Thursday, September 23, 2010

Week of Sept. 20th-26th

Monday: 5mi / 38 min. in Pisgah w/Griffin - very sore quads

Tuesday: 0mi - extremely sore today and have a nasty cold.

Wednesday: 5mi / 35 min. in Pisgah w/M.C., Griffin, and Jimmy - Good run, have a cold and legs are still a wee sore.

Thursday: 2mi / 15 min w/XC team - feelin sick and crappy today

Friday: 12mi/ 1:23 in Gilsum Woods w/George, Griffin, and Seben. Good run, I wasn't sure if Seben was gonna make it. He was toast! Too hot and too far for the little guy. We hosed him down after, I think he's alright.

Saturday: 9mi / 67min in Pisgah w/Glenn, Griffin, and Jimmy. Hot and humid in morning. We went for a swim in Baker Pond. I couldn't believe how cold it was already, it felt very refreshing.

Sunday:18mi / 2:00 in Putney w/Fyffe and Ferenc. Great run, feeling good. Perfect fall weather. pm - Hiked Dublin Trail up Mt. Monadnock w/Jen, Mark, and Mary. We had a fantastic hike. We made pretty good time up (1 hr). The clouds rolled in while we were on the summit but the views were excellent just above tree-line. The fall foliage is at peak near the mountain. Had a nice chat about Sasquatch on the descent. He lives!!

Total: 51mi - Recovery week. I had a great day on Sunday. Climbing Monadnock always makes me think about doing more epic runs on the trails. I love autumn, it really gets me excited about trail running. Next week, I want to get my mileage in the 80's and get back to the track.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Pisgah 50K

Sunday was the Pisgah race. This was my 3rd attempt. The 50K field was really deep this year with 4 past champions (David Herr, Ben Nephew, Brian Rusieki,me) two past runners' up (Boj-short course, and George) and Jim Johnson who has been running great lately and is always a threat to win. With so much fire power in the race, I decided to run conservatively and stay behind the leaders. I ran with George for the first 20 miles, and we were about 45 seconds back from the lead pack of Ben, David, Brian, and JJ. When we hit the Kilburn aid station for the first time I was feeling pretty good, a little fatigued, but not too bad. I pulled away from George on the downhill of the Kilburn Loop. As soon as I turned and started the climb out of Kilburn I started getting mini cramps in my quads. This was at about mile 23. I had been running almost 3 hrs, which was longer than any of my long runs. Yikes. I still had 8 miles to go and the daunting challenge of Davis Hill lingered ahead. George passed me after only a couple minutes of uphill running. He looked strong and I tried to stay with him, but my legs were pretty shot and I kept getting tiny cramps shooting through my quads. He told me to keep plugging away that anything could happen. I knew this was true, that people can blow up on this course, but it was doubtful that all 5 of the people ahead of me would. I did keep running on. When I came to the Kilburn parking lot I saw Jen and asked her nicely how her race went. O.K. maybe I shouted at her, but I was hurting and was trying to get my mind off the hill I was about to climb. 3 minutes into the climb up Davis Hill my quads cramped severly. They stayed contracted for at least 2 minutes straight. It was excruciatingly painful. I tried everything from massage, to walking backwards, to bargaining with the devil to get rid of the cramps. Eventually, they did subside. I managed a slow death jog and maintained this all the way to the finish. I did walk again going up Hubbard. I finished in 6th place, 4:04:07. It was a p.r. for me, but the weather was absolutely perfect and the course was dry and fast. David Herr won in 3:42 setting a new course record, followed by Brian-3:46, JJ-3:47, Ben-3:53, George-3:53. A guy that looked familiar finished right behind me in 4:04, also. I think his name is Chris. Boj was 8th in 4:22. What a deep 50K field! After the race we hung out at Glenn and Gina's and watched the rest of the runners finish.
Looking back at my training this summer, I just didn't do enough long runs. I also was doubling alot, which meant that I really wasn't doing alot of medium long runs (13-16mi). I feel like I could have run a very good 23k this year, maybe even having a chance to crack the record. Next year, I will train smarter and hopefully have a stronger 50K.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Week of Sept. 13th-19th

Monday: 5mi/ 43 min. in Friedsam w/xc team + run to school and back.

Tuesday: 10mi / 66 min. in Pisgah w/ Griffin. Great run. Feeling light and fast.

Wednesday: 0mi - Had an xc meet. Fun watching Josh win. I'm tapering and don't mind a day off. Lot's of dunking at school today on 9'. Legs feel fresh and snappy.

