Pisgah Mountain Trail 23K - 1:36:06 (6:45) 1st place.
I went into this year's Pisgah race a little upset with myself that I didn't do the mileage and the long runs and get myself in shape for the 50K. I kind of told myself after 2012, when I ran the course record on the short course (1:28:55), that I would do the 50K every year after that. I just didn't feel like suffering through a 50K with not enough miles on the old legs this year. So, I took the easy way out and did the 23K. The 23K is a fantastic course and is right in my wheel house. It's almost too bad that there is a 50K going on because it ends up spreading out the talent, when I'd really like to give every trail runner in New England a personal 23K tour of Pisgah State Park. This year, I was going for my 5th win at the 23K. I was pretty sure my biggest competition was racing Andy McCarron on this day. He beat me at the 4 on the 4th in July and we're always pretty close to one another in races. I had no idea how fit Andy was, but I know he's tough and I had to take him seriously. I was also a little worried that I might blow up, and get beaten by my older brother, Jonny.
At the start I took it out fairly fast with Andy sitting right beside me. I got the feeling that this was going to be an epic battle, where we'd run side-by-side all race. I decided that the idea of that was too scary to face, so I picked up the pace to the uncomfortable zone on the dirt road steep hill before entering the park. The kids on my XC team call it "Killer Hill". I got a little separation from Andy. My plan became to get a little gap on him and hammer the first part of the trails and get out of sight. My strategy worked. I started to increase my gap on the climb up the Reservoir Trail. When we hit the tough little switch back climb near North Ponds Trail, I glanced back and I couldn't see Andy anymore. I couldn't relax because I knew Andy could come back on me.
I ran the ridge section pretty well and hit the top in 50:11. I hit this spot in 47:11 back in 2012. I was already 3min off the pace. I figured I could probably run about a 1:35, so this seemed about right. I pushed on down the descents and towards the Kilburn aid station.
I hit Kilburn aid and grabbed a drink. I hustled up the hill on the dirt road and my legs were feeling a bit sluggish. This was not a great sign, but I seemed to still have a comfortable lead. I figured if I could just survive Davis Hill I'd be ok.
I hit Davis and I immediately felt a bit tired. Clearly, my early pace was too fast considering my less than stellar fitness. I started looking back as I slowly made my way up the trail. No Andy in sight. Keep pushing.
Hubbard was much of the same, but the climb is pretty short really. The downhills felt good, and I could still run fast on the descent.
Exiting the park onto my road, I was officially tired and ready to be done. The downhill was fine but a little painful. I was starting to feel hot and thirsty. I hit the road uphill and I started getting blurry vision and felt like I slowed down a ton. I looked back a hundred times. I rolled into the finish line moving not super fast, but satisfied to break the tape for my 5th win. The time was ok. I can live with it. It was my second slowest winning time here. Andy came in 4min later with Jonny right on his heels. It's now no longer a question of "if" but "when" will Jonny beat me in a race. It's inevitable. I doubt it'll be a short race, but he's definitely got a shot of taking me down in a longer race. If I don't do my homework and train hard, he'll beat me. I'm happy for him, but it is motivation to train a bit!
Post race we hung out eating chili and watching the 50Kers finish. Great day! Thanks to Chris and Gary Montgomery for their 13 awesome years of race directing!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Week of September 15th to 21st, 2014
Monday:
3mi w/XC team in Friedsam Forest
9mi/61min in Saxton's River trails with Ferenc, Lena and Ellie. Beautiful weather, feeling good.
Tuesday:
4mi/30min in Pisgah with Griffin. Nice and easy, feeling good. Lifted weights in the morning.
Wednesday:
0mi. We had an xc meet afterschool. My kids ran great again. Great day for a race.
Thursday:
AM: 4.5mi/32min on the roads + Sprints and Drills
PM: 3.5mi/28min on the roads w/xc team.
Friday:
7mi*/41:18 in Pisgah solo. I guess I'll call this an m.p. run though really I was just effortlessly letting the legs flow. I think it was due to the easy week and the perfect weather. 55 degrees and sunny. I feel great!
