My experience at the Pack Monadnock Road Race 10 Miler, Wilton , NH  on June 5,2011. (USATF-NE Mountain Circuit Race #3).

This race takes place in south central New Hampshire. Its an end to end race starting at the Wilton High School and finishing 10 miles west at the summit of Pack Mt. The top of Pack Mt. is 2290’ in elevation. I am nervous about running this race because I have not run this distance in several months, plus the weather was bright and sunny with temperatures in the 70′s. This coarse was designed to give runners a hill climb challenge and to test strength and endurance. My estimated finish time is 1:55 or better. But I have to get to the start first. I have learned a lot about being prepared lately and this was just another one of those lessons.

I drove to finish to park my car and catch the shuttle to the school where the registration and start is. I have not yet registered for this race yet but plan on meeting the 8:45 deadline. The shuttle unloads us at the school at 8:43 and I scramble to find the registration room. As I enter the room with check in one hand and application in the other I yell registration and hear a reply of no! The R.D. was just kidding and took my paperwork, gave me my bib # and I kindly asked him for a shirt. The shirts were all packed up but he managed to find my size. I rolled up the shirt and put it my pocket. The lesson here is to pre-register for races and allow enough driving time to get to the venue.

The weather is clear blue skies with no humidity. I am as ready as I can be for this race. The coarse runs uphill for the first mile then flattens out for about a half mile. There is a rolling upgrade for the next 3 or 4 miles with beautiful flowering meadows and old homes and farmhouses on a mix of paved and gravel country roads. I am running pretty well and the morning sunshine is warming up. There is another flat section that allows me for some recovery for what is about to come. I was warned that the last mile is super steep. But by mile 8 I was starring at this long hill ahead of me. I slump into a walk / run mode. My energy was soon spent just looking up the hill and this wasn’t the steep section yet!! This part of the coarse is on the main road and in full sun and the cars and trucks going up this part seemed to struggle just as much as me. At the hillcrest the coarse turns into the entrance for Miller State Park ( the first state park in N.H. and location of the Wapack Trail ) which has an auto road to the summit. Run up this section and your at the finish. This is the last mile to the top and I just ran longer than I have since the sweep at the Bluff. Some sections of this mountain road are as steep if not steeper than the auto road on Mt. Washington! I could barely run up this so I walked fast. Words of encouragement came from the runners walking down to the parking lot after they crossed the finish. I tried to run up parts of the mountain road but I could feel the micro fibers in my muscles tearing on each step so I just walked in huge strides instead. The last steep was about a 20% grade. We were feeling it now! Those quads were singing…“I’m a mountain runner and that’s O.K.” … I crossed the finish at 2:03:09 just shy of my goal by about 8 minutes. I was very satisfied with my results. I thanked the R.D. for my last minute registration. The t shirt in my pocket was proudly put on to honor my accomplishment. I stood on the summit and glazed off into the distance to the White Mts. which were some 70 miles away. The views on top were amazing.

The watermelon waiting for me in the car was so refreshing. I hung out for some post race munchies and headed back home. It was yet another great day on the USATF-NE Mountain running circuit. There is a three week gap before the next race. In the meantime I am going on vacation . I will be hiking Mt. Madison in the Northern Presidential Range and biking through old New England villages where my ancestors are from. I will also be running the Niantic Bay 10k to be close to the ocean. I will also be swimming at Crane Beach in Ipswich Mass, so I can stay in shape and get ready for my next mountain run. Suds

Next races on the Suds calandar:

Cranmore Mt. 12k – 26 June, 2011

Loon Mt. 5.7m – 3 July, 2011

Ascutney Mt. 3.7m – 10 July, 2011

The race venue is in North Central Massachusetts located at another ski resort. Wachusett Mt. is the highest mountain in Mass. east of the Ct. river towering at just over 2230 ft. Just below the summit is some large stands of old growth forest. Some trees are over 350 years old. I got to just get up there and hug one of these.

