not feeling too chatty so I keep an eye on them over my shoulder. They eventually catch me at the next running section and we all fall in line again. Steve talks a bit about how he's the race director of a couple of events and how diverse their running club (TARC) is. In the next long climb I notice a familiar piece of clothing ahead. I think that's Leah, hot dog, it IS Leah AND Julie! The starting group, sans Loni (sorry Loni) is all back together for the climb up Garvin Hill. One of my favorite spots on the course. I love the climb and the views are fantastic from the top. Martin and Steve take off ahead while Grant, Leah and I take advantage of the photo op.

(Top of Garvin)

Leah zips ahead on her fresh (only 7 miles in) legs and Martin, Grant and I try to keep an eye on her from several switchbacks behind. It was fun to keep her in sight and not know exactly how far behind we were. Before too long you could hear the cooling sounds of Cady Brook. Which was a relief as the cloud cover that we had on Garvin was breaking up and the temperature was rising.

I get in and out of Cady quickly and tell Grant to grab a TON of food, he hadn't been eating much and we were about to climb for the next 30 minutes. No matter how many years i have run the race, this stretch is always a bear and is a surprise on how much time is lost on this climb. Martin tells me about how he'd run this stretch of trail a few times while training and how washed out it had been just a few weeks prior due to Irene. Grant, was slowly falling behind. At a nice water spot I told Martin to go ahead and I would wait for Grant.

(A nice spot to dunk your head)

The trail starts to level out, and you think you're done when you get to the gate. Or at least that's what Grant was hoping for as he caught up to me sitting there. Only to be crushed when i told him that we'd be turning and going up this other hill. The look of f me, are you serious washed over his face. "I dunno Josh, you might want to run your own race from here." I tell him he's doing fine still. And i'd been exactly where he was one year. One of my DNFs actually happened right at that gate, when it was a location of an aid station back in the early 2000s. Before too long we were trotting a little again, i had to snap a photo of this home made sign. It was too perfect. I wonder how many times someone had knocked on their door and asked if they had a tractor to pull them out.

(My GPS was wrong?!?)

Shortly after you get to one of my favorite spots on the course. It's what "Beware the chair" means to me the most. You could spend hours here given the option. I've sat here in years past and enjoyed the view over blood hill towards your final destination, a mere 20 miles in the distance.

(Beware the chair, they're the devils work)

From the wonderful spot photo'd above the trail ducks back into the woods and you come out on the start of the VT100 course back down towards Smoke Rise Farm. When you pop out on the road you get a long slow climb up to Margarittaville and the Frozen Fins. I drop my pack here and grab some food. I know I will have put some distance between Grant and myself in this last stretch of climbing so now it was time to utilize it. I wait for maybe 5 minutes. Several runners come into the aid station and leave. I get a little worried but decide that i'll talk this time to use the restroom only to find that i had a pretty good amount of rash on the rise. Finally Grant slowly walks up the hill. The lack of training, last weeks race, the heat, and the many many climbs we just came up has beaten him down badly. I tell him he's doing fine, to eat some food, drink some soda and lets keep walking. We were still ahead of the cut off and he would snap out of it. Unfortunately he would have nothing to do with it this time. "Josh, you've gotta go ahead," ... I'm pretty sure i'm going to drop at Dugdales. The second part he didn't actually say, but he said it with his eyes and his body.

I reluctantly walk on ahead and before the next two turns i've easily put 1/4 a mile between us looking back through the fields. I catch up with Martin on the decent down into Dugdales. He seems glad to see a familiar face again and we chat a bit about how Grant was going through a low and that he might be done. His knee is bothering him a bit and I ask if he'd been taking any pain killers. At this point I was 2 deep myself and the drugs were obviously kicking in. I blasted down the hill leaving Martin behind quickly. I catch up to a couple who were really nervous about missing the cut off. I assure her that we were well ahead of the cut off, at least i felt that way, and then I started doing the math myself. I don't run with a watch, i run this race by feel. And I had FELT like i was well ahead of the cut off. That was until i got to the bottom of Dugdale's driveway when a bonehead sitting on the stonewall said i only had 6 minutes to climb the hill before the cutoff. I look at him like he's got 3 heads. And once i got to the office time keepers they mentioned i had almost an hour. I laugh and tell them they should go correct the fella at the bottom of the hill before people give up before even reaching the aid station.

At the top of the hill i see Leah and give her the scoop on Grant. "Whatever you do, don't let him just quit. Give him a few to sit down, have a beer, eat some food first. And if he still isn't feeling up for it. Then it just wasn't in the card." How's Peter doing? Leah had put almost 15 minutes on me in the last stretch. She assures me i'll catch him but I doubt it. As i'm leaving the station i hear Martin tell me that he'd caught me and I was a SOB! We laugh and walk out of the aid station together. He's concern about going further than he'd ever gone before. I told him that this next stretch of trail was the reason i keep coming back to the course. The tight wound single track, the party house with the cooler with the beers, (of course, by the time I get there, it's full of empties). The temps at this point are still steaming hot. I take my shirt off and Martin gives me a cat call. I respond with a, "oh yeah, all the ladies love my white pastey belly!" The two woman on the switchbacks around us don't even smirk.

(The Birch Tree "Claw")

At the party house they had put a hose out for the runner. I soak myself to the core. My body temperature felt like it dropped 10 degrees. I've got new life. I know Falloon's is at the top of the next climb and after that i should be well ahead of the reaper. It would be the last time I saw Martin or ran with anyone really. I screamed in and out of Falloon's and sang my annual line near the "love shack" where Sherpa had left Gilly and I the mushroom note the year prior.

I would hit my last low of the race coming into the relocated Goodman's Aid station. The woman that owned the property saw how hot i was and said. "I've got a hose right over there on the side of the house." I thanked her for her generosity and told her that 50 miles was plenty enough, and extra steps weren't in the plan. She then responded with some military-esk bs quote that really rubbed me the wrong way, essentially saying a strong runner would take her up on it. I thank her again, through gritted teeth and turned my hatred towards the boneheads running the aid station. The peanut butter and jelly was smashed, the snickers were melted flat. I asked if there was any turkey sandwiches while drinking the last pre-poured cup of coke. "Oh, well this stuff has been out all day, so it's probably not any good." One idiot tells me holding up at least a pound of cheese and turkey still deli wrapped sitting on the table in the sun. The other dummy goes, "Well, there's probably some here in the cooler," and proceeds to pull out a whole other pound of turkey and cheese. SERIOUSLY? You couldn't be bothered with putting the gross stuff either back in the cooler before it went bad or hell, maybe on a sandwich? And then you then tell me that 2 feet from you IN a cooler you had cold stuff and there still wasn't anything pre-made? WTF!! HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? PLAYING GRAB ASS WITH THE PUSHY PROPERTY OWNER? I just look at the three of them smiling at me from across the table like over-medicated retards and say forget it. I leave the aid station and proceed to just eat the reserved GUs i had packed in case i ran into something like this. Sadly, at the VT50, this is nothing new.

*Sidenote*
I wouldn't be so pissed about this if the damn race didn't cost so much. 11 years ago i ran this race for 55 bucks, day before race. There would be plenty of food at the aid stations, and hell there was ACTUALLY FOOD saved for the back of the packers at the end. Since that time. The race has grown and the focus has become less and less on the back of packer and more and more on the bikers and the elite runners. I mean, it's great that the race is growing and more and more people are loving the sport, but the back of the packers are the people that NEED that stuff the MOST!!
*Ahem* Sorry about that.

The next stretch of course ties back together with some familiar terrain, then some unfamiliar terrain. I'd catch a handful of bikers on the next climb. They'd blast past me at the end decent. Much of the trail work done in this last stretch is fantastic.

(New Bridge)

Somewhere around the 5 miles to go sign my stomach twists and then turns. It hadn't been great all day, and it never is in the heat. But with the 3 GUs I'd eaten in the last 5 miles, combined with not eating real food since Falloon's 5 miles before that, it was at an all time low. I take a few long swigs of water hoping it would sedate it. No deal, it was beyond the point of no return and I barf just off of the trail. Gross? Perhaps, but my current record at this race has been, two times I've puked from the heat, and two times i'd finished strong.

(Who hasn't run a VT50 without stopping and taking this pic?)

I cruse through Johnson's catching up to a nervous biker who's been waiting for a fella he'd started with hours ago. He was debating on riding on himself or waiting longer for his friend. He asked me what i would do. I told him i wouldn't wait for him here. You've still got 3 roller coaster miles and the more time you wait here the less likely you'll be able to finish this thing. Hell, his friend might not have even made it past a previous cut off. He reluctantly nods in agreement and is off. The next several miles i trot along alone. I stop to take a photo at the waterfall and enjoy the last few miles of the day. I wonder how close Peter is, or Steve, and i wonder how Martin hasn't caught up to me yet.

(Final Mile Waterfall)

Before i know it the trail cuts out onto the final slope. The course switchbacks a few extra times giving me plenty of time to hear the crowd roaring for the runners and bikers just ahead of me. I pause at the bridge to snap a photo of the finish line before blasting down the hill past the rest of our crew and finishers towards my 7th VT50M finish. Before too long Martin runs over the bridge and is greeted by his wife and kids. I give him a grand high five as he runs through the shoot. It's always neat to be there for someones first 50mile finish, especially when you can see them share it with family. You can read his recap below.

Results

Loni - DNF - Margaritaville (27.6M) - 6hrs +/-

Julie - DNF - Dugdale's (31.9M) - 7.5hr +/-

Grant - DNF - Dugdale's (31.9M) - 7.5hr +/-

Peter & Leah - Team Bounding Belanger - 11:14:53

Steve L - 11:33:19

Me - 11:44:43

Martin - 11:57:17

Other Recaps/Links:

Martin Philip

Julie O'mara- Raw Vegan Runner

Steve Latours Photo Recap

2011 Pisgah 50k RR

2011-10-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

September 18, 2011

When Rik and Steve decided to make the trek down the night prior a quiet night of pasta and rest turned into a feast, a fire, beer, a late night, and much talk and laughter regarding a honey badger that didn't give a sh*t. The somehow managed to show up to the race on time and caught up with Grant and the rest of the Vermont Ultra crowd with plenty of time to spare.

(A Groggy Team Robert Pre-Race)

We said our goodbyes to the group that would be long gone and home before Grant and I finished and we were off down the hill. We caught up quickly talking about how little we'd trained for this event. Me, being off in Vermont doing fieldwork, and Grant, well, taking the ladder part of the summer of to relax and enjoy his in-ground pool. A combined THREE miles between the two of us over the last 3 weeks was laughable. We knew then and there that we were in for a long day. The weather was pretty much perfect, what fog their was on the way to the race lifted quickly and the sun started to poke through the clouds.

The group split into two, Grant, Steve Latour and I heading on the 50k route, Steve, Loni and Rik taking the 23k. Leah's super-hike was canceled in PA due to the previous weeks flooding so she was out to crew and do some hiking and running on her own in the park.

(Steve L. and Loni)

(Steve and Rik)

Grant, Steve L and I shared the first couple of miles. Chatting about how dry this section of the course was compaired to years past. Then the subject of blasting through puddles came up, which lead to Grant and I laughing about how mad we made people this year at the Muddy Moose when we went straight through the first puddle. Steve, not to be outdone, mentioned that he had done that before at a race and someone had said to him, "Easy there Moses!" What a line. It wasn't too much after here where Steve said we were going way to fast for him. This should have been an early sign of what was to come.

(The old junker car about 200' off the trail)

A few miles later we were at the first aid station and had caught up to Kenny Rogers and a young lady running together. He gave us a friendly hello as always and then was off quickly before we had much time to catch up. It wasn't to much after this where we saw a fella rubbing his back on a tree like a bear. "What the hell??" I said to Grant. Dude looks back at us and shouts. We stop. "What??!" He yells again and more urgent this time. "BEES!!" Before either of us could yell "where?" I heard an unpleasant buzzing surrounding us. "OH F ME! RUN GRANT RUN RUN RUN!" Grant managed to go unscathed but i got stung 3-4 times on my right bicep before I smashed the bee while in a full sprint. The poor guy ahead of us had a couple go under his shirt and was stung pretty badly. The one perk I thought was, well at least these bee stings will distract me from the pain i'm going to feel before the end of the day.

(Grant trotting ahead through one of the more pretty sections of trail)

I ran for awhile with Eric Sherman, the fella i had run many a mile with at Pinelands a few months ago. It was good to catch up with a familiar face and chat with what races he'd been doing and which ones he's aiming for in the near future. I pulled ahead of Grant on the next stretch of trail on a long slow climb up out of the 3rd aid station. This would be in typical fashion for the next couple of races that we'd do. I'm all business in an aid stations. That and I was running with almost 5L of water. While Grant was running with his small pack with only 70oz, while my dumb ass was running with a 3L reservoir and 2-32 oz water bottles, never mind the food, clothes and other nonsense i had crammed into my pack in a sleepy haze that morning. He laughed at me, but the time i was able to make up in the aid stations as i'd only need to fill my bladder ONCE all day helped greatly. Well, as much as one could with no training. I figured If anything it would simply increase my suffering and the running gods wouldn't come down quite so hard upon me.

(First View of Monadnock)

We catch up with a woman from just outside of Montreal who had traveled down with a group from her running club to run the race. In fact, they do a lot of traveling for races and had been here before. We chatted breifly about Mont Tremblant which was right in her backyard. And is put on by the same race director as the old Jay Challenge in Jay VT. She was obviously well trained, and quickly left us in the dust. Grant and I were starting to cramp. Nuts, too early for this nonsense. We throw down salt tabs and pound some water. We both know we're in deep trouble at this point. Neither of us had peed since the first couple of miles and we were now pushing 15 miles. I had to make a bathroom break and sent Grant on ahead. This is a bit embarrassing, but it was worth mentioning once i caught up to him on the next climb. "Hey have you ever tried to pop a squat in the woods when all your legs want to do is lock up and make you fall over?" We both laughed at the terrible situation that i had just encountered.

(Mile 17 aid station bridge)

I slam down some generic coke, grab a bunch of cookies and head out of the aid station towards the climb up Pisgah itself. Grant says he'll catch up and re-fills his bladder to make sure he doesn't run out on this next stretch of trail. I hear familiar voices as they start to reel me in on the climb. It was Steve again with a young woman in tow. He seems amazingly strong and power walks past us just before the summit. I'm floored at his relentless pace even in the steep sections. Grant shoots the breeze with the young lady for the next stretch of trail as i managed to stay one corner ahead of the two. I shoot a message to Leah to let her know that we're almost at the summit. After doing some hiking/running on her own for the last few hours she'd been napping at the summit and was planning on running the rest of the course with us.

(At the Peak)

From the peak it's a quick jaunt down to the dreaded Killborn loop. I say dreaded because it's at this point every year that i just crack. Last year i had contemplated dropping here, Mike (a VT ultra bud) actually DID drop here this year. I grab a banana and head off down the trail, figuring that Grant is still running strong and this next couple of miles is all downhill and run-able. Even though i wasn't really feeling up to running. On the loop we catch up with a woman and her brother? Who we chat with for a little while. She's driven all of the way from Ohio to run the race. Part of her running a marathon or further in all 50 states, and has never done such a trek as this. I tell her that she's a bit crazy for coming so far to run this course, and that the worst of the race is behind her. She replied with a, "I'm crazy? You just told me you've done this race 8 times!" in a grand sarcastic tone. Touche' friend, Touche'

The one really nice part of the Kilborn loop is the log work over some of the more wet sections. Sadly they've deteriorated quite a bit over the last few years, but they still do the trick.