Saturday:
4mi/28min in Pisgah with Jen and Griffin (1.5mi). Nice crisp morning run, 50 degrees and breezy. I'm ready to race tomorrow. It should be fun.
Sunday:
17mi*/1:50 - Pisgah Mountain Trail Race 23K - 1:36:07 (6:45) 1st place.
Total for the week:
52miles. Good week. Happy to win at Pisgah. Sunday was a lot of fun.
3mi w/XC team in Friedsam Forest
9mi/61min in Saxton's River trails with Ferenc, Lena and Ellie. Beautiful weather, feeling good.
Tuesday:
4mi/30min in Pisgah with Griffin. Nice and easy, feeling good. Lifted weights in the morning.
Wednesday:
0mi. We had an xc meet afterschool. My kids ran great again. Great day for a race.
Thursday:
AM: 4.5mi/32min on the roads + Sprints and Drills
PM: 3.5mi/28min on the roads w/xc team.
Friday:
7mi*/41:18 in Pisgah solo. I guess I'll call this an m.p. run though really I was just effortlessly letting the legs flow. I think it was due to the easy week and the perfect weather. 55 degrees and sunny. I feel great!
Saturday:
4mi/28min in Pisgah with Jen and Griffin (1.5mi). Nice crisp morning run, 50 degrees and breezy. I'm ready to race tomorrow. It should be fun.
Sunday:
17mi*/1:50 - Pisgah Mountain Trail Race 23K - 1:36:07 (6:45) 1st place.
Total for the week:
52miles. Good week. Happy to win at Pisgah. Sunday was a lot of fun.
Week of September 8th to 14th, 2014
Monday:
3mi/25min in Friedsam Forest with the xc team. Body tired. Did circuits at school.
Tuesday:
2mi w/xc team + 7mi/48min in Pisgah with Brett and Griffin. We saw 3 porcupines on this run. I'm glad Summit wasn't with us, he has never met a porcupine before and it could have gotten ugly. Griffin is too wise to mess with them. Beautiful weather. Lifted weights in the morning.
Wednesday:
7mi/56min in Pisgah with Greg E. (my neighbor) and Griffin. Good run nice and easy. We saw another porcupine today. It must be the weather that has them moving around more.
Thursday:
9mi/58min Westmoreland/Walpole trails with Ferenc, Lena and Ellie. Good run. I broke through an old snowmobile bridge, scraping up my shin. Great run otherwise.
Friday:
AM: 2mi/14min in Pisgah with Griffin. Nice early morning run.
PM: Had an xc meet. My team did great!
Saturday:
14mi/1:36 in Pisgah with Brett, Thomas, Summit and Griffin. Great run! Cool weather 52 degrees. I wore gloves. I love this weather!
Sunday:
10mi*/63min - Josh Billings Runaground Triathlon - 6mi run - 33:26 (5:34) 3rd runner. Our team was 7th overall and we won the coed division. Gorgeous cool weather. I felt pretty good out there, I went out a little too fast and suffered in the second half a little. Fun day.
Total:
54mi. Not a bad week. Feeling good. The weather was great every day.
3mi/25min in Friedsam Forest with the xc team. Body tired. Did circuits at school.
Tuesday:
2mi w/xc team + 7mi/48min in Pisgah with Brett and Griffin. We saw 3 porcupines on this run. I'm glad Summit wasn't with us, he has never met a porcupine before and it could have gotten ugly. Griffin is too wise to mess with them. Beautiful weather. Lifted weights in the morning.
Wednesday:
7mi/56min in Pisgah with Greg E. (my neighbor) and Griffin. Good run nice and easy. We saw another porcupine today. It must be the weather that has them moving around more.
Thursday:
9mi/58min Westmoreland/Walpole trails with Ferenc, Lena and Ellie. Good run. I broke through an old snowmobile bridge, scraping up my shin. Great run otherwise.