For some reason the base ski lodge was not available so the scene for the race was in the parking lot. About 300 runners gathered to run up and down this hill. We all walked a quarter mile to the start line. Many runners who were at Northfield are also here. The race started on the paved mountain road. Off we went up the first of many steep hills for about a mile then downhill for about ¾ mile back to the base then up the slopes zigzagging across the mountain. There were at least 3 more real steep ascents. My strategy was to pace with someone who passed me last week going up the hill. I found someone who would allow me to stay on their heals all the way up and most of the way down. My chosen compatible “teammate” was probably 20 years older than me and 20 pounds less. He hardly knew I was behind him due to my nimble running technique that I have learned from Mr. Bimble. So my breathing got harder as we chugged up the last steep. I kept to my mantra “ save energy for downhill”. I heard my teammate giggle as I chanted these words quietly . I wanted to pass but held back and stayed true to my mantra. One of those old growth trees was on the path and I put my arm around it and told it I had to go and could not stay to give you a big hug or I would loose my pacer. I was totally forgiven by that ancient pine and it told me if I was on the mountain again to be sure to visit.

Steadily and strongly I pulled my body to the high point of the coarse. From here a water station and then a 15 minute cruise down to the finish. “Never waste a downhill “.So I put it into high gear and chased my pacer for as long as I could. Down and down we went on wide forest trail using up that energy I saved going up. Soon the downhill cruise flattened out a little and my pacer was way ahead of me. He was now gone and I was on my own running as fast as I could. Just as I began to hear cowbells at the finish the trail changes. There is this abrupt hard left turn into a single track very rocky rooty trail. What a transition from cruising as fast as possible on wide smooth forest road to small single trail. Much of the trail is a blur due to the sweat in my eyes but soon I pop out of the woods and through the finish line at 53:38. Just under my 55 minute goal! Wohoo! This race was just as challenging if not harder as last weeks 10.3k in Northfield. And it was almost two miles shorter than Northfield. The post race activities were refreshed with some bagels and soda. This has been another exciting day on the New England Mountain Series. Can’t wait for next weeks 10 miler in New Hamphshire Race #3.

–Suds

The Ups and Down of Mountain Running : Part 2

May 28,2011

Wachusetts Mtn. Road and Trail Race 4.7 miles

Weather : cool and humid. Mostly Cloudy 68 degrees

The Northfield Mt. race is the first of a six race series I need to complete. If I complete all six races I will be able to bypass the Mt. Washington road race lottery system for 2012 ! I am attached to getting to run up the auto road for 7.6 miles up by purely for the love of Mt. Washington and the White Mountains. It is a passion of mine that is embedded in my blood and is a personal challenge of will and strength. So after two failed attempts to be chosen in the lottery I have decided to honestly bypass that system and do it the hard way by entering these six mountain races.

In Northern Mass. on the eastern side of the Connecticut river is Northfield Mt. (1206 ft.) A mere foothill. It lies in part of the Miller’s River Highlands. The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail crosses the summit ridge.

A hydroelectric plant is actually built underground in the mountain. Once one of a kind in the world. There is also a cross country ski area on the mountain thus making it an ideal venue for a trail race.

This race is also part of the Grand Tree Series. I‘ve checked previous years results and knowing my body I figured I could run this race in less than 70 minutes. The race director Dave Dunham of Central Mass. Striders made his intro and jokes to psyche everyone up for the race. About 225 runners started and we were off up the hill just after 9 a.m. I chose to be in the head of the back of the pack like I always do. Those few I passed on the way up quickly passed me on the way down. So for about 4 miles the wide forest trail went up and up then flat ,then up ,a little down, then up and up and up for about 40-45 minutes. The trail rounded off at the top of the ridge then just a little more up to the water station near the summit viewing platform. Out of the water station for some down hills. It wasn’t long before I realized that I spent a lot of energy going uphill because those downhill sprints weren’t as sprint-able as I hoped. But I tried running as fast as I could and then realized my shoe was breaking up and would prohibit me from going full bore downhill. Plus that bagel I ate two hours ago is feeling like a lead bullet in my side. Down and down I went trying not to brake to hard but the cruising’ was not there. About 25 minutes of pounding the wide forest trail downhill I arrived at the finish within one minute of my initial goal! My time was 69 minutes 4 seconds. Winning time around 37 minutes.

I have learned a couple of things this day of mountain running:

1). Train on running downhill faster.

2). Be careful what you eat before a race.

3). Buy new shoes. How am I gonna run down hill faster ? How about screaming like your falling off a cliff as you run.

My eating, well don’t barf up your dinner the evening before and don’t eat before a short race. Just drink coffee. And oh ya buy new shoes when they show signs of rot.