Thursday: 2mi / 15min w/xc team. Feel good. Griffin got sprayed by a skunk this morning. God my house stinks! I bathed her using special skunk shampoo and put vinegar all over my house. Hopefully, it will work!

Friday: omi - another xc meet, watched Josh win again. Did some more dunking on 9'. Got a couple nice two handed, self alley oop, off the glass, reverse monster jams down. Still working on the 360. Legs feel great!

Saturday: 8mi / 55min in Pisgah w/Griffin the skunky one. Feel good ready to battle tomorrow. I hope I can get some sleep tonight!

Sunday: 35mi* / 4:04 - Pisgah 50k, 6th place

Total: 60mi

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Week of Sept. 6th-12th

Monday: 7mi /56 min in Pisgah w/Jen and Griffin

Tuesday: am 3mi / 21 min in Friedsam w/Griffin
pm 10mi / 72 min in Pisgah w/George and Griffin - legs tired, crappy run

Wednesday: 4 mi / 32 min w/XC team + run home
10mi / 70 min in Pisgah w/Boj and Griffin - legs still fatigued. Nice cool weather

Thursday: 2mi* / 15min in Pisgah w/M.C., Jimmy, and Griffin - 6 x 20 second ballistic sprints w/form work. Feel great.

Friday: 13mi / 1:26 in Pisgah w/Fyffe, Ferenc, and the Girls, Bailey too - Great run. The weather was awesome. Pushed the climb up to the ridge.

Saturday: 7mi / 59 min. in Pisgah w/Hinsdale XC team and Jimmy, and Griffin - very slow run, but a fun day.

Sunday: 12mi* / 1:20 Josh Billings 6mi race - 32:20 (3rd) - 5th place team, 1st in division. Happy w/race. Nice cool conditions. Fyffe went by me just before the 2mi mark. Was wimpy on a couple climbs, but ended the race with a good push up the last long climb. Had a good kick. Good post race refreshments and conversations.

Total: 68mi - Decent week. Pisgah is next week. Try not to go crazy thinking about it and enjoy the cooler weather.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Week of Aug 30th-Sept 5th

Monday: 0 mi

Tuesday: 8mi / 51 min. in Pisgah w/Griffin - hot miserable weather, but feeling good.

Wednesday: 8mi* / 54 min. 9 x 200m w/200 rest (36,36,38,34,33,33,31,31,30) w/Clint and Sam. Very easy workout. I got this workout from Running Times. It's a 5k sharpening workout. I'm pulling a double j this weekend(racing 2 x) so I wanted to go easy.

Thursday: 9mi/ 65 min in Pisgah w/Ferenc, Glenn, and the Girls. Slow and easy, very hot and humid. Saw a porcupine and lost my watch swimming in Kilburn Pond.

Friday: 0 mi - woke up very early (2:30 am) went and lifted upper body at 5 am, then was gonna run, but went back to bed. Watched Hinsdale XC meet. Wish I ran, oh well. This is gonna be a very low mileage week. Tomorrow race at KSC Alumni Meet.

Saturday: 14mi* / 1:30 - KSC Alumni 5k-16:33 (5:20) 7th. Felt pretty good, I faded at 2 miles and rallied a little at 2 3/4mi. Slow times because of the thick grass and hot weather. Alumni won. I had a lot of fun and am glad that the Keene Staters have accepted me as one of their own. Good long cool down w/Fyffe, Najem, Ferenc, Bridgewater, Gavs, and Wilson. Tomorrow Wapack.

Sunday: 21mi* / 2:45 - Wapack Trail Race-2:36 5th. Tough race. My climbing legs were fried going into this from the race yesterday. I could feel my lack of power on the very first climbs. Despite this, I went out with the heavy weights: Double J, Brian Rusieki, and David Herr. I was able to hang with them until the turn around, but figured my race was done, time to survive. I hiked up Mt. Watatick and watched them run off into the distance. I was able to run well on the downhills and the flats, but I had to hike every climb. I got passed at around 2 hrs. I was very happy to finally see the finish line. I enjoyed the beautiful views, perfect weather, good post-race food, and the great conversations with the other runners. Hats off to David Herr who won in a blazing 2:23. I think I got what I wanted out of this race: a good hard effort for Pisgah on tired legs. Pisgah is gonna be tough, since the top 3 guys at Wapack will be there running the 50k. I'm sure I'll do better on fresh legs. It should be epic.

Total: 60mi - Not a great week training wise. I need to get out the door before school next week and get my mileage back up. I had fun running both races, but it's tough to race twice in a weekend! Next week racing the Josh Billings Runaground Tri as part of a team. I'm gonna train through this one, shhhh, don't tell my teammates.