Friday:
AM: 2mi/14min in Pisgah with Griffin. Nice early morning run.
PM: Had an xc meet. My team did great!
Saturday:
14mi/1:36 in Pisgah with Brett, Thomas, Summit and Griffin. Great run! Cool weather 52 degrees. I wore gloves. I love this weather!
Sunday:
10mi*/63min - Josh Billings Runaground Triathlon - 6mi run - 33:26 (5:34) 3rd runner. Our team was 7th overall and we won the coed division. Gorgeous cool weather. I felt pretty good out there, I went out a little too fast and suffered in the second half a little. Fun day.
Total:
54mi. Not a bad week. Feeling good. The weather was great every day.
Monday, September 1, 2014
September 1st to 7th, 2014
Monday:
0mi. Spent the day hanging out on the water with Jen and Griffin. I did some fishing while they swam.
Tuesday:
0mi. Super humid and hot day. Starting to feel sick or possibly allergies. Lifted weights in the morning.
Wednesday:
AM: 5mi/37min. Roads solo before school + sprints and drills.
XC practice: 3mi/25min in Friedsam Forest with the XC team.
PM: 10mi/65min in Pisgah with Brett and Summit. Great run. Nice weather. Less humidity today. Good triple!
Thursday:
0mi. Uggh super sore throat. Not feeling good.
Friday:
8mi+/58min in Pisgah with Ferenc, Lena, Ellie and Griffin. Very humid again today. Good swim after with the moon out over Kilburn Pond. I rode my mountain bike into Hinsdale to pick up my truck that was getting inspected. Man, mtn bikes suck on the roads! Circuits at school.
Saturday:
10mi*/59:42 on the Keene tracks solo. Good m.p. run. It was humid and quite warm. I didn't feel great but glad I got in some quality running. Watched a high school XC meet after the run. Terrible running conditions, super hot and humid.
Sunday:
18mi*/2:09 in Pisgah with Brett and Summit. Fantastic run. Gorgeous weather and feeling good. We ran into Jen and Griffin coming down the ridge.
Total:
54mi. OK week. Good long run and m.p. run.
0mi. Spent the day hanging out on the water with Jen and Griffin. I did some fishing while they swam.
 |
| I caught 10 largemouths. Most were small like this guy. "Grow up, Son!" |
 |
| I caught all my fish on a 5" Sink-O. Most of them hit on the Sink-O's rigged Whacky Style. |
 |
| This hog pounded the Sink-O as soon as it landed in the water. I caught 3 fish this size today. "Come here, Sugar Booger!" |
Tuesday:
0mi. Super humid and hot day. Starting to feel sick or possibly allergies. Lifted weights in the morning.
Wednesday:
AM: 5mi/37min. Roads solo before school + sprints and drills.
XC practice: 3mi/25min in Friedsam Forest with the XC team.
PM: 10mi/65min in Pisgah with Brett and Summit. Great run. Nice weather. Less humidity today. Good triple!
Thursday:
0mi. Uggh super sore throat. Not feeling good.
Friday:
8mi+/58min in Pisgah with Ferenc, Lena, Ellie and Griffin. Very humid again today. Good swim after with the moon out over Kilburn Pond. I rode my mountain bike into Hinsdale to pick up my truck that was getting inspected. Man, mtn bikes suck on the roads! Circuits at school.
Saturday:
10mi*/59:42 on the Keene tracks solo. Good m.p. run. It was humid and quite warm. I didn't feel great but glad I got in some quality running. Watched a high school XC meet after the run. Terrible running conditions, super hot and humid.
Sunday:
18mi*/2:09 in Pisgah with Brett and Summit. Fantastic run. Gorgeous weather and feeling good. We ran into Jen and Griffin coming down the ridge.
Total:
54mi. OK week. Good long run and m.p. run.
Week of August 25th to 31st, 2014
Monday:
0mi. First day of school and I'm feeling lazy.
Tuesday:
AM: 2mi + Sprints and drills and lifting weights at the Y. My body feels good.