I’m glad I am making a rebound from my hiatus of last fall and winter. There is a lot more ahead of me in my training and endurance to get my body adapted again for what I want to run. Doing this USATF New England Mountain Running Circuit is a self test of what I am made of and what I can become.

-Suds

Northfield Mt. Race 5/21/11 9:00 a.m.

• Weather
• 60 degrees – Overcast, hazy ,some fog.
• Trail Conditions – damp

Much work needed to be done to get my butt up to this race.  Saturdays workload at the store presented me with a 10 hour work schedule. Not to mention a 2 hour lawn mowing job for my neighbor afterwards. But somehow with the thought of someone I know running a 100 miler I managed to suck up to the physical labor.  By midnight I was eventually off and driving for the next four hours until I had to rest. I pulled over at the lake at the base of Mt. Chocoura and napped in the parking lot for a little while. Did I mention I know someone running all night so why not stay up and drive all night? By 6:00 a.m. it was time to find breakfast. I went up to Jackson for hot coffee and a sandwich. Then up the road to Pinkham Notch to check it out. They’re redoing the parking lot for the A.M.C. camp there. The clouds were low and it was raining. I was re energized by now and was getting psyched up for the race. So off to the race venue. The rain stopped as soon as I left the Notch.

By the time I arrived at the base lodge the parking lot was filling up fast so I didn’t hesitate to get my bib # and t-shirt. I went back to the car to change into running clothes and did a small warm up run around the parking lot. The race atmosphere was more formal than others since this was a Championship event. Elite mountain runners from all over North America. The M.C. was great and he had a loud sound system that could be heard all the way up the mountain. The music they played was cool and loud. The racers were much more competitive than I have seen. Real fast looking and determined to tackle the hill climb at full speed. This was my first running of this race so I was really excited. There were three national anthems played. One for Mexico and one for Canada and of course the U.S.A . Its two times up and down the mountain. The loop was well marked and very steep going up. One section was a 25% grade up. Another was 20 % up. Don’t lean backwards to much! Once on top there was the only water station then its all downhill for 1.5 miles. It was full bore all the way to the bottom on this wide trail ( ski slope).

So off and running at 9 a.m. to another bottleneck start getting onto the trail. I managed to politely pass without knocking anyone over. The coarse is on ski trails with some single track crossovers and glade runs. Uphill for over a mile and a half. Just another strong cardio workout like the week before at Greylock. There were a lot of volunteers and spectators and photographers scattered along the loop. The first time I got to the top of the mountain I stopped at the water station and climbed the boulder across the way to claim the summit. This cost some precious race time but I had to do it because I used to climb this mountain a lot when I was a little kid ( via the old skimobile lift). So I had to do it for fun. A Sudsy moment. The next 1.5 miles is a cruise downhill full throttle. The whole time down I thinking to myself that I’ve got to go back up and over this hill one more time. I floored it as best I could passing the few runners that were able to pass me on the climb up. I came through the first lap at little over 43 minutes. A third of the way back up I could hear the m.c. announcing the first place runner coming through the finish line. I turned and looked way down the grassy soggy ski slope and could see him running to the finish. Most of the runners that I passed on the way down are trying to pass me two thirds the way up to the top. Once over the top the second time I stopped for some water and dashed off to catch up to those few runners that were able to pass me on the ascent. I caught up and passed most of them as I flew down the trail. The last tenth of a mile is at the base lodge along this nice green lawn. Well this kid from Maine that I just passed decided to floor it on this flat spot to the finish . He passed me right near the finish. Whatever! I was very satisfied with my finish time of 1:30:05. I hung around for the awards ceremony which the USA Men’s and Women’s teams both won. The first place winners get to go to Italy for the World Championship Mountain Running Race. After the race event was over I went to see the Mayor at the Café he is working at. He had some good news and some really awesome chocolate to eat. After that it was a drive home. I had a great time!

These mountain running challenges have been fun. It has been a great intro to what it may be like to run up the auto road on Mt. Washington 2010. My mountain running excursions and races should continue through the summer. This makes for an excellent source of training for any Ultras I’ll be doing this Fall. Hint hint – Suds

Conditions Summary
Cranmore Hill Climb 11k : Cranmore Mtn. Resort North Conway, N.H.
Sunday June 29th 2009 @ 9:00 a.m.
Weather: Cool 65 degrees f, Cloudy with a chance of showers.
Trail Conditions: Not dry, spongy ground with some muddy and wet spots.