When we get back to the Kilborn Aid station the second time i'm all but done. My stomach is trashed, my cramping is gone, but the damage was done. I couldn't have eaten another GU if you had put a gun to my head. I was just ready to be done. The thought of a burger and sitting down was pulling me along. Shortly after the parking lot and we turned back into the woods we caught up to a fella wearing the shortest shorts i'd ever seen in my life. This shorts would make old men in a ymca locker room blush. Then again, he might have fit right in there. Needless to say, coming up on said person on a climb, from behind, made us speed up and pass as fast as possible. If that dude is reading this, please, buy newer shorts, or at least wear spandex. ANYTHING! Grant was feeling good and decided to take off and meet us at the end. But with the two climbs he hadn't really put much ground between us after about 10 minutes and said forget it and that he'd rather spend the rest of the day with us if he's only going to be 30 seconds ahead.

Before we knew it we were at the road, and i zipped ahead as fast as my sore, beat up legs could make it. Grant, still running strong on the descents caught up quickly. I joked about how Rik had gotten a beer from these guys that always have a party during the race about a quarter of a mile from the end. Low and behold, they were outside by the grill cheering late runners in as per usual. He offers Grant a beer. I joking yell, hey where's mine?? How many do you want? Ha, this dude isn't kidding, I'll take 2 more! He hands Leah one and another fella up the driveway tosses me one over the pickup truck into the road. I make a terrible attempt at catching it, drop it, but pop the lid and guzzle down the bubbling brew without missing a step anyways. I yell thank you over my shoulder and that was the turning point. At the top of the next climb both of us had finished our beers and we were running again. Grant, much faster than I, but that beer had settled my stomach and helped me forget about the tenderness in my under-trained legs. We both rolled across the finish line at a respectable 7 hours and 22 minutes. Obviously not our fastest run, but we weren't going for speed today. We now had only 6 days now to "taper" to the Vermont 50.

Peak 54...err..um..50k Race Report

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday June 4, 2011

So as per usual, in true Team Robert style, we had a late night at Dustin's. We don't see one another too often but when we do, it tends to lead to good storytelling and many a cold one. The running gods were smiling upon us and granted us a clear, cool start. It was looking like an amazing day to be in the woods.

(Pre-Race with Julie)

We get to chat with Vic, John, and Dave (who's crewing/volunteering due to being sick) and catch up on how things have been going in Vermont. How they've been training for the VT100 and/or the Wakley Dam coming up in July. It's funny how quickly we just pick up where we left off as if we had seen eachother more often than once every 4-6 months. Andy gives us the run down on how bad Bloodroot is this year. He's not doing a good job selling the 54 miler to me today. I chat with Julie who last year didn't run with trekking poles and looked at me with envy when i passed her with them. This year she's been training her butt off and has poles in hand. No messing around. (Her Recap here)

(Loni and I already doing the ultra shuffle)

The race starts out as it always does, three, two one, go. But one of my favorite parts of this race is the immediate climb at the start. So really you don't start running at this thing until at least 1/3 of a mile. Gives you a chance to catch up with other runners. Joke about the brake neck pace, and lets the elite fast runners pack down all of the pucker-brush you've got to go through. I decide early on that i would run today's race with Loni even though i'd signed up for the 50 miler. When Rik decided not to come I knew i'd be alone for most if not all of the second half of the race and i just wasn't feeling it.

It was a PERFECT day in the woods. The climb up Colton was a bear as it always is. A good wake up call only 7 or 8 miles into the day. This year with an extra long bush-whacking stretch of ribbon to ribbon trail. I was having a blast in this section of trail so I'd pull ahead for a bit, then relax and chat with volunteers at the aid stations. They'd give me puzzled looks when i'd sit down and chat while waiting for Loni to come around the previous bend.

(Bushwack? AWESOME!)

Somewhere between Colton's and Upper Michigan 1I had found a tennis ball on the trail and proceeded to kick it further ahead and watch it roll in a tire track until we would catch it and I'd repeat the process. I swear i had it going for at least 1/2 a mile before i bounced off a rock and shot deep into the woods off the trail. Just before Upper Michigan 1 we caught up to Vic Torrito. Another Vermont Ultra runner that i had shared the miles with years and years ago, and about 3 years ago told me at the Jay Challenge that running with me was "like running with your father 20 years ago." The three of us would shoot the breeze and walk away the miles between Upper Michigan 1 and Upper Michigan 2.

(Getting the run down from Dave on the rest of the guys)

When the three of us trotted back into Upper Michigan the woman behind the table told me I was off to run Bloodroot next enthusiastically. I smirked and told her, not today. I had nothing to prove. I'd run bloodroot the last 3 years and i owed that stretch of trail nothing. I was having a blast with my two buds and that i was going to get off of the trail today before dark. I knew not only if i did the 50k I would be home earlier, but that i might actually get some of the race BBQ that i pay for every year, but never get to partake in as there are rarely any PEOPLE around, never mind food left by the time i get in. She tried to pier pressure me into the 50 mile but i wanted nothing to do with it. I said, "well then DNF me, because i'm going this way," and was off to catch Loni and Vic who had moved on ahead knowing that i'd catch up.

Leah caught up with us at the bottom of Tweed River and planned on running the last 10 miles in with us. It was great to have a fresh set of legs and stories to tell. Before we knew it we were at the top of Joe's at Cabin One. The course had changed and it was breaking my brain a bit. I was finally starting to slow down and trying to give words of encouragement to Loni and Vic who had been running into a bit of a wall themselves. It was hard to do when you'd be on a stretch of what was once familiar terrain and then go right when we had gone left in the past.

(View from Cabin One)

From Cabin One we took a steep decent down to the road to Cabin Two, which was the last aid station. A couple of banana and cups of coke later we were off to tackle the last major climb and then the long steady switchback decent of the Fuster's Trail.

(Easiest?....At Peak? I think not)

The work the Green Mountain Club had done in here even since the Peak Snowshoe race was phenomenal. The blazes on the trees were second to none. The amazing slope cuts, the switchbacks, the berms. It would have been a pretty stellar time to be on a mountain bike. Instead we plugged ahead. With a turn or two to go Vic must have smelled the finish line and zipped off. I had said to Andy to make this course more challenging they should not have runners cross the snowmobile bridge and make you walk through the river. I asked the question, is this cheating? Am i cutting the course? Then i shrugged it off and splashed in while Leah and Loni took the dry route.

From 2011-06-05 Peak50k

With one last chance for a photo op Loni and I pose by the Cow Scull before making the last climb up to the finish line at 9:13:55. Vic had come in maybe 5 minutes ahead of us and was pumped that with our company he was able to knock a large chunk of time off of last years event.

(Making a deal with the cow head)

(Post race, Both runners taking almost an hour off of their times the previous year)

And as i had predicted. I got to enjoy the post race bbq, i had finished with the sun high in the sky, Dustin had spent a good chunk of the afternoon with his dutch oven preparing an epic dinner. Julie was out in the woods for another 7 hours. Nothing wrong with that, but she had hit Bloodroot almost an hour ahead of me. That means i would have been out there another 8+. Looking back on it, i'm still pleased with my decision.

Pineland Farms 50k Race Report

2011-09-30T20:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday May 29, 2011

(Grant and I Pre-Race)

Another great morning for a run at Pineland's. I knew cloud cover would be key since i'd be out here for a long time today. Grant, who'd been training and I decided that today we'd run our own races. I knew my lack of training would only slow him down, my goal in finishing around 6:15 and his goal of 5:30 just wouldn't mesh. After a mile i knew i'd never see him again except maybe miles and miles ahead of me on one of the foolish switchbacks.

In the first field I found myself running next to a runner i'd run with in the past named Kenny. We ran together and talked about the races we'd already run this year and had on our plate going forward. If there is one thing i really like about running Ultra's in New England, it's the fact that the group of people is still so small you know just about everyone after a couple of years. I was quicker out of the aid stations than he was, but he was a much quicker runner so I wished him the best of luck and watched him disappear out of site in one of the next fields.

The course loops back past the start finish and this year I made it quick enough where i got to see off the 25k Runners in our club. I snapped a quick photo, and wished them all luck, and told them not to drink all of the beers before i got back.

Grant had run through almost 15 minutes ahead of me and was looking strong. I knew i'd never catch him so i settled back into a leisurely pace and decided i'd just enjoy the rest of the day. It was at this point where i met up with a fella named Eric Sherman. He was very laid back and we shot the breeze for the majority of the rest of lap one and a decent chunk of lap two. The clouds were starting to break up and the sun was cutting through. This was terrible news, although the sun makes the scenery much nicer, the fields are simply brutal once the sun comes out. I slow down more and decide to stop and take photos along the course whenever i needed a break.

(Small waterfall 3-4 miles into each lap)

(One of the many fields we run in, around, and through)

As i come back through the grove on my second and final lap I'm greeted by Leah who just finished her 25k. She gives me a kiss and tells me that Dustin and Heather aren't too far behind. And that Loni was a bit further back taking her time as to not cause injury before her 50k the following weekend. I get to the final mile aid station and see Grant scream through in his last mile. He's almost 4 full miles ahead of me. Unreal. I tell him congrats and to go get it. He certainly did and killed his goal and set a PR by running a 5:14. I see Loni through the woods a few turns later and holler some words of encouragement. From here on in it was just left, right, repeat. My goal on the inside was to not let anyone else pass me, and it worked for a little while. Even the few runners that would catch up to me would give me a rabbit to chase for a few turns before they'd dissapear. Soon I was back at the final mile aid station where i saw Grant almost a full hour prior. I had caught up to Joe Hayes, another fellow ultra runner who we always seem to cross paths with. He's in rough shape and tells me to keep going rather than slow down and chat. As i get close to the finish line the rest of the team is waiting for me, beers in hand, and shouting encouragement. I trot across the finish line at 6:13:23, a pretty decent time. Nothing special, nothing terrible. It's about what I'm used to running. Within a few minutes I was enjoying a nice cold beer with my buds and talking about when we were going to start the plans for 2012.

August Recap

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Week - 1

Our schedules jam packed during the week, so when our plan to escape up to Maine for the weekend went awry we decided to make the best of our local destinations. Saturday was spent Blueberry Picking at a spot in Weare that i drive by every day, but hardly make a note of visiting. Leah would shake her head in amazement at the amount of berries i'd eat vs put into the bucket. Needless to say i was very full once we left. On the ride home we stopped in at Pats Peak to give the course another shot. Unfortunately with minimal training and the terrain being as pitched as it is, we'd yet again have to cut the lap short. A few beers and some icepacks later we decided a nice long run in Fox Forest on Sunday would have to be in order to make up for cutting Saturday's run short. Loni had been out running the trails earlier in the day and left us a nice message 3/4 of the way through our 10 miler

(Loni left us a Sherpa John message)

Week - 2

After last year's successful First Annual Summer BBQ I had decided to throw it again. Mostly as an excuse to cook a stupid amount of pork and have our quarterly catch up with many of my friends that i don't see that often. I had both sides of the grill rolling. The smoker filled with two massive pork shoulders and 3 racks of ribs. And the grill had a dozen ears of corn and enough zucchini to make a vegan proud. When you bring any number of my friends together inevitably someone will say, "Hey, lets do shots."

(Another party, another round of Car Bombs)

Week - 3

We spent most of the middle part of the month out on the Long Trail. Between last week's party and next week's fat ass it would be a much needed get away and recharge. Or at least that's what i had hoped it would have been. Hike Recap here

(A nice morning on the LT)

Week 4

Thursday night before Fox Forest FatAss V2 I got a message from my father. Turns out he'd be down in the area on Friday and I convinced him that he should spend the night and run some of the FA with us. He hesitated a bit at first saying that he'd hardly run a step since the Peak Snowshoe back in March, but decided to run the first 10 miles with us. The run went off without a hitch, unfortunately it wasn't without incident. He ended up locking his keys in his car and had to break out a window to get in. Guess the running gods weren't pleased that he would depart before the end.

In honor of Hurricane Irene that was to hit us the following day Loni had mapped out the course to run down Hurricane road, a road that was created in the wake of a 1936 hurricane that came through hillsboro. Of all of the time i've been in the area and run the trails i had never run Hurricane road from end to end. And of course, our post run beverage of choice...the hurricane!

(Even I can do this math)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):
Miles Run: 49.4 (108.5)
# of Runs: 7 (22)
Average Miles: 7.1 (4.9)

Month Starting Weight: 165 (169) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 172 (169)Lbs
Weight Change: +7 lbs

Race Results:

Fox Forest Fat Ass Vol 2 - 7:35

Motivational video of the month:

I am a Champion

Song of the month:

GBS - Hit the Ground and Run

Book of the month:

n/a

Upcoming September Events:

Pisgah 50k

Vermont 50M

Pineland Farms 10k Race Report

2011-09-27T21:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday May 28, 2011

(Pre-Race, still smiling)

In 2010 Grant and I had run the Barefoot 5k in it's inaugural year. This year, since Grant had been training his butt off all spring and didn't want to jeopardize his chances of a 50k PR the following day, i had to find another victim...er partner to run with. Mandiee had expressed interest months prior in running a 10k. I figured this would be perfect. Rolling trails, generally cool temperatures, and a silly excuse to get boozed up later that night. For me, it was just getting out and putting in another handful of miles to add to my meager total on the year.

(Looking a bit more nervous just before the start)

The weather was just about perfect. It was a big muggy, but that aside, the temps were cool, the sky's were overcast, you couldn't have asked for a better day for a first 10k. Mandiee was full of questions, "Am i ready for this?" "What do i do?" "What should i be eating?" Perhaps i'm not the best person to run your first 10k with, but i think my response of, "don't worry about it, you're going to do fine." was really sufficient. Less than 1/2 mile into the race she says to me between puffs, "You aren't going to make me run this fast the whole time are you?" I simply smiled and said, "maybe, at least we'd be done faster right?"

The ultra runner in me always wants to walk the hills, so of course i did at the first "major" climb. (Major in quotes because it's simply perspective and Pineland's is timid by comparison. While I enjoy the break, i forget about how long Mandiee's legs are and she can easily out hike me. Fortunately she's breaking into her own personal barriers as she runs beyond any distance she has run in the past. "I can't do this, can we stop?" I give her a GU Packet and tell her to scarf it down, drink her water, and "Smile, it's a great day to be in the woods, soak it all up!" How would i live to regret those words the following day.

(Almost there)

With only a few climbs to go I ask if she can smell the BBQ. Or hear the music or the roar of the finish line. Poor thing, she's in her own little world. I think trying to not lash out at my positivity in a time of great pain and suffering. I tell her she's got plenty of gas left in the tank and we could catch that woman in the red shirt. Next thing we knew we were picking off other runners that were burning out at the end. I tell her that she's made it and all she's got to do is sprint it in. "No f-ing way!" and then takes off running. Her long stride making me regret poking the bear.

(Finish Line Sprint)

We crossed the finish line is a very respectable 1:09:06. We grab our water bottles from the little boys volunteering at the end of the shoot and she finds the first open spot to lay down. For a trail race, and a first timer running a 10k she did fantastic. I think plans for the 25k are in the works for 2012!

(Can i stop running now?)

