Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Week of July 13th - 19th, 2015

Monday:
2:46 in the White Mountains with Ferenc and Matt Haley.  Great run/hike up Franconia Ridge. 

Tuesday:
5mi/34min in Friedsam solo.  Legs feel pretty good considering what I did for a run yesterday.
Hiked up Pitcher Mtn with Jen and Griffin.

Wednesday:
1mi.  I went fishing at the reservoir with MC.  He landed a nice 4lber and then I landed a 5lber.  Biggest largemouth of my life.  Awesome trip.  I'd put pictures on my blog but I'm too lazy.  I showed a lot of people the pictures already. 

Thursday:
8mi/54min in Pisgah solo.  Nice weather.  Feeling good.  Played some wiffle with Boj and he made me eat my words with a walk off grand slam.  I hate him.

Friday:
0mi.  Lazy day.  I had to take Griffin to the vet.  She's got another UTI poor old girl!

Saturday:
14mi*/1:36 - Run with the Beavers 10mi trail race - 1:04:22 (6:26) 2nd place.  There was a lot of excitement going into this year's race with the team competition between WTAC and Team Hambojaloob.  Wooley, Garvin and Galoob all ran much faster splits than me at Ragnar so I was thinking I'd probably finish in 4th.  I also realized I've gained a little fitness since then and this course paired up nicely with my strengths.  (Not much climbing, lot's of small ups and downs on semi-technical single track).  I took the lead with Wooley, Galoob and Garvin following closely as we entered the single track early into the race.  I wanted to push and make the race honest the whole time.  No tactical racing here.  After the water stop, Wooley came up along side me on the dirt road.  I kept brushing into him as I tried to run the tangents of the dirt road.  He probably thought I was being an aggressive jerk.  We entered back into the single track and I took the lead again with Wooley right behind me.  We had a very small gap on Galoob and Garvin.  We dumped back onto the dirt road and Wooley shot into the lead as we re-entered the single track.  He blasted the steep downhill and started to pull away.  I was feeling the effort and Galoob started to catch me after the bridge on the side-hill techy section.  He finally passed me and chased after Wooley up the steep hill.  I didn't lose much ground on the hill and kept the gap at about 3 seconds behind Galoob.  As we came around the field to finish the first lap, Wooley started to extend his lead and Galoob did the same to me.  Garvin was a few seconds back of me.  I hit the line in 31:25 for the first loop.  There was no way I was going to even split.  Time to hang on and try to rally. 

I felt tired but kept my cadence high climbing the dirt road hill that starts the second lap.  I gained a little ground on Galoob here.  We entered the single track and I started to reel in Galoob.  I made the pass soon after.  He said something like his head hurt and I was worried he was having a medical episode.  (Turns out he said his hip hurt).  I yelled at him that he could recover on the downhills after the water stop and still run fast.  I could see Wooley occasionally up ahead and this became my new motivation.  I looked back and could not see Galoob or Garvin so I went into hunt Wooley mode.  That was a good place to be in mentally rather than being scared of getting passed by the guys behind me.  I hit the water stop and the guy told me I was 20sec down to Wooley.  I tried to dig down, but I never saw him again.  He must have torched this last 1/4 of the course.  As I came into the woods near the finish of the field, I looked across and saw Ryan finishing in 1:03:40.  I dug down for the final field in crossed the line in a satisfying 1:04:22.  My second lap was 32:55.  This was my second fastest time on the course which I was happy with.  I waited to see if Galoob would beat Garvin to keep the team race close.  Garvin crossed next in 1:05 for a big pr.  Brightman and Bentley and Chris Fox all came in ahead of Jonny so I knew our team was having a rough day. (Turns out he lost a shoe in the mud).  I started to worry about Galoob and then I was told he dropped with a hip injury.  Seth ran a pr and then Boj came through with a pr as well.  Fun cool down with the guys after the race. 

This has me excited about where my fitness is at, if only I can get motivated to run a little more.  I'm also very much looking forward to the battle at Lil Rhody with all the same players. 

Sunday:
12mi/1:25 on the Pinnacle trails with Ferenc, Lena and Ellie.  Legs not really sore but very tired and sluggish today.  Hot and humid weather.  Dipped in the magical healing waters at the Putney culvert after the run.

Total for the week:
53mi.  Decent week.  Very pleased with my race and I caught a monster largemouth bass.  I need to get the mileage up to the 60's and get to the gym more next week. 

Monday, July 20, 2015

Week of July 6th - 12th, 2015

Monday:
AM: 1mi + drills and lifted weights.
PM:  9mi/65min on the Athens, VT trails with Ferenc and Lena.  Hot weather.  We saw a dead short-tailed weasel in the trail.  Cute little bugger.  I wonder what got him?
3mi/24min with MC to Kilburn for a nice swim. 

Tuesday:
0mi.  Crappy weather today.  I took Griffin for a nice long walk.

Wednesday:
13mi*/1:23 in Gilsum Woods with Dawson Adams.  M.P. run.  Dawson was running fast right from the start.  He dropped me twice on two big climbs.  My legs were tired.  I lifted weights before the run and did a lot of front squats and cleans.  Humid weather.