PM: 9mi/58min in Pisgah solo. Hot weather today, feeling great.
Wednesday:
4mi/31min in Pisgah with Griffin. Hot day again. This is my first day with the kids at school. Fun day. It's always good going back to school. Feeling sluggish on the run.
Thursday:
AM: 3mi/20min on the roads solo. Nice morning.
PM: 8mi/50min in Pisgah solo. Cruising and feeling like a rock star! Awesome weather.
Friday:
10mi/73min on the Pinnacle Mtn trails with Ferenc, Lena, Ellie and Griffin. I got a little lost on the drive there, which put me in sort of a foul mood, but once we started running the weather and company was great and the trails were beautiful. I got my mojo back. We ate a ton of black berries at the Athen's Lookout summit. Race tomorrow.
Saturday:
8mi*/50min. KSC Alumni XC Meet - 17:01 (5:29) 20th place, 5th for Alumni. This was a well executed, solidly run race for me. I went out conservatively and kept moving up through the field and picking people off. Nobody passed me but I did yo-yo with a college kid in the last half mile. I was able to dig down and out kick him in the final straight-away. It felt hot on the exposed course and it was a relief to pour water on my head at the finish. It was my slowest time ever at this race, but I ran a good race. This course is deceptively slow. It's flat but the thick grass makes it about 40sec slower than an honest road 5K.
Sunday:
18mi*/2:05 in Pisgah with Ferenc, MacKnight, Thomas, Brett, Lena and Summit. Great run! The weather was nice, but the humidity was climbing as the run went on. Eric and I took a dip at the Pisgah Reservoir about half way into the run, the other guys opted to stay dry. On Hubbard Hill, MacKnight wanted to get the run finished and picked up the pace. Ferenc and I went with him and we hammered the downhill to the finish.
Total for the week:
62miles. This was a pretty good week for the first week of school. I need to really get into a routine and get some work (lifting or running) in the morning. Cross Country starts next week.
0mi. First day of school and I'm feeling lazy.
Tuesday:
AM: 2mi + Sprints and drills and lifting weights at the Y. My body feels good.
PM: 9mi/58min in Pisgah solo. Hot weather today, feeling great.
Wednesday:
4mi/31min in Pisgah with Griffin. Hot day again. This is my first day with the kids at school. Fun day. It's always good going back to school. Feeling sluggish on the run.
Thursday:
AM: 3mi/20min on the roads solo. Nice morning.
PM: 8mi/50min in Pisgah solo. Cruising and feeling like a rock star! Awesome weather.
Friday:
10mi/73min on the Pinnacle Mtn trails with Ferenc, Lena, Ellie and Griffin. I got a little lost on the drive there, which put me in sort of a foul mood, but once we started running the weather and company was great and the trails were beautiful. I got my mojo back. We ate a ton of black berries at the Athen's Lookout summit. Race tomorrow.
Saturday:
8mi*/50min. KSC Alumni XC Meet - 17:01 (5:29) 20th place, 5th for Alumni. This was a well executed, solidly run race for me. I went out conservatively and kept moving up through the field and picking people off. Nobody passed me but I did yo-yo with a college kid in the last half mile. I was able to dig down and out kick him in the final straight-away. It felt hot on the exposed course and it was a relief to pour water on my head at the finish. It was my slowest time ever at this race, but I ran a good race. This course is deceptively slow. It's flat but the thick grass makes it about 40sec slower than an honest road 5K.
Sunday:
18mi*/2:05 in Pisgah with Ferenc, MacKnight, Thomas, Brett, Lena and Summit. Great run! The weather was nice, but the humidity was climbing as the run went on. Eric and I took a dip at the Pisgah Reservoir about half way into the run, the other guys opted to stay dry. On Hubbard Hill, MacKnight wanted to get the run finished and picked up the pace. Ferenc and I went with him and we hammered the downhill to the finish.
Total for the week:
62miles. This was a pretty good week for the first week of school. I need to really get into a routine and get some work (lifting or running) in the morning. Cross Country starts next week.
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