Long Trail Section #2 - Part 4

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Emily Proctor Shelter - Lincoln Gap (9.7 Miles)

It's another late start from Emily Proctor. As soon as i woke up i could feel the tension in the air. It seemed like everyone was a bit stressed about the weather ahead and the long day planned for tomorrow (16 miles). While i go about my morning ritual no one offers to pump anyone else's water. I'm just watching to see how this will unfold because I've pumped the water for everyone, every day up to this point. Loni pumps her own water and splits. Leah is rushing trying to get her pack together so we can catch up. I tell her to relax and we'll catch her on our own time.

Before long we're off down the trail. or in this case, UP the trail. From Emily Proctor you start a long climb up to the top of Wilson Mtn. Warmed up in the middle of the day, it probably wouldn't have seemed so bad. But first thing, with cold legs and a sore back, it was a big of a wake up call. I put some distance between myself and Leah figuring that the three of us would all meet back up at a vista that was a few miles into the hike. I caught up to Loni and just that vista. Looking back at Killington it was pretty neat to see how far we had come in a few days. Especially cause we didn't see half of it in the rain and fog. Leah caught up about 5 min later and looks distressed. "I've already taken 8 painkillers."

We tie up here knee and move on at a crawl of 1 mile per hour. A yelp every now and again from Leah depending on how she stepped was all that was said in the next couple of miles. We grumbled at the soupy muddy trail. Soon we all spot Moose tracks in the mud. And they are surprisingly fresh. I ponder if Rocket saw him as he zipped up the trail earlier or if we were actually closer then we thought.

(Moose tracks in the mud)

While snapping the above photo another NOBO screamed passed us. He said we must have been at Emily Proctor last night because our tracks were pretty fresh. Then he noticed the moose track and said, "hmm, those too actually." I told him to scare him off the trail for us and before the next turn he was well out of sight. A mile or two later a couple sectioning south updated us on the trail ahead. "It's not any better up there is it? Nope, Dang it, well i won't lie to you and tell you the trail gets any better behind me either." The climb up Cleveland is brutal, but nothing compared to how quickly it descended. There wasn't even a nice vista to enjoy at the top. One minute we were climbing, next we were descending. Another disappointment of the peaks in this southern section, the lack of vistas. A few quick steep switchbacks later we were eating lunch at Cooley Glenn. The decision had been made. We would leave the trail at Lincoln Gap. So i decided it was time to gorge and ate my biggest lunch of the week consisting of tuna, a cliff bar, AND beef jerky. It was quite a treat sitting there in the sun.

(The Gals at Cooley Glenn Shelter)

After convincing Leah to NOT take more pain killers it was a .8 mile climb to the top of Grant Mtn. The last significant climb of the day. I'm in good spirits, full of food mid-day for the first time all week. I blast ahead knowing the end is near. I no time we're on the rock outcrops of the summit of Grant mountain. Although, if you didn't know you that these were at the top, you'd keep hiking and start to descend like i started to. Leah tried called a few people in hopes to bail us out. No luck. I'm torn. I feel bad that her knee is hurting as much as it is, but when i suggested we call people last night when cell service was actually good i was scoffed at. And now, cell service is spotty at best and no one is answering and part of me is like, good, see, told you so. We drop down from Grant into a couple of neat groves. You can tell there are old pastures or orchards as the trees were widely spread and ferns were three feet high. We'd pause from time to time to snack on trail mix and point out a neat tree. Before too long were were climbing up the last small climb to Sunset Ledges. A viewpoint that opened up vastly to the west and where we hoped we'd be able to get a hold of our taxi out of the woods.

(Snack at the Sunset Ledges)

No answer, then no service, then full service, then no service. It was frustrating at best. I looked to my old buddy Ramon up in VT. Thinking he might be able to come down and help us off the trail. Having lived only 3 miles from where our destination was originally going to be and he was semi familiar with the area. That and he had some LT experience when several years before he roomed with a LT Thru hiker and did a little Trail Angel-ing at the time. After leaving him a voice mail we plunged into Lincoln Gap. I knew we'd have to walk one way or another out of the gap to get service. I looked at the map and made the call. To Lincoln we go, turn your phones on and we'll hope for the best. It was 3.4 miles to Lincoln. Down a long gravel and pavement road.

(Death March down Lincoln Gap Road)

Thank goodness a mile down the road we hit a Verizon pocket and got service for five feet. Ramon was an hour away and heading to pick us up. Hot dog. Things were looking up, even though Leah's gate had gone from a painful full stride to a short limp with a lot of tears. An hour and 3 miles later we were just outside of Lincoln and Ramon drove up in his rescue vehicle. Good thing too, as there wasn't a THING in Lincoln aside from the post office. It would have been a long walk to the next town hitching.

Quote of the day:
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you guys fucking stink"

Postscript:

Much Like the 2010 Section hike on the LT the last day post-trail wasn't without incident.

After Ramon dropped us back off at my truck and gave us virtual hugs (we stunk too bad to hug us directly). We headed south. The pace of people was unbelievable. Even in podunk Vermont the pace was out of this world. After almost getting into two accidents for doing nothing but driving the speed limit in a lane that i had every legal right to be in we got off the highway. Berlin had a restaurant, i recalled it from my years at VTC and i was right. Within 5 minutes we were at an Applebees for some real non-dehydrated food for the first time in 4 days. Now sure, Applebee's isn't AMAZING, but after eating space food that you needed to add boiling water in for 4 nights straight it was bliss. After we had dominated the appetizer combo and put a dent in each of our entree's we were Killington bound to pick up Loni's car.

The Girls tried to nap while I tried to stay awake crusing down I-89. I was zoning out behind a truck and trailer when...BAM!! A piece of cord wood kicked up from the trailer's tire and smashed into my windshield. I thought for sure it was going to shatter and we were going to get into an accident. It was very much like a youtube video from earlier this year (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjV2m70hA4o). Thankfully somehow my windshield didn't bust, but my chest certainly felt like it did. That a wake up call you can't get from any Dunkin Donuts. The wood hit it just right and bounced off, if you can call it that, although i did get a nice dent and scratch on my hood. By 2am and without incident we finally pulled into the driveway. It was nice to be home. Overall it was a rough stretch of trail this year. So bad that I wonder what will happen in the future. I know i'll thru-hike again, but boy, this week left a terribly bad taste in my mouth.

Long Trail Section #2 - Part 3

2011-08-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Sucker Brook Shelter - Emily Proctor Shelter (11.7 Miles)

So remember the group that didn't want to move over. Well i woke up to find the woman on MY pad! Frustrated i break camp early before the girls even got ready and bolted up the trail. And it was a great day. For the first time of the week we were treated with a warm sunny morning. I enjoyed being alone and ahead of the group for once. I just let my mind wander and tried not to eat every spider web i walked into.

I stopped to write my journal 3 miles down the trail on the top of Middlebury Snow Bowl. Sitting in the sun and finally drying out for the first in 3 days i was quite pleased. A little breeze kept the bugs away, the birds sang in the trees, for the first time since I'd stepped foot on the trail i was happy. The gals came into the clearing almost a full hour after i had arrived. Everyone decided i had the right idea and they laid out their gear like i did.

(Top of the Snow Bowl)

Soon we were off down the trail to find some water before/after the gap as the guide said water was harder to find in the next stretch of trail. At the gap we waited, and waited...and waited for loni. I was starting to get concerned and started crunching numbers, an ultra rummer no-no. When loni finally arrived i asked if she had got lost or hurt, but nope, was just taking her time and enjoying the trail.

We climbed up out of Middlebury Gap and into the Breadloaf Wilderness. Briefly talking to an older couple coming back down saying the trail ahead was "a rushing stream" haha, no kidding. I'm still crunching numbers in my head. Today was our shortest day of the trip. What time is it? How are we going this bloody slow?? Are we at the top? We find a nice little spot where someone could shadow camp and had our lunches of cliff bars. A half an hour later we are finally at Boyce shelter. I write a quick entry while waiting for loni to show up and chat a bit with Rocket before blasting ahead again.

(Log Bridge that ran out before the water did)

I finally catch Leah who's out of water and spot some SOBOs and chat trails ahead for both for us. Seeing dog prints in the mud i wonder where it is. Leah and i come across the little flat faced pug at Skyline with Queen of Social Awkwardness and a couple of young kids. It was obvious they were busy, thankfully Loni arrived soon there after and we split. The climb up Breadloaf was a steep one. It felt even more so steep with the worst rash ever. I had a nice ultra waddle going on. At the top we walked out to the spur in hope to getting a nice western view and some cell service. The view was grand, you could see the Adirondacks stretching toward the sky beyond over Lake Champlain.

(View West from Breadloaf)

I turn on my phone to check the weather. More rain lies ahead and i'm defeated. I sit on a rock and i'm ready to go home. I'm completely done with soaked feet and dealing with this muddy trail. This whole trip had been shit show. My feet have been wet for 3 straight days now. I put my pack back on and walk the .6 miles down to Emily Proctor. We had caught up to Rocket again who would leave us for the last time after he ate at the shelter to shadow camp up the trail. The sun is still shining and i try to enjoy the rest of the evening basking in a shelter to ourselves.

(Lounging in Emily Proctor)

my journal entry from later in the night was written as follows:

"I'm bummed to miss out of the views that we could have already had. And as the week goes forward knowing that we'd miss out more on the views as the trail gets rocky and up towards the alpine 10 miles north of here. We shall see what tomorrow brings, but my heart is already at home"

Quote of the day:

"These must be surveyors miles"

Long Trail Section #2 - Part 2

2011-08-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

David Logan Shelter - Sucker Brook Shelter (12.8 Miles)

Up Early, Still pouring. Probably would have stayed in bed longer if not for Rocket packing up and zipping out. I've slept like shit, tossing and turning what felt like every few minutes and having vivid dreams. When i wake up i ask Leah if i just talked to her about a dream. Apparently i had a dream that i was waking up from a dream in the same spot, telling her that it was awesome and sunny out. But then i woke up, and it was actually a dream within a dream. She told me it was like an Inception Movie moment. I'm still feeling awfully blue regarding the situation. Day two is starting where day 1 left off. Cold and Pouring Rain

I'm still shivering as i help loni pump water in the rain. I decide i'm eating my bacon and eggs for breakfast in hope that it'll help warm me up. Sadly, no. I put my gear on, grumbling the whole time. I was about as miserable as i was the night before. Leah asked if i was going to be like this all day. To which i grumbled and she said maybe we just catch a ride from Brandon at the next gap. I think of Bloodroot and how late we are starting (10am) and mutter that we better move faster today and take off.

The girls catch up shortly there after and we help one another over Wetmore Gap. Then the joke became...well, i don't know how we could be more wet, so how appropriate that we're in pouring rain on top of Wetmore Gap. Trail work had been happening which might have been nice, but in the pouring rain the fresh bench cut was a muddy slip n slide. One new staircase later we were another bench cut. The water was so deep at times that it was pointless trying to stay on the sides of the trail to keep our feet as dry as possible. After awhile i gave up and just started plunging in figuring that i'd move a lot faster if i wasn't constantly trying to find dry paths around puddles. Since i was soaked through i decided to do some trail engineering of my own and pushed out debris front the blocked benches and made some water bars of my own.

(Leah bounding over yet another puddle)

At Bloodroot gap it was a balmy 50*. The Girls sped ahead, Leah desperately trying to warm up. The rain had stopped and temps were on the rise finally. A few slimy and slippery bridges later we were at the first shelter (Sunrise) appropriately named as the sun was finally peaking through for the first time on our trip. The even better news was the day was half over as far as i was concerned.

At Brandon Gap we hung out our soaked gear on our packs, had a snack and started the climb up into the Battell Wilderness. And boy what a climb. At the top of the stairs I sat down at the cliff trail sign and felt faint. "Dustin is going to hate you if we skip the cliff trail." But i could have cared less. I had decided, i wanted to get to camp and out of my soaked clothes ASAP. Up and down the ridge we went until sip sip...nothing. I had drunk all 3l of my water and since i was sold cold this morning I only had pumped an extra .5l for reserve.

(Up another stone staircase)

An hour went by, another climb, is this it? An hour later, now Leah is out of food and water. So i offer up the last of mine and we move down the last slope. We finally get to camp and I pump gallons of water. We share the shelter with a family of sectioning SOBOs. They seem perplexed when all we did was put our food up on the hooks in the shelter and they were lugging around a massive bear canister. The kids seemed friendly but the adults were dildos. They were hiking on the Long Trail, less than 20 miles from Camels Hump, but had no idea what a Camels Hump was. "Oh, we have land in Rutland, but we're from Connecticut. BUT originally from California." That was all i needed to hear to have total disinterest in this group so we cooked our food, ate quietly and kept to ourselves. Additionally, upon arrival they offered to move over to share the shelter which never happened. More on that tomorrow.

Quote of the day:

"Jesus Christ, I could swim in this one!"

Long Trail Section #2 - Part 1

2011-08-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

VT Route 4 - David Logan (12.9 Miles)

It has rained all night and now this morning. The air is cool, no not cool, COLD. I'm still feeling sick from the party that we had well over a day prior. All i want to do is lay on the couch and take a zero day. Unfortunately that's not an option I'm in Vermont, 20 miles from the start of an 80 mile journey, and my ladies are raring to go.

The wind is driving the rain sideways as we try get out of the car. We struggle with our packs, covers and ponchos in the rain. Another pair of hikers sits in a truck next to us. Eating breakfast and staying warm. No doubt laughing at our struggles having been there before. After 10 minutes of clicking and tightening we're off. As we run across the road it looks like the trail disappears through the brush. I push the brush out of the way the best i can and head in. Huh, where are the blazes? There are a TON of footprints. How are we lost already? OK, go back, we obviously missed something. Yep, wrong trail. I feel like a fool. I'm soaked, I've already got lost, and i can still see the warm car i got out of now 25 minutes ago. What am i doing here?

Finally we start making some headway but pause to pin down our ponchos again after they got pulled apart in the brush. A speedy (i assume) ATer zips past us singing "oh what a feeling, and i'm happy again. just singing in the rain!" It was just the boost I needed. It cracked me up so the travelers three were off again, whistling the same song. The trail is beautiful, rain and fog aside. We are surrounded by an abundance of green and mushrooms. Leah spent the morning laughing at Loni and I, as our ponchos draped over our entire bodies AND packs make us look like something out of the Dark Crystal.

We approached where the Tucker Johnson Shelter should be only to discover ashes. We pushed on down the trail. Rain coming down in heavier bursts from time to time, but always steadily. Before too long we were snacking on lunch at Rolston Rest about 5 miles into our first day. We had caught up to a pair of speedy Northbounders (NOBOs) who's goal was to finish the trail in 17 days. This would be the last time we saw them. While snacking on our heaviest lunches of the trip a group of younger kids from the GMC Club showed up. The seemingly spacious shelter filled up rapidly and i was anxious to leave.

We experienced our first heavy climb of the day just beyond Rolston. "Does anyone else smell cranberry macaroni bake?" I ask. And instantly feel shame when the only response i got was, "No, just feet and fecies."

A couple of hours later we stumble upon familiar terrain. "Hey guys, if you look this way through the blinding grey fog you'd see Chittenden Reservoir, Peak's race comes right this way. This means we're close!" Oh how wrong i was. An hour later and after Leah muttered, "I'd rather fall down then get raped by this branch." We pass a pair of sections SOBOs and are told that we've still got a couple of hours ahead of us.

An hour passes, Hey a sign! "I saw the sign....." Argh, it's only Telephone Gap. And from the look on Loni's face that means we had a ways to go still. The rain is pouring down and the wind is picking up, I'm freezing. I got to start moving faster and dart ahead of the girls. Pausing ever 5-10 minutes waiting for them to get back into my sight before darting ahead again. Another sign, thank god. Camp finally.