Thursday:
0mi.  Hiked Mt. Wantastiquit with Jen and Griffin.  Lower back is stiff.  I should have run though. 

Friday:
8mi*/49:02 in Pisgah solo.  M.P. run.  Great run.  Nice weather.  Saw a deer and a garter snake.  Feeling great, really hammered the last mile.

Saturday:
8mi/54min in Pisgah with Ferenc, Lena and Ellie.  Nice weather again. 

Sunday:
1mi.  Lifted weights and played some 2 on 2 hoops at the Y.  Went fishing at night with MC.  We had a fantastic trip catching some nice largemouths.  A couple 3 pounders and a bunch of 2 pounders.  We heard skunk apes howling on the ridge at sunset and decided to run out of there.  It was pretty freaky.  Sasquatch lives!!

Total for the week:
43miles.  This was essentially 3 days off.  I guess that's fine but I shouldn't expect to win any races on this kind of mileage.

Week of June 29th - July 5th, 2015

Monday:
0mi.  Drove up to Pittsburg, NH.  Legs sore and tired.  Staying right on the First Connecticut Lake in a little cabin.  No cell phones, no internet or cable.  Nice and peaceful.

Tuesday:
0mi.  Hiked up Mt. Magalloway with Jen and Griffin.  Lot's of moose poop on the trail.  Great hike.  It's gorgeous up here.

Wednesday:
2mi with Jen and Griffin in Johnson's Family Forest in Pittsburg.  Rainy day.  Hooked a trout on my fly rod but it broke my line.  I don't think I tie the right kind of knots on the flouro-carbon leader and it slipped, or it was a 5lb monster.  I then proceeded to shut my fly rod in the car door breaking it when I went to tie on another fly.  Uggghhhh!  I've been fishing for over 30 years and I've never broken a rod before.  It wasn't an expensive rod, but it was very frustrating!

Thursday:
0mi.  Hiked 800' Bog Bridge Trail with Jen and Griffin.  Drove home from Pittsburg.  It was a great relaxing trip.  Caught a brown trout in the Ashuelot on spinning tackle when I got home and 2 smallies.

Friday:
9mi/60min on the WML tracks with Ferenc, Lena and Ellie.  Beautiful weather.  Lifted weights and got enormous.

Saturday:
10mi*/63min - Keene 4 on the 4th road race - 21:40 (5:25) 9th place.  Good race.  I ran very even splits and ended up dueling with Dawson Adams (George's 16yr old son).  We yo-yo'd in the last mile several times and then he dropped me with a strong surge with 400m to go.  It felt like a flash back to 2006 (I believe) when I was battling with George in the last mile where he pulled away for the win.  Now I'm battling with his son.  Pretty cool!  Jonny ran a big pr and then was left out of the official results.  Thomas won his 4th straight title which is the most wins at this race, putting him in the discussion for 4 on the 4th GOAT.  He still has Fyffe's monster course record of 19:23 to chase.  That time is freaking fast!  We spent the afternoon at Stoddard with the family.  Fun day.

Sunday:
13mi/1:30 in Goose Pond trails with Thomas.  Nice weather.  My legs are sore from the race.

Total for the week:
34mi.  Fun trip to Pittsburg.  I could have run up there, but I didn't mind chilling in the cabin and hanging at the lake all day being lazy.  The hikes were nice and I'm content with my race effort.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Week of June 22nd - 28th, 2015

Monday:
0mi

Tuesday:
5mi/36min in Friedsam solo.  Hot and humid weather.  Lifted weights. Caught 2 smallies at the river

Wednesday:
AM:  8mi/54min in Pisgah solo.  Beautiful morning.
PM:  8mi*/53min track workout at Monadnock track.  2mi at T pace (10:56)

Thurday:
AM: 1mi + drills and lifted weights
PM:  5mi/34min in Friedsam solo.

Friday and Saturday:
Ragnar Trail Relay - 15mi*.  I had a blast with my team.  I also enjoyed hanging out in the wee ours of the morning with the Foolproof Team.  Thanks for the beverages guys. 
I ran the green loop first in 22:20.  Next was the red loop at around midnight in 51:57.  I had a blast racing at midnight and passing people super fast on sketchy trails in the dark by the light of my headlamp.  It was a very cool experience.  Finally around 6:45am I ran the yellow loop in 36:11.  This was by far my favorite loop.  I wish I got to run this one first while fresh.  Very fun mix of single track and not too much climbing.  I stayed up all night and was absolutely exhausted by the end of it.  Great time and I'd love to do it again.

Sunday: 
8mi/65min in Pisgah with Danny.  Body sore and tired but glad I did it.  It was pouring rain.  Good little recovery run.

Total for the week:
50mi.  Ragnar was an absolute blast. 

Week of June 15th - 21st, 2015

Monday - 0
Tuesday - 0
Wednesday - 0
Thursday - 0
Friday - 0
I was sick with a nasty stomach bug.  Finally feeling better.
Saturday - 2mi + lifted weights
Sunday - 16mi w/Ferenc, Lena and Ellie
Total for the week:  18mi.  Not a great week but school is out now and I'm feeling recovered from my stomach bug.