(Making ourselves at home)

Enter Rocket, an AT Thru hiker in 2010. He said when he was at the junction we passed earlier today he thought "I wonder where this goes north" and decided to come back this year and find out. Thankfully Rocket was the only other person in the shelter so we were able to hang all of our gear out and be dry for the first time in 10 hours. We quickly gulped down our food, and got into our sleeping bags cold, wet, and tired. It was only 730 but i was ready for bed. It was a brutal first day.

Quote of the day:
"The inside of my mouth is the dryest part of my body"

July Recap

2011-08-03T18:00:00.003-04:00

Week - 1

After spending the last several weekends on the road I again pulled the plug on a trip north to Vermont. Instead i spent my time actually IN the house I pay for, well, for some of it at least. After discussing running the trails on Pats Peak for the last several months the three of us finally decided to pay them a visit. Only a few weeks removed from the 24 hour bike race the course was well marked and packed down. An approximate 5.5 mile loop with plenty of climbs and amazingly well done single track. Since we didn't make the trip to Vermont we were finally able to attend Grants July 4th party. With plenty of cold drinks on tap, an in ground pool and several boxes of explosives on hand. It provided for quite the night.

(The Gals on the Pats Peak bike course)

(Grant loves it when a plan comes together)

Week - 2

With Mandiee off on a Road trip to Florida and Loni deciding to sit this one out we had a small group at the Hillsboro Balloon Fest 5k. Grant, tested out a pair of Vibrams i am looking to sell, and Greg, looking to better his time from last year had almost ideal weather. The group of us started together, but quickly spread out and settled into our own paces. My goal was to just try to keep up with Grant for as long as possible, and i did, for a little while. He came in 10 seconds ahead of me, and Greg shaved almost 10 minutes off of his time from last year.

(Greg vs. Sad Peanut)

(Balloon Fest 5k crew)

Week - 3

Week three brought another fun filled weekend. While i was a little bummed that i wouldn't be joining Loni on her hiking/camping trip up to Acadia. I was happy to spend the weekend house sitting at my old place and playing with the kitties. That was of course, after Grant and I knocked out all 12 peaks in the Belknap range. (Recap here)

(Top of Mount Major)

Week 4
Another year, another batch of friends getting married. This year was Leah's turn again as her old college friend and roommate was to be wed. This happened to be one of the stranger weddings I've ever been to. I didn't know a single soul there, and Leah was in the wedding party. Talk about a fish out of water. Luckily the people i met were pleasant even though we pretty much had ZERO in common.

(Yes, another Wedding Photo)

As payback for being "dragged to another wedding" I made plans to hike Pitcher Mountain and pick blueberries with the sunrise the following morning. The heat had been unbearable for a few days so i wanted to be at the top by 8am. Luckily the hike is only a mile or two at best and we were scarfing blueberries in no time. The views were fantastic and the breeze even felt cool. It was nice to shiver for the first time in what felt like a week. After Pitcher Mountain it was back to the pad to break out the smoker for the first run of 2011 and the first time at the new home. Turns out after taking a 10 month break from using a smoker, you pick it up again pretty quickly. A little over 8 hours later the group of us enjoyed fresh apple wood smoked pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, and zucchini,

(On Top of Pitcher Mountain)

(Testing out the Smoker)

Week 5

As per tradition of wanting to suffer at least once a month doing an ultra Loni set up the second annual Fox Forest Fat Ass Vol 1. And as per tradition the first lap was full of walking, grumpiness and shear exhaustion. As the day went on my mood and speed increased, which was a good offset as both ladies were trending downwards. A little over 9 hours in the woods and dirt roads later, we had survived and had the whole afternoon/evening ahead of us. The thought of Chinese food being the reward after we finished helped us push the last couple of miles. Along with the "Trail Magic" that Loni had stashed in a stream the night prior. Sunday was our recovery day and we spent a few hours out paddling on Loon Pond. The gals in kayaks and me paddling my old canoe. We were even serenaded by a loon or two while out there.

(We survived!)

(You don't need a $2000 boat to stand up paddle)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):
Miles Run: 84 (53.7)
# of Runs: 12 (8)
Average Miles: 7.0 (6.7)

Month Starting Weight: 176 (168) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 165 (169)Lbs
Weight Change: -11 lbs

Race Results:

8th - Hillsboro Balloon Fest 5k - 24:19
30th - Fox Forest Fat Ass Vol 1 - 9:35??

Motivational video of the month:

My 120lb Journey

Song of the month:

The Sunscreen Song

Yeah, a big cheesy, but i've been burned enough already this summer

Book of the month:

AWOL on the AT

I have yet to finish the book, but i'm half way thru and it's an amazing read. Makes me pine for the trails.

Upcoming August Events:

Summer BBQ

Thru-Hike
Fox Forest Fat Ass Vol 2

The Belknap 12 (14) Adventure

2011-07-31T20:00:00.000-04:00

So when you hang around crazy people like Sherpa John and Nate Sanel, crazy ideas tend to rub off on you. Grant was no exception. After reading up on previous years and then being part of RANH #3 he decided he wanted to set up and adventure of his own. For some reason he had picked the Belknap range a few years back. Well lack of planning and training finally came to a head on July 16th. While many of my friends were burning up in the fields and dirt roads of Vermont at the VT100, Grant and I set out to run all 12 of the peaks and earn our patches in the lakes region.

As we packed up the last of our gear a few folks were near by and overheard us talking about the duration of our adventure. "Don't worry, there isn't too many bugs up there." and "You can't spend 6 hours out here!" The puzzled looks they gave us when we both said, yep, all 12 in response. We trot for the first couple of hundred feet until we catch an older fella walking his dog. He mentions the quickest way is to go up the chair lift, but there is a trail off to our rights that he used to do before he got his bum knee. That was all i needed to hear and we were climbing and getting lost in no time. Every now and again we'd find a fork. Grant would ask from time to time if I was sure we were going to right way. I didn't have a clue, but it felt right, so we pressed on until the trail took a left turn toward the summit of Rowe. We marveled briefly at the spectacular view of a house we passed near by. Just above on the trail i spotted a hawk feather and stuffed it in my hat like a native. Before too long we were upon the radio/cell tower atop of Rowe
Peak 1 -8:48am

(Grant on top of Rowe)

The berries along this stretch of trails was great. I wolfed down as many as i could snag for a late breakfast snack. Soon we were finally able to run and started making up time that we felt we had lost hemming and hawing on the climb. We were happy, it was still early in the day and while the sun was on the rise, in the tree cover it felt cool out. That was of course until the trail dumped us out on the ski trail up Gunstock. It was hell in the sun, so we'd take breaks ever chance a tree would cast a shadow over the trail.

(The Climb up Gunstock)

Peak 2 - Gunstock 9:20am

I was surprised to see activity at the top of Gunstock. Even more happy to see air conditioned UNLOCKED restroom!! The things you really come to appreciate when you plan on spending a full day on the trail. After chatting a bit with the lift operator about the day, the new zip line they are putting in and the trail that is in front of us we are off again. We make quick work of the awesome single track and then up the narley rock laden trail to Belknap. Upon arrival we head up the tower, yes, i said UP the tower. The views were awesome. The heat had burned off any fog on the lake and we were treated with a full 360 view of the lake region.

Peak 3 - Belknap 945am

Off towards Piper down the rocky trail. A few reroutes were noted with signs, but if you hadn't hiked here before you wouldn't have noticed. The new trail came out onto a few overlooks and the views were phenomenal to the southeast. We made a mental note of the trail where we were to come and do a switch back to and then we started our climb up Piper. Still in good spirits we ran a bit even on the inclines in hopes to bag a few mroe peaks before the heat of the day.

Peak 4 - Piper 10:15am

After passing a few groups of familys that must have had Piper being their final/lunchtime desitnation we made our way across the peak. I overheard a little boy say "What's there rush?" as we hopped on rocks past them. Grant and I both knew that we'd need the extra time in the bank early to finish this in the heat of the day. The long rocky decent from Piper left me with a pit in my stomach as i knew we'd be climbing back up it on our return trip and it would be much warmer. After briefly getting lost in a clearing we were on our way again. Until i skirted past a big puddle. *plop* I jumped and exclaimed, "what the hell was that!!!" I look back, and slowly see one of my granny smith apples bob back to the surface. DAMN! Grant says, you know the top of your pack is open right? Nuts. I was looking forward to that apple too. I shake my head. If the puddle hadn't been covered with a thick layer of slime it might have been salvageable, but as far as i could tell not ANY life could have survived in that pool of water.

Peak 5 - Whiteface 10:45am

(View from the clearing on the top of Whiteface looking back at Piper and Belknap)

We grab a few gu's and wander around looking for the peak. We come across 3 older hikers picking ticks off of themselves. After shooting the breeze for a bit they seem to think we are out of our minds to try to hike all 12 peaks in a day. Nevermind not getting lost on the Western side of belknap where apparently the trails go bananas. We shrug, wish them well, and take off down the mountain back toward Piper. On our back climb up piper we come across a couple. The older, larger man says "well, you boys looked more impressive when you were running down." I just gave him a smirk as we hiked past. He was wearing and XXL some school track and field shirt. I can only assume he was an out of shape coach or some father trying to live vicariously through his child as i can't imagine that man had run a mile anytime in the last decade. Typical New England attitude.

Peak 6 - Piper pt2 11:27am

(Crazy Piper Flower)

We were running out of our way along the trails edges to find shade as the heat was now approcahing 90. Neither of us had run in anything over 80 up to this point in 2011. Coming down Piper I roll my ankle terribly and hobble for a little bit. The tenderness was emphasized as we turn and follow a long steep decline down an underused trail. After slabbing the side of Suncook and come out finally at Round Pond to eat lunch. I'm cramping badly every time i sit down so i pace back and forth a bit and hope the salt tabs and advil will kick in. After checking our water supply, both bladders bone dry (2 liters each) and neither of us have peed in over 3 hours, the situation seemed bleak. But it was high noon, time to eat some lunch, filter some water and try to recover a bit so i tried not to think about it.

(Round Pond where we stopped for lunch, Belknap in the background)

After eating Grant got a phone call. His brother is going out to eat later tonight and i overhear Grant say, "I hope to be off the trail by 430." I look at the time without saying anything and ponder in my head. "how the hell are we going to do that? We've been out here over 4 hours already and we're not even half way yet!" As we filter the water at the pond using my Katahdin Grant asks how good it is. I can only respond, "well i haven't used it in about a year, so i HOPE it's still good. Either that or we're in for a painful weight loss program"

After wandering a bit on the western side of the lake we come to a boy scout camp. There are 5 trails leading from the large fire ring. Grant laughs and says, "there are trails going in EVERY direction." I'm not laughing. Picking the wrong trail here means potentially being lost for many extra hours or not finishing the 12 peaks all together. I pull out my compass, and try to tap into some of my Barkley skills. Within 15 minutes we're at the top of Mack. SUCCESS!

Peak 7 - Mack 1:23pm
After admiring the solar panel on a now worthless turbine we found our way to the trail junction to Klem and Anna. Down the trail we go. I was feeling good, my body on a sugar and fluid high from lunch and bounded down the trail with Grant in tow. He groaned about how hard this stretch would be coming back. I agreed, on the inside, and tried not to let that part show as I dashed ahead. On the climb up Anna we found a wonderfully cold stream. Dunking our heads, soaking our bandannas and many "OHHs" and "AHHs" later we made our way up to the top of Anna. Our last switchback point. I was thrilled. Grant however, was still in a haze from the previous night and mentally knowing we still had many many miles to go.

Peak 8 - Anna 1:51pm
From here it was a quick jaunt, ha, ok, maybe not. It was a death march back up Mack. Both of us taking many breaks to catch our breath and swig large amounts of water. For doing an out and back, we'd only slowed down a few minutes coming back vs going out. I figured that was pretty darn good for being untrained and in the heat of the day.

Peak 9 - Mack pt2 2:21pm
From Mack we headed almost due north to Klem. Most of the trail very run able so we made good time. It was on top of Klem where we had the most trouble. You'd think, a mountain well known, and from what we could tell, more traveled, would have better signage. Up to this point we'd had ZERO navigation issues. Now on Klem, we couldn't find the trail to Rand. We stood at one cairn, then another, then another. Where is this green trail on the map? The hiking forums show that this is a fairly well traveled loop. Could we have missed it? This was bad news and I was feeling terrible for it. Up to this point i'd been leading the way and had been flawless at every turn. I went north, grant went south, and we hoped for the best. I had my compass out and was following the turns on the trail. I had to be going the wrong way. I turned back and before long i heard Grant yell that he finally found a blaze.

Peak 10 - Klem 2:51pm

(Crazy snowmobile helmet stuck to a pine on Klem?)

From here it was a rollercoaster in. WE were on the home stretch and there was to be no more switchbacks. What a relief. Also, what frustration I had when a few minutes down the trail towards Rand was a nice description nailed onto a tree. Seriously? They decided to put this map several thousand feet DOWN the trail? As if the people on the trail wouldn't have been aware that they were already on it? I muttered several cuss words to myself as we moved forward toward Rand. The climb up Rand was described as being some cliffs and steep terrain. I was kind of excited, except not really. Grant's mood was improving as mine was now deterioration as the afternoon pressed on. My blood sugar slumping and my fluid intake minimal. Grant knew i was apprehensive about climbing exposed rocks and cliff, and while today was no different, it came with a twist. Every large step i took my calves and thighs would lock into a cramp. I hadn't peed in over 4 hours, yet i had consumed almost 2 additional liters of water since lunchtime. My mind was in panic mode on what to do. With several peaks to go and no water stops along the way i was in conservation mode.

Peak 11 - Rand 3:07pm
On the top of Rand i pounded the last of my gatorade, took and advil, and swallowed as many salts as my body could handle without gagging, I knew this last stretch would be a death march. Grant was now taking the lead pulling me along. Every now and again i'd have to yell at him for following a deer or Moose trail off the blazed trail and he'd have to backtrack. But for the most part, he was doing fine leading this train late in the afternoon. I knew we'd finish at this point. The question would be, when?

Peak 12 - W Quarry 3:32pm
I paused breifly to read the sign saying that there was a bypass from the exposed "ledge" that the trail goes up ahead. I didnt' tell Grant what the note said, and we stayed on the trail. As much as i wanted to do the bypass to avoid the trail, it felt like cheating. Even now, recalling the trip from my home, I still can't really figure out what "ledge" the bypass was trying to go over. I supposed that there was a short smooth stretch of rock, but after doing Pompelli on Monadnock and Cathedral on Katahdin. This thing might as well have been a treadmill. We passed over E. Quarry and dropped our packs to check on our water. Neither of us was peeing now and we both were feeling a big queezy. We looked at our maps, assessed what little we had left and knew we were in trouble. I shared the trick that Sherpa had told me years back about swishing the water in your mouth before swallowing and it would actually help/trick your body into thinking it was more than it really was.

Peak 13 - Straightback 4:03pm
What a relief that sign on the tree was. The few views over towards Major were a tease for what seemed like forever. But there it was. With a sigh of relief we were off towards our final peak. Both of us joking about how the sipping method was working, but how much we longed to drink the last of our water and actually be hydrated again.

As we climbed up Major we ran across a couple of ladies looking for the trail. It still blows my mind how many people wander into the woods without a map. To their credit they at least had packs and water. But with the advice from people on the top they were walking AWAY from their vehicles in hopes to find the trail that looped back around the mountain to the parking lot. It still blows my mind. I offer them a map as we had 3 between the two of us and they refused it. Seriously? I guess this is why New Hampshire has the pay for your own rescue law now.

Peak 14 - Major 4:45pm
Grant and I made our way to the top of Major and stand proudly on the summit while a couple and their friend kindly snapped a picture of us.
We'd done it, all 12 peaks, one day, in the blazing July heat in approximately 8:30.

(Top of Mount Major, eight and a half hours later)

Postscript:

After sending in to the Belknap Country Sportman Association we were sent our patches and given the honor of being #s 258 and 259 to complete the Belknaps. Obviously not everyone sends in for patches so 'results may vary,' but hey, I'll take an honor any chance i can get.

June Recap

2011-07-26T11:00:00.005-04:00

Week - 1
The First week in June was preparation for the Peak Ultra on Saturday. It was an amazing time on the trails and was great to catch up and run with Vic and Loni. I helped drag both of them to faster times then the year prior when i bailed on the 50 Miler. (Full race report to follow)
Sunday was Leah's birthday, and, just like last year, her family provided a pretty darn amazing time. Lots of food at the BBQ and even some times out on the boats. Also i learned that i'm pretty darn good at corn-holing....the GAME that is.

(Julie, Loni and I pre-run)

Week - 2

Still recovering from Peak the weekend prior a small group of us did a Fox Forest Run. Loni lead us up and down the Ancient and Bike Trails that will be featured as part of the July and August's 50k she puts on. It was a nice final run before the packing really commenced. We skipped out on the Lafayette hike that was planned as we were all stressed about our Friday morning departure back into the deep woods of Maine.

Week - 3 & Week - 4
Return to the Maine Woods! The gang packed up our cars and took to Moosehead Lake and Baxter State park for the final two accents of Mount Katahdin. The weather held out for most of the week and it was a pretty amazing trip as a whole. After a 3 year hiatus it was really nice and peaceful to be back on the lake.
(Full Hike Report to follow)

(The Gang at the Summit)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):
Miles Run: 53.5 (75.4)
# of Runs: 6 (11)
Average Miles: 8.91 (6.85)

Month Starting Weight: 175 (172) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 176 (168)Lbs
Weight Change: +1 lbs

Race Results:

5th - Peak Ultra 50k - 9:13:55

Motivational video of the month:

Overcoming Adversity

Song of the month:

Waka Waka- Shakira
One year removed from the World Cup this song still gets my feet moving on the trails or treadmill

Book of the month:

Tales from the Edge of the Woods
Okay, Lets Try It Again
If anyone has ever caught the program "Windows to the Wild" on NHPTV or heard his voice on VPR Willem Lange's books are a wonderful read.
"If you live here by choice, you pay your dues, take what you can get, and endure what you have to. It's well worth it."

Upcoming July Events:

Hillsboro Balloon Fest 5k -

May Recap

2011-07-07T15:03:00.000-04:00

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

April Recap

2011-06-01T22:00:00.013-04:00

Week - 1

So April started off with a bang. Leah and I decided that our training had been in the toilet so we went out on a 10 Miler following the river. White water kayakers were out in force on the Contoocook. So that provided us we a few miles of entertainment. From the run it was a quick nap and scooting over to the Monarchs for the first time of the year as their season was coming to a close. The game was decent and we got to see some of the fattest people alive (outside of Walmart of course) in seats near ours. Sunday was a grand day. On the year anniversary of Rik, Sherpa and my adventure in Tennessee a small group of us set out on a trail mini-Barkley in Fox Forest. I would tell you more about it, but Leah did a much better job documenting it on her blog here and here. Needless to say it was some of the most fun i'd had in Fox in some time. And i look forward to being able to put on another one with more people in the future.

(Team Robert Pre-Mini-Barkley)

Week - 2

Weekend two kicked off with EMS club day and the Free Socks 5k. Last year the weather had been warm and the trails were clear exposing the roots and rocks, for Loni, Leah and I. This year, while the weather WAS warm, the trails were still icey and snow covered. Mandiee, Grant, Loni, Leah and I slipped and slid our way down the bike path and up the climb. The views were grand as usual looking back towards the Packs. After spending money that we didn't have on things we probably didn't need we were off to Mandiee's birthday gathering. After the show and food at a Japanese Steakhouse there were many a beverage consumed and more coffee table dancing. (2 months in a row!)

(Mandiee and Leah w/ Pack in the background)

(Lisa giving me the business for turning off the radio)

Week - 3

After a week of rain and bailing on the hike the previous Sunday at Uncanoonuck the gang was excited to tackle Sunappee. Only Loni had hiked this trail before so the rest of us were in for a treat. Even more so when the "gentle stream" was a roaring brook. After 1/4 of a mile we came across a group of ladies that were butt scooting across the now roaring 10' wide river on a fallen tree. We decided to make our own trail for awhile before crossing on a Grant-made bridge. The photos don't do the trail much justice as the snow was anywhere from ankle to knee deep off the trail. This lead to many a post hole and cuts and scrapes. After a short lunch (well, snack) on the White Cliffs we made our way back down the slope. Frustrated at trying to jump from rock to rock and/or walk up and down the edge of the stream in hopes for a good crossing i gave up and just trudged through. Much of the rest of the group following suit. The water was frigged but the sun was finally out in force and we were shedding layers. It was a fun filled, splashy, awesome day to be in the woods.

(Leah and Grant at one of the log crossings)

(Leah and Loni crossing the "stream")

Week - 4
Saturday I loaded up the boats for the first time of the year and headed to Farah Marsh with Loni and Leah. Loni had paddled here last spring when the water was high and we'd run by it on just about every Fatass we do in town, but i had never been out in a boat. It was pretty nice to be out on the water. The current had cut a deep channel that we followed upstream for awhile. Then, sharing a few cold ones while riding the wind and water back to the truck.

Easter Sunday was supposed to be spent on the road. Most of the gang traveling to family events and the like. Me, i bailed on it all, with gas prices over $4/gal i couldn't justify the day-trip northbound so I started putting together my "Garden in the Sky." After Loni had grown some veggies in window boxes last year at her place i took that idea to the next level. White Onion, Garlic, Red-Green-Jalapeno-Habenero Peppers, Green Beans, Sugar Snaps and Radishes on my balcony. I'm sure i'll write updates as the summer progresses.

(Playing in Farah Marsh)

(a snap shot of Garden in the Sky- blog to follow)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):
Miles Run: 44.9 (36.3)
# of Runs: 11 (10)
Average Miles: 4.1 (3.6)

Month Starting Weight: 175 (170) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 177 (172)Lbs
Weight Change: +2 lbs

Race Results:

Mini Barkley in Fox Forest -

EMS 5k for Socks - 30+/-

Motivational video of the month:

The Race

Song of the month:
Bouncing Souls - Ole

As a tribute to Hockey Playoffs and the Kick off of HPHL

Book of the month:

A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson

One of my favorite books to read to get amped up for the hiking season

Upcoming May Events:
1st - Muddy Moose 14

7th - Wapack 21 Mile Fatass Training Run

15th - Cinco De Mile

28-29th - Pineland Farms (10k + 50k)

March Recap

2011-04-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

Week - 1
The first weekend of March had a group of us up at the Peak Snowshoe Marathon. Sherpa John had already been on the trail for hours before we had left the comfort of our own homes. After kidnapping him from the trails overnight. He returned with us to the start. Rik and Steve were a surprise late entry. It was great to see the whole gang again. Race Recap here:

(The Gang pre-race)

Week - 2
With the Mini-Barkley in Fox coming up in April Leah Loni and I were into the woods and off trail doing some scouting for neat spots to lead people. Mandiee and Greg joined us for some snowshoeing before learning the ways of the Aubin (Leah) Margarita's. A good lesson to learn for the upcoming Cinco-De-Mile Run (Details to follow).

(Dancing on the Coffee Table? Yes, alcohol was involved)

Week - 3
Week 3 had me hosting my 9th annual St Patties day bash. Years ago, a 3 person affair and a reason for me to cook corned beef has turned into a tradition and a way for many of us to catch up with our old college buddies. I think the grand total this year was 16.8lbs of corned beef, 5lbs of potatoes, and 2lbs of onions. And that doesn't include what everyone else contributed.

(I believe we had a 15 person car-bomb race at one point)

Week - 4
With a week to go to Mini-Barkley in Fox the last of the scouting happened. Along with the actual placement of the books and writing of the clues. Sunday in Manchester was the Shamrock Shuffle. A two mile race to be held before the Parade. With a long list of shwag, thanks to the Harpoon sponsorship and the promise of free beer to the finisher lead to a pretty size-able turn out. Keira, in the red vest in the photo below was to run her first race ever. Greg, in the blue fleece, ran the whole distance without walking for the first time. It was quite a day of firsts. Also, the Team Robert shirts were a hit post race at the pub.

(The gang in front of Murphy's pre-race)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):
Miles Run: 70.7 (103.1)
# of Runs: 14 (20)
Average Miles: 5.1 (5.2)

Month Starting Weight: 175(175) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 175(170)Lbs
Weight Change: 0 lbs

Race Results:
Peak Snowshoe Marathon -5:55:05 - 20+/- Miles (3laps)
Shamrock Shuffle -23:39

Motivational video of the month:
The Human Machine - David Goggins

Song of the month:
Great Big Sea - Lukey
As a tribute to St Patties day, here's one of my favorite Irish tunes

Book of the month:
Tales From Out There
A Nod to the upcoming 2011 running of The Barkley Marathons. What an amazing adventure. Probably one of my proudest moments as a runner/hiker.

Upcoming April Events:
2nd - Mini-Barkley in Fox Forest
9th - EMS Run for Socks

Peak Snowshoe Race Report

2011-04-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

March 5, 2011

We arived at Amiee Farm at 11:10 Friday night. Sherpa just coming off the mountain on his 5th lap. Ready to go home. It took a little convincing but we were able to get him to come back to Dustin and Heather's with us and to get back on the trails the next day, well rested. We shot the crow for an hour or so in front of the fire before we passed out. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

(The Gang Pre-Race)

What a surprise. Rik had mentioned that he was a gametime decision after working the overnight at the Fire station. And to my surprise, a half hour before race time, he and steve pull into the parking lot. We shoot the breeze with Dave and Mike and meet up with Steve L for the first time.

At the starting line there is quite the spread of people. From seasoned veterans, hardcore outdoor enthusiasts have been going all night doing the winter death race, to a lot of younger kids (i.e. the flav-a-flav dildo).

The first lap is always so crowded, but it gives you the chance to chat with people before you are alone for the next several hours. Rik entertains/harrasses the guy in front of us with EMT horror stories as we form a 8 person chain going up the stairs. The snow was so crunchy you couldn't hear a lot if you were two people back so we all kind of paired off and shot the breeze. Turns out the first "olympian" to ever compete at a Peak race was in our little train. Our pace felt slow, but i was enjoying the time i had with my dad and brother. At the summit we all broke out at our own pace. Steve Latour leading the way down the mountain. Sherpa had mentioned the day before that it felt like 4 miles up and 2.5 miles down. He wasn't kidding. I think it took us about an hour and a half to climb the thing, and 25 minutes later we were back at Ammee Farm. Grant and I try to get in and out as fast as possible, catching up to the rest of the team maybe a half a mile from the farm.

(Loni coming in on Lap 1)

(Rik & Steve coming in on Lap 1)

Lap 2 was a pretty quiet one. I had mentioned to Grant that the pack spreads out so much that you hardly see anyone after the pile-up of lap one. It always feels like, and perhaps this is due to my lack of speed, that 75% of the runners are doing the "fun run." We use the time to chat about how our training has been, and what's ahead of us on the year, goals and hopes of 2011. After only seeing 2 other runners we summit a second time. The weather has gone from sunny and warm, to windy and cold, to warm and rainy.

(Clouds rolling in from the top of Joe's)

Feeling refreshed after some chips and cookies we again bound down the hill. The once crunch snow was turning into a soft slippery powder as we slipped and slid down the steep sections. In my head i was already contemplating dropping out of it started to rain. Grant seems to be full of energy, i can feel mine waning already. We hear that Rik, Loni and Steve were out on lap two from Leah and we speed out on lap 3.

The weather is really touch and go. One minute we're sweating and stripping layers. The next we're putting our windbreakers back on. It was almost as if the mountain had different weather patterns depending on where you were on the trail. It seemed like on each lap, it always was spitting rain on one section and always sunny in another. After only seeing 3 people on lap 2, we were now alone. It was only us and the death racers out here now. And of course, the fast runners flying by us on their final lap.

As we summit this time the fire is out, and they are packing up the station. Grant is puzzled. I'm not surprised. One year on my 4th lap the only thing left up here was bud light and a plate of stale potato chips. It's a bummer of a spot to have an aid station due to the exposure, but it still irks me that they can't stay open for the duration of the race. With that in mind, i'm pretty sure i'm done after this loop. I know i could go around again, but the banter between Grant and I have stopped. It's kind of a trudge. We both knew there wouldn't be ANYTHING left at the top by the next time around. I joked about how we should have brought up flying saucer sleds like they had at this event the first two years and slid down. Grant decided, well my pants are slippery, I'll give this a go as an alternative.

So we laughed and screwed around the rest of the way down the trail. Loni and Leah were waiting for us at the finish, and filled us in on how the rest of their races went. And that people had left and it was just us four remaining. I looked at my watch, looked at grant and the girls and said. "well, i'm cold, i'm wet, it's starting to rain harder, what do you think about Long Trail Brewery?" And with that statement, our race was done. An hour later i was happy to be warm again, eating a burger and enjoying a Triple Bag with my friends.

Our final time was 5:55:05 DNF at approx 20 miles. In the big scheme of things, it doesn't matter to me, Sherpa John and I have always said, if you can do a marathon on snowshoes, you're ready for a 50 miler on trails. Could we have gone on? Certainly. Would we have had as good of a time? I certainly doubt it.

2011 Hammy Slammy Race Report

2011-03-19T12:00:00.001-04:00

February 26, 2011

(Looking excited to be 30)

After having a meltdown and throwing my Nathan bladder around the house like a psycho clown and then hurling it into the yard like a water balloon I managed to get myself under control. 30 years and i still throw an occasional temper tantrum. Grant and I shooting the breeze. Laughing at the house that i was trying to purchase last year and how piss poor it was in comparison to the awesome place i finally got into. Suck it bad Realtor's!

We climb the hill up to Loni's place where she greats us with a smile. It's funny how just seeing one person raises the spirits. I turn to Grant and say, "well, bud, only 30 miles or so to go."

Bog road was busy as usual this time of day so we took turns running single file in the road side slush from the Friday storm that dumped a foot of snow in the area. We trot past Morse sporting goods. Grant introduces me to chocolate covered almonds (which were really good). As he pushes towards the VT50 this fall he's doing the smart thing and working out the nutrition aspect ahead of time. A novel idea, as a 11 year veteran of these things you'd think i'd have started doing something similar, naahhhh.

The sun is shining brightly and we go between being bundled up due to the tree cover and wind howling off of the Contoocook and sweating profusely in the blazing sun. Around mile 5 Grant says "huh, i forgot to lube." to which my brain clicked and i went "oh nuts, neither did I. Whelp, this is going ot end poorly."

Leah was waiting for us at the detour bridge over the Contoocook to snap a few photos. We're making pretty good time thus far, or at least it feels that way. We pass a big kid, a small kid, a dog and a pellet gun? We laugh about what we would have done if the dude actually had shot at us. Then we suspected the little tirants were probably shooting their dog. As we turn up 114 in downtown Henniker we're met with another oddity. A dude, urmmm lady? Holding an American flag with a masking tape peace symbol on it. No sign, no speech, just holding a flag. I found it odd that if you are motivated enough to stand on a corner that you'd say hello to two people running by.

As we run next to Blueberry Hill the sentiment between the two of us is "..this pavement is wearing on me." with a variety of expletive lead ups. I'm really feeling the 10 days of cold as between chatting, eating, and drinking water i go through fits of coughing and almost barfing. The lack of training really has got my Achilles tendon irritated. It's been half injured since hiking for 18 miles in my Columbia non hiking, non-active winter duck (shit-kicker) boots in Bear Brook.

We do a ton of walking/climbing as we get back into Emerald lake. The slight down grade next to the river you don't really notice until you go back on the other side and are confronted with a couple of ball breaker hills. I ask for the time, gasp and then start crunch numbers in my head based on how late it already was. My phone beeps as the rest of the gang trys to figure out where we are and how bloody far behind we already are.

(Sporting the 2011 Team Robert Shirts between Laps)

Onto Lap 2 where Leah joins into the mix. Her fresh legs, upbeat spirit, and converstation make the next couple of miles pass quickly. At one point I got ahead of the two only to discover that i had an "antiqued butt." I complain a bit about how my joints are really aching as we turn onto Bacon Street. Leah yells out that, "aww baby, your achin' on bacon!" Hardy har har. At the next climb a car slows and puts her windows down. It's Paula my old landlord from in town. She chats with us for a few minutes before she takes off down the road. I hadn't seen her in four years.

It's at this point where Leah and Grant run ahead. They both need to use the restroom something fierce, and my chafe is killing me so i've slowed quite a bit. I say i'll catch them at the Mobil station and I did. As I walked into the lot Leah's coming out of the store as pale as a ghost and looking like she might throw up. Apparently there was an incident in the bathroom. And that the snowmobiler that used the room before Leah got there essentially "destroyed" it. By smell and physical debris. I could hardly contain my laughter. Last year a number 2 incident cost Sherpa his gloves. This year, it was the Mobil incident. It's good to see that the Hammy Slammy now has a running tradition. My chafe was now almost unbearable, but the downgrade through Henniker couldn't be wasted and i trotted ahead down the hill as Grant and Leah snack up.

We pause briefly at the infamous pizza sign and I pose "sherpa style" while Leah uses their restroom instead.

Loni messages that she's backtracking from the park n ride. After drinking 4 liters of water i finally pee for the first time. Which is a welcome relief. I'm starting to feel better aside from the nagging tendon and the super painful chafe. Things are looking up and i knew there was beer stashed in the snow in a couple of miles.

(Trail Magic!!)

With 4 Miles to go and back on Bog Road Grant and Leah start tossing massive snowballs at one another. Grant's still got TONS of energy. Leah's doing a great job keeping up. Me, well the empty calories from the beers have worn off and I'm hardly shuffling anymore. I down 2 more GUs and the rest of my trail mix and manage to work a trot up the hill to Loni's where Mandiee and Greg await.

A couple of cookies and a half a beer later the pack that started out 29 miles before of Grant and I had grown to 6. Grant and I running with beers in hand. With Keith's maybe an 1/8th of a mile away we break into a full sprint. Why or how you ask? No idea, perhaps the sugar rush from the GUs and cookies or maybe the beers were finally taking effect.

Keith welcomed us into his toasty home with a birthday shot and beer. Knowing that this motivated feeling i had wasn't going to last I tried to get the group to get out of the door for the last 3/4 of a mile before sunset. Again, with a couple of us with beers in hand we were down the snow covered roads.

At the final turn i see Grant unloading the tires he had ordered for me and rolling them down the road toward me. I tell Loni to hold my beer and pick up the tire and run the last 300' with the tire on my head. Then, in an exhausted celebration. I climbed up onto my deck railing. Pounded the rest of my beer and did a celebratory flip into the 3+ feet of powder in the backyard.

Thanks everyone for coming out. It certainly was a birthday i won't forget.
Total Miles: 31.4 Miles - 8:05

2010 Peak Ultra Race Report

2011-03-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

So this seems to be a running tradition now. Run the Peak 54 in June, write the outline, and then look at it for 6 months. I finally got around to posting my 2009 Report in February of 2010. And at this rate the 2010 Report will go up in March 2011. I figure, if i keep this up I'll be a full calendar year back by 2013.

Saturday June 5th, 2010

(Wet Registration)

Leah, Loni and myself arrive in a thunderstorm filled Pittsfield VT before the crowd, excited to participate in the day's events. Before long everyone else starts to fill up the parking lot. It's amazing how well timed people are. In a 10 minute gap the parking lot went from 2 cars, to 30. Andy gave the pre-race meeting to the group as we huddle under the overhang on the east side of Amiee Farm.

(Team Robert and Sherpa John)

Rik, who arrived under prepared without any gear needed to borrow my water belt. Luckily for him I tend to over pack for these things. While he stuffed as much fuel as he could into my double bottle belt and i threw on my Nathan pack, grabbed my trekking poles and we headed to the start. It was crazy, the rain wasn't letting up at all and the early morning Vermont fog had set in. It was almost surreal knowing we'd be out here in potentially these conditions for the next 16 hours.

(The Start)

It didn't take long for Rik and I to fall into our old rhythm and we took the first few miles to catch up on the latest happenings in our lives. The rain seemed to be letting up by the time we got around the Liberty Hill loop but as you can see i was already soaked from the first couple of miles.

From Liberty Hill we head down the road towards Colton's. We start running with John "Not Sherpa" Larcoix. He's actually a friend of Rik's and lives in the same town as him up in the Champlain Valley. I chuckled as he had to specify that he wasn't Sherpa when he introduced himself.

(John, Rik and I heading to Colton)

I quickly was re-introduced to the ball busting climb up on a 4wd trail behind Colton's Camp. I extended my trekking poles, changed my stride and let my hiking muscles take over. As we approached the top, there was no bear, and they had changed course a bit to an extra steep bushwack section. Sherpa yells, "it wasn't my idea!" as he screams past already heading down the trail. I catch Julie almost at the top and she mutters, "dang...should have brought my poles."

I ended up putting quite a bit of space between myself and Rik getting out of Colton. Which was good, because my stomach was bubbling up a storm and i knew he'd catch me soon enough. The sun was trying to poke threw the now thinning clouds and a day that was once going to be a dreadful muddy mess was shaping into a beautiful Vermont day. When we get to Upper Michigan our crew awaited us. Which consisted of Leah, bright eyed and excited, and Steve, a.k.a. Lurch who groaned from the back seat when we woke him up.

(Upper Michigan Loop 1)

On our first jaunt out of Upper Michigan we spent most of the lap running with Kevin from Boston. He's training for VT100, ran Pineland Farms the previous weekend, and Wapack a few weeks prior. No wonder he said i looked familiar. We swap trail stories for awhile. He's a bit apprehensive about the tough Blood Root section that lies ahead. Rik and I did our best to keep him on his toes.

(Off to Blood Root)

We wolf down our food and laugh about how we had caught Joe "Millionaire" here last year. And then Joe was talking to Rik about me as i walked ahead without knowing that I was his son. We look at the sky and it looks like the clouds are starting to break and the blue sky was taking over. The aid station was moved from the top of Blood root because they couldn't get the supplies up there so the clearing was the aid station this year. A spot that in the past had been simply a mirage as by the time Rik and i got there, there was nothing but tipped over and empty Gatorade buckets.

Our pace had to be slowing, or we had gone out way to fast. It was 14 miles into the run and Rik and I were ahead of John Izzo & Dave Delbac. A feat that rarely happens. Izzo had brought along a friend from Florida who seemed to be having a grand old time playing in the woods with us Vermonters. At the clearing I ate another PB&J and topped off my 2l bladder figuring that HAD to be enough to get up and over. I walked ahead with Kevin as Rik started to feel the climb. About 1/4 a mile from the top i stopped and sat on a rock and waited. And waited. and waited. I was starting to get worried and thought that maybe Rik had bigger issues. Just as i was about to start heading back down he turned the corner and we were able to crest the top of blood root together.

The rain and previous runners had pretty much tramped any kind of stinging nettle that we would have seen in the past. But the thick deep mud made running impossible at some points. Meanwhile the sun was breaking through and the humidity and heat were climbing rapidly. I tried to battle it by consuming almost all, and then all of my water. really? i kept saying to myself, i just drank 2l of water in 6 miles? How is that even possible? at every corner i kept hoping to see the next aid station. I was so thirsty i was getting tunnel vision. Then just as all hope seemed to be lost the aid station appeared around the next bend.

After eating 1/4 of a watermelon, 2 cups of coke and probably a half a dozen cookies i was able to leave the aid station. The next road stretch is always a problem for me. I'm tired, I'm in my typical 15-25 mile low, and it's run-able. I'm a great speed hiker, not a runner. So i struggle to keep up with Rik for the next stretch. replaying where we are on the course again and again in hopes that Upper Mich 3 is around the next bend

(Steven enters the mix. a rejuvenated Team Robert presses on.)

The next stretch features the brutal climb up behind Jason Hayden's home. He's responsible for much of the trail work and trail markings at the Peak races. And this year was no disappointment. It was as tough as ever. Steven curses and asks, "Why would someone build a trail here?" followed by a, "What the bo-jangles!" as the trail somehow got steeper at the next turn.

(YOU CAN DO IT BOYS!)

When we come off of Haydens we're dumped out at Riverside Farm where we are greeted by a now larger crew. John finished what sounded like hours ago and was here with Sara and Leah to give us a few words of encouragement. "It's a lot easier this year!" John says. "Yeah yeah, sure it is man." I unconvincingly reply as Rik sips a Labatt Blue and Steve and I share a Red Bull.

The gang walks with us up to Dove where we dip back into the woods. Sherpa knows the people that own the house and runs out with a Corona that Rik takes a long swig out of. While John was right about the section not being as steep. They certainly did a great job adding about 30 switchbacks. Somehow though, for the first time in several hours we started to catch a guy, and then another. One of the guys was Izzo's buddy from Florida who said that their speed had finally caught up with him.

At Tweed we again experienced a heavy dose of the "woo girls" who had obviously been hitting the wine for some time by this point. We made quick time at that aid station. I mean, it's nice to have the people at the aid station be upbeat, but after 14 hours of running/hiking, seeing someone else with that much energy is disgusting.

From Tweed aka Cabin 2 it's a climb up threw the Labarinth and over the top of Joe's. Then a fun filled roller coaster ride down Fuster's where they had done quite a bit of work as well. Every time we thought it was the last turn, it'd make another one, and then we'd climb a bit. I have to admit though, it was great not having to run on the snowmobile trail for long. We soon heard the river below, then we saw the bridge. We joked with Steven that he'll be able to tell his friends that he ran 16 miles over the weekend when he has to explain why he's walking like a cowboy. Leah, Loni, and a few scattered runners remaining cheered us on as we climbed up the last knoll at 16:02.

Couldn't have been a better day in the woods with my family. Already looking forward to coming back in 2011!

(Post race exhaustion)

February Recap

2011-03-03T21:00:00.004-05:00

Week - 1
The first weekend of the month started out with the 5 of us playing in the woods of Fox Forest yet again. With the logging going on over by Loni's we rediscovered some of the Ridge trail on the south side of the woods. It was nice to see the other side of the woods again. Greg and I used to bike on that side often when we lived in the apartments. But then they logged and pretty much trashed the dry half of the trails. After some narrow log bridges we were off to my place to finalize the Team Robert Logos

(Log Bridge on Ridge Trail)

Week - 2
Saturday had us driving to Massabesic Lake take part in Sherpa John's Streakers Frozen Caboose 50k. It became obvious early on who the stronger runners were and Leah, Grant and I sat back while Nate, Julie and John trucked off ahead of us down the super flat snowmobile trail. I'd run the first 5 miles before, but never all of the way to the far side of Raymond. There were several road crossings, but the scariest being the super short tunnels (due to the snow) going under the more major roadway. John laughed as I emerged from under 101 with a shutter and said "I'd rather be under the Brushy Mountain Penitentiary!"

(Playing on the Train's in Raymond)

Less than 24 hours later Leah and I tossed on our snowshoe and joined Greg, Mandiee and Loni for a trek around Greenfield State Park. After about 5 minutes into the hike I became painfully obvious that there were no trail markings for winter hiking/snowshoeing. At least from where we went in. So we broke trail for awhile, playing in the campsites and marveling at the piles of snow on the picnic tables. With less than a mile left in our hike we finally discovered the trail we had been looking for for the previous few miles and got to enjoy a semi-broken path for the first time of the day.

(I carved a snow-frame on a down limb)

Week - 3
Weekend three was set to be another bash. At the Luah last year there had to be 30+ people. Or at least it felt that way to me who was delirious from the No Power No Problem 50k earlier in the day. This year, with a change of venue, and the major participants being out of town it was going to take on a new feel. The Luah was Leah's big gathering. My St Patties, or Oktoberfest so to speak, so it comes with high expectations. I certainly think it lived up to the hype. Sure it might not have been as big as last year. But it had good people, good music, and good conversations. On a side note i know know who the Clitinatti are.

(the end of the night a race to the bottom of the blender)

Week - 4
After fighting off a cold for the better part of 10 days and some trials and tribulations leading up thru the week towards my birthday it was time. Much like other runners and Loni two years ago it was time to do a 30-on-30. Last year i hosted the "Hammy Slammy," and this year the two events were to be combined. The day was pretty awesome. With 12" of snow on Friday and 8" of snow coming down on Sunday we hit the window of weather perfectly. Race report to be linked here once posted.

(All of us (Grant taking photo) at mile 29 of the Hammy Slammy)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):
Miles Run: 85.5 (102.3)
# of Runs: 13 (28)
Average Miles: 6.6 (3.7)

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

Race Results:
Streakers Frozen Caboose Fat Ass - 13.5 Miles - 2:45
30 on 30 (Hammy Slammy Part Deux) - 31.4 Miles - 8:05

Motivational video of the month:
Versus Motivational Video

Song of the month:
Tim McGraw - My Next 30 Years

Book of the month:
Downshifting
Kind of a good follow up to last month's book. It breaks down the what, where, how to start slowing things down in your life. With checklists that you can fill out and see how other people will potentially see your choices.

Upcoming March Events:
5th - Peak Snowshoe Marathon
19th - 9th Annual St Patties Day Party

2011 Team Robert - Part 2

2011-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

So after last post I felt like I had left too many people out. The "team" post was only the people involved with buying the shirts. But i felt like the team really expands beyond that. So with that said, i bring to you, in no particular order, the Team Robert "honorary members" (i.e. the ones that didn't want to spend the money on the shirts, but as far as I'm concerned, are still part of our team)

The Lush (ha, sorry Keith)
While Keith never actually joins us for our runs, he has provided us with an aid station or two on several of the fat-asses here in Hillsboro. His happy attitude and willing-ness to always host an aid station and tip back a cold one is almost unanimously welcomed in our runs.

The Surpass-er
I met Rachel, god-knows how many years ago, before she was a runner. Her gung-ho attitude took us from playing soccer in town together to her running the Pisgah 50k. The following week she was off to run the VT50 with my father(while i wuss'd out at the 50k). The next two summers she put together back to back Vermont 100 finishes the following two years before she stopped running. She may not still be running but her contribution to Team Robert early on will always be remembered. Maybe someday we'll get her to put her shoes on the trails again.

The Sherpa's
John and Sarah have been friends of Team Robert before Team Robert even existed. When our club started i fantasized about being as large, powerful as Team Sherpa (who several us of are honorable members of as well) are. OK, maybe they aren't either of those two things, but the money they have raised for causes close to them inspires me to want to do the same.

"The Strong's" (Name stolen from Leah)

Heather - "Clothespin"
Heather, who'd never run a distance beyond a 5k last spring, joined Grant and I for a 14 miler thru the woods in Wolfeboro. Two months later, did her first 10k/25k back-to-back weekend. Shortly thereafter thru-hiked with her husband, all while graduating with a RN Degree. Her amazing ability to push through diversity and any challenge makes her an asset to the team.

Dustin - "Inchworm"
While Dustin holds fast to his trail name of Inchworm his attitude on the trials while running is nothing of the sort. After running with several of us in countless Harpoon 5ks, he joined us on the trails at the Muddy Moose last spring and was sold on trail running. Like his wife, he also broke into the longer distance running doing a 25k with 'clothespin', 'puma', and 'ferret' at Pineland Farms in 2010.

The Strong's relocated back to Vermont in 2010 are now the Team Robert's home base for Peak Race's (Snowshoe and Ultra)

"Wicks"
Lisa's nickname born from her passion for candles, personal and guest versions. While yet to join us for a run, she's our ever welcoming post run host in Nashua. Like Mandiee a few years ago, we've been working on getting her out for some time. Excited for her to join us on a run in 2011!

Tina and The Mechanic
The Christians joined the team thru Loni. Kiera's nickname isn't ours, but she looks ridiculously like Tina Fay. And our goal is to get her out to at least one 5k with her daughter in stroller this summer. Rob, the Mechanic, known for his automotive prowess has the ability to be a strong member of the team. We've just gotta work on twisting his arm to get out there and run with us. If we get Kiera, Rob is certainly to follow.

30 on 30 (Hammy Slammy Part Deux)

2011-02-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

Mark your calendars for Saturday February 26th.

This will be a return of the Hammy Slammy in Hillabamy from last January. Details of that event can be found in my 2010 Race Report or SJ's 2010 Race Report.

Similar to last years run it will be 2, yes two, 16 mile loops. All road, 50% asphalt, 50% hard packed dirt road. Only a few sections qualify as non-back country roads. First loop counter clockwise (as the map is numbered) and the second clockwise to keep us semi awake.

Course here:

Aid Stations:
My Home at the S/F of both laps.
There is a Mobile station approx 8 miles into the loop if needed.
Loni's Home (aka Beer stop one) 2 Miles from home on lap 2
Keith's Home (aka beer stop two) under a mile from home on lap 2

Jump in Points:
Lap 2 - My home - 16 miles remaining
Lap 2 - Hillsboro Park&Ride - approx 4 miles remaining
Lap 2 - Loni's - approx 2 miles remaining
Lap 2 - Keith's - approx 1 mile remaining

The Pace:
The pace is going to be relaxed. 9-11 minute miles with plenty of walking on the hills. Slow enough to laugh and shoot the breeze but fast enough where we won't be out there all day. The goal is to finish somewhere around 7 hours with the stops.

Start Time:
The plan is to be laced up and down the road by 9am. Rain, Snow, or Shine

Additional Details/After party:
Don't feel like you have to run the whole thing, join us for a few miles around the lake. Hell, bring and ride your bike like Leah did last year while nursing an injury. The pace will be relatively slow as many of us SHOULD be tapering for the Peak Snowshoe race the following weekend, but 30 only comes once.

Ideally they'll be a couple of crock pots of good food and a new beer on tap for after the run. If anything, join us for that!

Email Me (felixatvtc@gmail.com) if interested. Hope to see you there.

2011 - Team Robert

2011-02-08T20:00:00.004-05:00

What's Team Robert's mission statement?

Was a question i faced a few weeks back.

I'd never thought about this before. The name was yelled at Rik and I at the Vermont 100 years ago. It stuck, later that fall i created a blog and got shirts, but then it kinda petered out. It was just a cool display of my artwork that i could share with my family and girlfriend at the time. To run trails? too common. To hike and camp? too specific. To get outdoors? too broad. The short answer is, i didn't have one, and to be honest, I still don't have one.

Here's a snippet of what hit my Inbox last week written by my lovely girlfriend that i think sums it up more than anything I have written.

"Team Robert started as a family team. In Josh's (and so many of our) words, "Friends are the family that you choose." When you spend hours on the trail with someone, they know you on a deep level. When you train with people weekend after weekend, they see the good and bad. We've been through a lot together, on and off the trail, and we're all family: a team. We're planning on many outdoor events together, and it would be great to have support of a team even when we're not close to each other."

When we sent out the email regarding team shirts, I never expected the feedback i got. I'm humbled to mention that many of my friends expressed interest in being part of the team, even if we don't have a goal yet. With that being said, let me introduce you to the team.

The Family:
The family gets updated logos for the 2011 shirts with some more color. You all know Rik, the ever stubborn father of the group and reason we're out there. Steven, who ran the last 16 miles of the Peak Ultra last June, and has spent countless hours crewing for Rik and I. Kate, we're still trying to get out and run a race with us, but you've probably seen her at an aid station or two.

The Moose:
Greg got this name based on how he is when we hike. Always plodding along, and crashing thru the brush, but generally happy to be out there. Like moose, you rarely see them run, but when you do, you make sure you get out of their way. Often times, pie is used as an incentive. His wife's love for Moose helped with the nickname.

The Gazelle:
A name that fits Mandiee perfectly, in pink obviously. Her long legs gives her amazing speed and the ability to bound over objects on the trails. After years of telling her that she had the build of a runner and should give it a shot. We got her to finish her first 5k last July.

The Puma:
Loni's been known as Puma to me for as long as I've known her. While she may not be as quick as a puma in a sprint, but her feline like ability to silently watch from a distance, survey her surroundings and will wear you down with her un-slowing pace. Still looking to conquer her first 50 miler, she presses harder towards the VT50 this fall.

The Ferret:
Common characteristics of the ferret are; curious, persistent, and fearless. All makes perfect sense to me. Leah's fearless hockey playing is what attracted me to her in the first place. Her curiosity is what got her into running with me, and if you read her blog she's very persistent in her research amongst other things. A once non-runner "unless being chased" is really coming into her own finishing a half marathon on the roads and in the woods in 2010.

The Beer:
Or the nickname coined by Leah, "Taps." Grant, being a brewer of beer and having 5 beers on tap at any given time made the moniker an instant hit. He's taken the enthusiasm that he has for making beer and put it into running. In 2011 he's decided to stretch his legs into the ultra community with his first 50 Miler, and is currently the most trained of the group.
The Wolf/4-Leaf: (Which someone else wrote for me)
Always the leader of the pack, Josh's token, fittingly, is the wolf. Sometimes playful and bounding with joy, sometimes all-business hunting through the woods with a purpose, but always looking out for each member of the group. The four-leafed clover paw pad on the wolf is a nod to Josh's trail name, earned when he found the another lucky plant on the Long Trail. (Although I've been running with a 4leaf clover on my water belt for the better part of 2 years prior)

January Recap

2011-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Week - 1
The first week of the month was great as Leah and I were putting run after run in. All while knocking out p90x routines to boot. My days had become, get up, work, come home, run, work out, and sleep. It wasn't bad, for awhile, but like with anything else, life got in the way. A few long late days at work, getting walloped by snowstorms and the removal that follows them took a toll on the limited time i had in the day. Saturday morning came fast and into Fox Forest the group went for the first time of the year. A quick 2 mile hike up and a 1 mile run back was a great warm up for weekends to come.

(Post Fox Snowshoe)

Week - 2
A group of 6 of us parked at the Wilmont Town Hall on a sunny Saturday. Four of us returning to Bog Mountain for the first time since RANH. Grant and I having hiked this stretch with John overnight thought it'd be a fun hike to see during the day. That and the likely hood of me getting peed on by a Turkey again was reduced drastically. The views were great, as was the playtime on the chain swing half way up. To amuse myself on the hike down i created a couple of snow figurines on the trail.

(My "snow" owl that i left on the trail to make other hikers laugh)

Week - 3
The 3rd weekend of the month marked the 4th annual "Thank God the Holiday's are Over Party." The great part of this years event was that it would no longer be in Massachusetts. D&H had moved to a wonder spot in Stockbridge Vermont, approximately 5 minutes from Amiee Farm (the start/finish of many Peak races). So of course, my first thought was, time to get some training in. With the temps steady at about 8* and with -11 overnight ahead of us, we climbed up Joe's towards cabin one. Having to break 90% of the trail Dustin, Heather and I traded off plowing thru the knee deep powder. I was surprised how few people had been using the trails. After drinking copious amount of booze and enjoying plenty of amazing plates of food a smaller group of us went out again on Sunday. This time, the temps were almost balmy at 11*. I was to lead the group up the Fuster's trail until we ran out of time and turned back. Unfortunately for me, I'd never run Fuster's backwards before. So we were lost for a good portion of the time. Thankfully with some, "lets just go this way" navigation skills we were able to find and break trail yet again back down Fuster's to Amiee.

(Top of Joe's at Cabin One)

Week - 4
Leah's father, an ultra runner himself, was to be visiting our lovely state of NH so around Christmas a plan was hatched to have a fat ass run. Which would turn into a short snowshoe hike, which would turn into a long day in Bear Brook State Park. John and I, being fans of pain decided to meet up 3 hours early, and get some extra time in. We hadn't seen one another since RANH so it was good to catch up before the rest of the gang arrived. "Leah has no idea what's she's getting herself into." Well, to be honest, I think John and I were the only two that knew exactly how large the loop she laid out for us was. The 5 mile bail out loop turned into, a 11.5 mile where we all bailed out loop. And as much as we all were grumbling a little. It was a pretty rewarding adventure.

(6 of us breaking Bear Hill Trail)

Week - 5-ish
After Leah, I and several others were unable to complete the 2 miles a day Streak contest on the month there was one last task. The Naked Mile. A concept created from the broken brain of Sherpa John last year. That was to be tacked onto this years challenge. Since bonus points were to be awarded I figured why not. After some convincing i was able to get Leah to join as long as it was only to be .5 miles outside. So with a short jaunt each on the treadmill it was 12:10am Jan 31st, and it was Streaking time!

(Ever run nude in 2* weather before?)

By The Numbers(2010 Numbers in Quotes):
Miles Run: 69(109.2)
# of Runs: 21(25)
Average Miles: 3.3(4.4)

Month Starting Weight: 179(175) Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 177(175)Lbs
Weight Change: -2lbs

Race Results:
n/a

Motivational video of the month:
Why I Run

Song of the month:
Ray Stevens - The Streak

Book of the month:
In Praise of Slowness
Fantastic read. Puts a lot of things in perspective. Has really helped me appreciate the little and slow things as generally i am a "speedaholic."

Upcoming February Events:
12th - Streakers Frozen Caboose Fat Ass
26th - My 30 on 30 Run (Details Soon)

December Recap

2011-01-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

"...it's going to be a hard month to stay motivated and keep exercising. With the massive amount of food eaten this past week, several holiday parties, Christmas and New Years on the horizon I think I'm sunk..."

I wasn't joking either. December was a month highlighted with friends and family.

The first weekend kicked off with Rob and Kiera hosting a formal cocktail party. As per many of the parties, many shots were had. The trouble here was the fact that 5 of us had kicked off the night at the local Chinese restaurant and had already consumed our fair share of scorpion bowls. Needless to say, trouble ensued, but there were plenty of laughs had by all.
Sunday came early, and Loni, Leah and I were off to Claremont to run in the All Out for Adam 5 Mile trail race in Moody Park. It was to benefit one of the founders of the All Out Mtn Bike weekend who had been diagnosed with late stage pancreatic cancer. The day was cool and crisp, but the pallet fire kept us warm, at least until the hot ashes melted our clothes.

The Second weekend of the month was a blur. I picked up what some described as a sever case of food poisoning, and what others said was the norovirus. I don't know what it was, but i didn't leave the house, nor was i able to eat ANYTHING for the better part of 5 days. This was very disappointing for me as I missed out on 2 Christmas parties, two birthday parties, and what could have been an epic icy, muddy, December run.

Weekend three was highlighted with Grants 31st birthday party. There was a huge crowd of family and friends. The 5 beers on tap helped! Leah and I managed to get out on the roads again too, logging our first real run together in 12 days.

From Grant's party we rolled right into Loni's Solstice Party where there was a ridiculous amount of ham and wonderful food following a fun hike thru Fox Forest in the dark.

Then Christmas came and went and the group of us got together again for New Years down at Grant's sweet bar.

Exercising promises started, as per usual around new years. This was all a blur, as i'm sure you are aware with all holidays. Hopefully January things slow down. Sherpa's got a streak challenge in mind and I've got two sets of friends on personal fitness goals that I'm going to try to join in with. We'll see how it goes

By The Numbers:
Miles Run: 45
# of Runs: 13
Average Miles: 3.46

Month Starting Weight: 172 Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 179 Lbs
Weight Change: +7 lbs

Race Results:
n/a

2010 - Year in Review - Video

2010-12-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

This year has been pretty epic. I don't think I could have stated that enough in my previous post, but after reviewing photos, it just wasn't.

Here's a slide show.

I love you guys. You make my mornings worth getting up, my runs and stories worth telling, and my dreams and goals worth sharing. I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Here's to 2011!!

Listed in order of appearance:

Seamus
Leah
Heather
Yours Truely
Sherpa John
Loni
Rik
Andy
Wusta
Mandiee
Dustin
Mike
Aaron
Greg
Susanne
Grant
Daigle
Tom
Boris
Mop
Ramon
Steven
Nate & Son
Captain Snooch McMonicle
Nicki
Grandma and Grandpa Brochu
John Izzo
Sarah
Rob & Kiera
Leah's coworker at Yellow Taxi
John
Frenchie
Chad
Joe
Mike and Adrienne
"Happy Cloud"
&
Lisa

2011 Events/Race Schedule

2010-12-27T00:00:00.008-05:00

Jan:

22nd - Holidays are Over Party (Fortin's)

29th - Bear Brook Fat Ass

Feb:
19th - Leah's Luah

26th - Birthday Run (30 on 30) Potential Return of the Hammy Slammy course (Details to follow)

Mar:
5th - Peak Snowshoe Marathon

19-20th - St Patties Day Bash

May:
1st - Muddy Moose

7th - Wapack and Back??

28-30th - Pineland Farms Running/Camping Weekend

June:
4th - Peak Ultra

17-26 - Return to The Maine Woods

July:8th - Hillsboro Balloon Fest 5k

Aug:
13-14th - Second Annual Summer BBQ Bash

Sept:
18th - Pisgah 50k

25th - Vermont 50

Oct:
8th - Oktoberfest in Hillsboro

9th - Oktoberfest in Windsor

16th - ARL - My dogs are Barking 5k

15th-16th - RANH 2011

Nov:
5th - GAC's StoneCat Trail Marathon

24th - Turkey Trot

27th - Loni's Birthday Run? (Details to follow)

Dec:

TBD

2010 Recap - Results

2010-12-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

"If you know me, you are well aware that it has been a rough year..."

Was how I started my my 2009 Recap. And as many of you know, 2010 wasn't a cake walk either. The year started with Sherpa and I pushing each other along as we pushed for the longest streak of 1 mile or more days running. His run tapered off as he became extremely busy with school, mine pushed on as a NEEDED escape. My personal journey of trying to buy a home would experience brief peaks of happiness followed by days and days of dark depression as everyone and everything in the system was failing me. I watched my mileage build more than it ever has in the first few months of a year. I spent more miles that any year prior with friends and family by my side. An Ultra a month was John and my goal for one another. We succeeded for most of the year. With Trips to Vermont, Virginia, Tennessee, back to Virginia, Maine, and Vermont in the first 6 months my running travel budget was at it's all time peak. It was by far the best spring, training and running wise of my life.

Unfortunately, buying a home was taking its toll. With failures continuing, and money slipping away, I turned to the bottle to help me escape. Hiding the pain and hurt underneath a BAC of .08 or higher. While running still had a place in my heart and life, cracking a cold one now took higher priority. On warm late spring / early summer nights where I'd enjoy a light jog around the lake, I'd crack 6 or more Coors lights and sulk around the home where i was renting a room. My Pepere' passed away, and while we weren't that close as i got older, i was reminded of the days I'd spend with him as a youth. Dark days those were.

The second half of the year off with a bang as Leah joined me on my annual 4th of July trip to VT. Where we were able to share a 4th of July 5k with my dad and brother. A week later we got a couple of old friends to join us at the Balloon Festival 5k. One doing her first ever race, the other doing his first real run in 3 years. Soon thereafter. I'd disappear into the woods for a week with Dustin and Heather as they continued on their journey to Thru-hike the Long Trail. It was the clarity i left the woods with that I believe helped lead me to my new home. No longer would i try to kick water uphill. It was much easier to just sit back and let this chips fall where they may. I told no one, did nothing, just let the pieces fall into place.

Fall came quickly, and I was able to share the VT50 with new faces, and old. I witnessed a suicide, bought a home, and threw a massive party all in a week. From here the pace slowed drastically. No longer was i constantly scanning documents, dealing with 10 things at work while trying to do my job. My race season dropped off and it was finally time to breath.

All in all, I'd say 2010 was a good year. With any good year/race, it has it's highs and it's lows. You want to quit, you want to just give up and accept your DNF. And at races, I've done this, but in life, man, there's always another day. Always new people to meet, new trails to run on, new mountains to climb, new goals to reach, new lives to touch. And that's the goal for 2011. To expand our little group of Team Robert / Hillsboro Trail Runners outside of our tight knit friend circle.

Here's to sharing many more miles, stories and laughs in 2011!

Notables of 2010:

- Trained more then any year before. (even more than last year!)

- I did more travel for races then any year prior...AGAIN (VA - 2 times, TN - 1)

- Encouraged an old friend to run her first 5k, and got her husband to join

- Started a small little running club on Facebook that has led to us running more and have Event trips in 2011 already planned.

- Got to race by my father’s side 7 times, including the infamous Barkley!

- Raced with my woman in 15 of the 23 times

- Thru-Hiked the Greenway again

- Spent a week on the Long Trail

- Won 2 hockey championships

- Finally ran a Beer Mile

- Was part of two fantastic weddings

- Bought a home!

- Set a couple of PRs & accomplished many of my goals.

Season breakdown
1 Snowshoe Race
6 Trail Races
7 Road Races

9 Ultra’s

Jan 24, 2010 - Hammy Slammy 50k – 6:20

Feb 27, 2010 - No Power, No Problem 50k – 6:40

Mar 6, 2010 - Peak Snowshoe Marathon - 10:15

Mar 20, 2010 – Shamrock 8k – 51:49

Mar 21, 2010 – Shamrock Marathon – 4:30:42

Mar 27-28, 2010 - The Barkley - 1 Loop - 15:39

Apr 18, 2010 - Muddy Moose 14 Miler - 2:58:42

Apr 25, 2010 - Mud Muck Moose - 48:00 +/-

May 15-16, 2010 - Massanutten 100 - 68.7 Miles - 24:00 - DNF

May 29, 2010 - Pineland Farms BF5k - 26:10

May 29, 2010 - Pineland Farms 50k - 6:16:22

June 6, 2010 - Peak Ultra 53 - 16:02
July 4, 2010 - Clarence Demar 5k - 28:03

July 9, 2010 - Balloon Fest 5k - 43:02

Aug 12, 2010 - Cigna Coorporate 5k - 21:28 (PR!)

Aug 22, 2010 - Moose on the Loose 10M - 43:08 (PR!)

Aug 29, 2010 - Fox 50k - 7:35

Sept 19, 2010 - Pisgah 50k - 6:20:06

Sept 26, 2010 - Vermont 50 - 10:53:15

Oct 10, 2010 - Oktoberfest 3.4 -29:12

Nov 25, 2010 - Turkey Trot 5k - 31:20 +/-

Nov 28, 2010 - Loni's Birthday Run - 6:00 +/-

Dec 5, 2010 - Adam's Run - 39:55

2010 Goals - End - Year Update

2010-12-21T08:01:00.000-05:00

Well here we are, the end of another year. I gave a mid-year update on my goals back in July, lets see how i did overall: (Text in Italics are mid-year updates)

Finish a 100 miler

Updated goal - focus on boosting my mileage for McNaughton 2011 in the spring.

Year End update - Focus on boosting my mileage for the sake of boosting my mileage without the pressure of NEEDING to run a 100 in 2011.

PR a 5k (22:02)

With 2 5ks past where I got to run with many of my friends past. And only 1 remaining on Thanksgiving, i don't know if this goal is reasonable any longer either.

Year End Update - This WAS accomplished a short two weeks after writing the update. I'm pleased to say my new 5k PR is 21:28, and i did it by running for fun, with no watch, with no pressure, as a joke, in my five fingers.

PR a 50 miler (10:51)

This goal is still very attainable and i'd like to think i'll be able to do so come September at the Vermont 50

Year End Update -I thought i had achieved said PR as i sprinted towards the finish line at the VT50. Sadly the math was wrong in my brain. I crossed the line at 10:53:15, thinking i had made it, but after looking back at my results, 10:52:37 is STILL the mark to beat. And i'm confidant i can do it next go around

Read a book a month

I was doing well while there was snow on the ground. Since warm weather has hit it's been pretty pathetic. My only thought is if we get some early snowfall and i can make up for the lost time.

Year End Update - Ha! Well, this was a noble gesture on my part to really boost my reading again. Sadly, it failed miserably. And even now, in December, as daylight continues to dwindle, i find it hard to pick up a book and read. In a new house I constantly find something to work on, something to tinker with, something to clean. Hopefully this is something i can remedy in the coming year.

Update my blog bi-weekly including month end updates on miles/fitness levels

Same as the book a month. I WAS doing well, but have kind of fell off the wagon. Ideally helping crew at the VT100 and spending a week in the woods along the LT will help rejuvenate whatever I've been lacking.

Year End Update - I was doing pretty good about this for awhile. I'd have weeks where I'd Que up blogs. Others where i felt that i just didn't' have anything to say. So i didn't force it. I'm happy with the decision to not force things up on here. I'd rather have what's posted be pertinent and fun. I will continue to post month end blogs, it's too fun to NOT document the great times i share with my friends.

Run more miles then beers i consume.
Run 1300 Miles: (Year - 1300, Month - 108.33 +/- ,Week - 27 +/-)

I figured i could combine these two. So far, i'm ashamed to say that i'm probably only 1:1 for my beer:mile ratio. It's nothing i'm proud of, and it's something I can work on. My goal is slowly slipping away and the mileage debt I'm creating is becoming insurmountable. Here's to a big August and a bigger September with Pisgah and the VT50 in there.

Year End Update - Well this is still a bummer. Not only was i unable to maintain the mileage i was putting down earlier in the year, i didn't even come close. I'd say I HAD a big September, but that was where the track ended. After the Vermont 50 I have barely maintained ANY kind of consistency in running. It's something I will need to change if I hope to have any further success in 2011.

Weight Train - 2-3 days a week...

.... I'd like to think that someday I'd find it comfortable to do 100 push ups a day for a month. I'll get there.

Year End Update - Sadly this is another mark that I have missed. Life gets busy, things get busy. I haven't made it something i WANT enough. I'll get there, I'm making baby steps, and when i feel like i have something consistent enough to report on, i will.

Thru-Hike the Greenway again. Or join D&H on the LT for a week.

Hurray, ONE goal I've actually accomplished!! I've not only finished my second Thru-Hike of the MS Greenway, when this posts I'll be mid-trip along the Long Trail. I suspect approximately 25 miles south of Killington Vermont. While the hiking hasn't counted in my running miles I'd like to think the time on my feet with a 40lb pack helped a lot at Pittsfield last month. And if i play my cards right I'll be able to carry that residual fitness into Pisgah and Vermont in September.

Year End Update - Piece of cake. The week long excursions into the woods are slowly becoming one of my favorite things to do. It provides me with enough time to unwind and unplug from technology without sacrificing taking care of things at home. I'm hoping to do at least one week a year as a thru-hike adventure. Rumors of the AT section in VT in 2011. Stay tuned!

November Recap

2010-12-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

"..If being a solo homeowner is going to limit my running time, or if flying solo is going to give me more time to run..."

Well so far, the results are a bit cloudy. I've had waves of running/exercise linking several days together. And other weeks where i could hardly leave my bed.

The first weekend was a blur with many beers being consumed as my bud Ramon visited for the day while his wife shopped up in Tilton. Sunday we checked out Oktoberfest at Pats Peak, but not before we hiked to the top and played on the WWII Bulldozer and the chairlift

The second weekend bought Dustin and Heather to my home for their second visit. Where we were to perform a dry run on The-Thank-God-The-Holidays-Are-Over Party. As in years past they were to host again, with one twist, this time, it was going to be back in our home state. The homemade pasta and bolognese sauce that Dustin pulled together was pretty epic. And of course, the great food was followed by the annual Bad Santa viewing that resulted in massive amounts of drinking.

The third weekend was finally my chance to get my home gym set up. After acquiring a lightly used treadmill off of Craigslist i got the front bedroom set up for morning work out routines. Now I'll just have to use it more often with the weather turning for the worst.

The 4th week brought Thanksgiving where Leah was to join me on my annual trip to Vermont. Leah would be running her 17th race, and on the one year mark to her first one (details here). I would be running with my pop for the first time since Pisgah and probably the last time of 2010. On black friday we were off to gameday. I got to bring Rummikub which is a childhood favorite of mine and seemed to re-spark a love for the game in Leah's family. Later in the weekend it was Loni's birthday run (details here)

With only Grants birthday run planned in December it's going to be a hard month to stay motivated and keep exercising. With the massive amount of food eaten this past week, several holiday parties, Christmas and New Years on the horizon I think I'm sunk.

By The Numbers:
Miles Run: 45
# of Runs: 13
Average Miles: 3.46

Month Starting Weight: ? Lbs
Month Ending Weight: 172 Lbs
Weight Change: ? lbs

Race Results:
Turkey Trot - 31:20 +/-
Loni's Birthday Run (approx 13.5 Miles) - 6+ hours

Upcoming December Events:
11th - Grant's Birthday Run

Loni's Birthday Run

2010-12-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

The last weekend in November was Loni's Birthday. And just like last year, she scheduled another birthday run. Still nursing a nagging injury sustained in VT at the 50 a few months ago the run went from a 31 miler, to a 31k, to what turned into a 13 mile adventure/beverage run! Here's the slide-show-ish recap.

It was a chilling start when the 4 of headed off up Bog road similar to the route Fox50k route she took us on back in August.

Being a slow pace as we all got up to speed I took the opportunity to run off the road to snap some photos of the frosted over streams.

At the top of "the hill" or the turn around point there is a gem of a home that had this at the end of their driveway.

From the turn around it was back towards the house. Grant and I amused ourselves by doing some splunking in a massive split rock in the marsh adjacent to the road.

Shortly thereafter we took another quick pit stop and had a chance to play "pooh sticks" at a culvert. After losing the first round drastically i decided i just needed a bigger "stick."

We all fell in line with one another again and ran up into and around Emerald Lake where we'd make our first pit stop at my new pad. After giving Grant the quick tour we drank our first couple of beers and shots and snacked on some chips and wasabi almonds. Now slightly rested and a few drinks in it was back to the roads and onward to Loni's place for our second stop. Grant and I had a few more beers and shots while the ladies used the rest room.

From here we decided that we'd finally hit the woods. With the rain/ice from a few days earlier still fresh on the trail the pace increased at times, and slowed at others. It was a ball to be in the woods, but with hunting season in full swing, along with hunting being allowed in Fox we proceeded with caution.

The highlight of the day had to be the massive puddle on Concord End Road at the top. There is ALWAYS a puddle here, we debated back and forth about sliding across it, and wondering if we'd fall thru. Finally Grant went for it, after hearing we only had a few miles remaining.

From 2010-11-28 Loni's-BirthdayRun

From here it was off to our good friend Keith's house where he provided the last shot of the day and celebratory beers and snacks. It was fantastic. All in all we covered approx 14 miles in 6 hours and had several beers and shots.

(The Birthday Girl)

The Full photo album can be found here. Here's to hoping my birthday run is half as fun!

Politics...

2010-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah i said it, Politics.

So here we are, a week after elections. People are still riled up about how the Republicans took back SOME of the power in our government. I have a questions to ask you all.

I want to know HOW it's a problem that we have some kind of a split government?
I'm tired of soft headed liberals (no, not all of them, but just the soft headed ones) saying that this is a travesty and the country is screwed. And I'm equally as tired of the super conservatives saying this isn't enough and that Obama is a Muslim terrorist.

Maybe with balance we'll have less bridges to nowhere. Or better yet, less of this worthless spending that I'm sure you've been exposed to incessantly.
That stupid sign costs $500 a pop. Is that really necessary if your POINT is to do the work? We're all broke, we know where the money to build the road is coming from. Based on the shoty work and all of the idiots standing around on their 10th break of the day, we know it's not china. Only good old American state workers put in that kinda effort. We all know holding that slow/stop sign is a real bitch.

How about this little gem.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-11-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm?csp=34

6 FIGURES?! The household income in the country is 50 thousand. Look at those stats, do we REALLY need that many more government jobs? Where it's impossible to terminate people and they are collecting massive pensions?

Meanwhile, in the real world where THINGS MATTER. We pay our teachers crap, which you know, are then doing a crappier job teaching in the obvious poor conditions. Which in tern, makes those children that people keep pumping out at a record pace more and more dumb. You know, those kids that you are all up in arms about 90% of the time when something is happening.

"But what about the children? WE'VE GOTTA PROTECT THE CHILDREN! Waahhhhhh!"

God for bid we do ANYTHING without worrying about the children. Are you living in a neighborhood with pedophiles? Oh stay away from him Timmy, according to this website he's a child predator because he kissed a girl when he was 18 and she was 17. But we don't care, he's a predator and will need to register wherever he moves now because people are full of fear.

Look, balance is good. If for any reason at all, It's to have the government accomplish NOTHING. After working directly with DOTs for the better part of a decade. Nothing they do is good. At least if there is balance they can just throw mud at each other, blindly vote party line, and forget about the big picture of WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY!

Bottom Line:
~Both sides are corrupt. If you blindly vote party line, kill yourself.
~Forget pissing and moaning on your social network, or linking to some super right or super left column cause you agree complete. It only makes you less credible and ever hate you a little more. ~And get outside and run(literally) while we still can