High drama drive from Vermont condo to New Hampshire race start. Post-Irene roads had taken a beating, forcing the friends we were following to take a creative route that ignored several “road closed” signs and gave my new car a workout on washed-out gravel paths, next to smoldering brush and deep ditches. We even passed through two covered bridges! It was kind of exciting, but I worried we would have to turn back at some point, possibly angering the law or missing the race start.

James’ evil laughter when he compared the extensive markings on my 50K course map to those for his intended 23K. [Read more...]

Ok as you all know by now I have tried and failed this race twice called WASATCH !!
I decided to give it one more try you know for the hell of it. I assembled a crew plane tickets rental car hotels (kind of) and all the GU’s one even Russ could eat!!

We all landed and got our rental car and away we went. I like to stay in a nice Hotel rather than in a tent as other’s like to do, nice cushy beds pools and all!! My crew was very detail orientated, so prior to the race we went to the start of this awful dirty dusty hilly rocky race to make sure we knew how to get there at 4 in the morning!!  While walking around the start made me sick almost. The race briefing is generally brief with not a lot of hoopla. There were drop bags for aid stations ready to go, but with my crew (Andrew and Jay at my beckoned service I needed no drop bags.

We eat well both nights before the race and drove around Salt Lake for a bit. Finally it was time to get serious and get ready to run, you know stuff like put on the race # which makes things real!! We set MANY alarms and had incoming calls ready to make sure we weren’t late.3 am rolled around and I was up had coffee made a bagel tried not to forget too much and we were off!! With 1 more potty break at the start I was ready to go!! Although I would rather go back to the Hotel.

So off the trail we go with excited runners exchanging stories and worries, our headlights bounced up the trail ahead and behind in the dark of the early a.m. Finally we hit the first of many big climbs and the heart and sweat start to flow. I had this nagging hot spot on my right heal (way too early for this), and at the first aid station I stopped to examine wow a blister had popped already!! A nice guy stopped and applied some tape which stayed all race and saved my race. This part of the race may be the nicest to look at of the whole course and it has decent footing too so I tried my best to make good time. I did not ever feel strong not even in the beginning which did worry me for sure. But I took in all the beautiful mountain views in a 360% views all around me!! Finally at mile 18 the first aid station which also no crew there this year I eat and drank and even took a goodie bag along with. The next many miles are basically on different mountain tops going one to another. Eventually mile 40 the first aid station where you can see your crew and I was looking forward to it for sure!! I was there slower than years in the past and I was worried about that, but got weighed (down 3 lbs) not bad, and proceeded to be pampered by my crew!!! I ate drank and got my feet cleaned with new socks to go too.

From here Jay ran with me, I don’t think I was in the mood to run at this point but we did our best and away we went. Off to the next aid station is all you can do, aid station to aid station until there are all gone. I just didn’t ever feel like I was attacking the run but rather holding on was more like it!! I tried to pretend Jerry was behind me for on our spring loop run it seemed to work well, but I knew he wasn’t there so it didn’t really work. I came into the next big aid station much slower and in the dark, which even when i dnf’d twice I was there just before dark so I was at bit alarmed. But I wanted and got pizza there which I asked for but I just couldn’t eat much of it, but I did like the cucumbers they had they went down easy. I bundled up some and took off with Andrew this time for the next 7 miles. It is a mile or two on asphalt road uphill then it turns into more uphill in the woods. Andrew talked and with his light would warn me of all obstacles I may stumble over. With my energy low I walked this best I could and in a few more miles we hit road again and continued uphill to the nest aid station. My runners would switch there again back to Jay and it was much more cold so I had some spaghetti there and changed with Andrews help into warm pants a jacket and gloves and away we went again!! The next many miles weren’t great the were even kind of bad, I was probably getting sleepy and started to doubt that I could finish the dammed run ever!!! Negative stuff filled my head more and more I walked almost all the time now onward. Somewhere in the next many miles a few different things happened. I spoke out loud of not being able to finish (I even prepared a speech to all the people who I would see when I got back) also I had Jay call Denise back home to talk, I just didn’t want to get close to a finish but NOT make it was in my head!! I don’t know if it was a hot cup of coffee I had or what but I some how started to run a.k.a.shuffle somewhat here and tried to continue it for awhile on and off on and off. After a bit we hit the road with the Brighton aid station just ahead of us woohooo.I didn’t not feel good but was glad to be closing in with the sun coming up too is a very good thing, so into to the station I stumble get weighed eat drink and I now know I need to not stop long anywhere and keep moving and I “may” be able to finish this f **n race. I leave my pacer and take off up again many more mountains and I do mean Mountain’s. There really are some beautiful views here which I do see but not for long as I need to work hard to make it. They say the last 25 are some of the hardest and I would disagree. From here I didn’t have a watch so about every 10 minutes I asked Jay for either time of day or what pace do we need to make it. That’s really all I know in the last 25 miles, run when I can and I certainly tried where I could a.k.a.shuffle I did get a nice section where I ran a lot of I think anyway. I only stayed 2 minutes in many of the last aid stations even leaving Jay who was munching on pancakes and all of the goodies he can get. He also reminded me to eat and drink which I did do when he said so for I was like a zombie and only focused on the finish. I power hiked ok up many more climbs until finally we came to the last mother loving aid station (you know the place where I dnf’d my first try just 7 little miles from the finish line)!! I hoped for downhill but once again more uphill with some water crossings which I drank out of and dipped my hat into to cool off. It was a long 7 with more very hard to run on loose rock crap but finally something nice but I know I had 2 hours to make so my fear has left me about not finishing for the first time!! I walked to road into the finish but of course shuffled in for the video camera would be running there. I said never again as I hit the line AMEN for real!!!

The “never again” was for that race, I will do another one soon, I may look for an Easy 100”

Having a crew here made this possible for I was losing it fast but they just kept me moving until things changes!!

~Click here for a link to ALL of Ultra’s Short Videos from Wasatch 100!

After two weeks in Italy overindulging on pasta and gelato, I figured I’d better get back to some sort of running routine (I’d done a lot of outstanding hiking while I was away, but almost no running).

I took advantage of my body being on European time to do some morning runs and decided to check out the West Rock Challenge 9-Miler (a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity), despite the unfortunate 7:30 am start time. I was curious to experience a familiar after-work running venue in the different context of a race. My friend Sandy (the road runner I have been attempting to convert) agreed to join me, despite some trepidation about the terrain, given her lack of trail running shoes or experience. We got to the start with only one minute to spare, joining a small band of unfamiliar faces (though there were two Bash shirts in attendance and I now know Rachel was also present!) Since I had bimbled the full Cockaponset loop the day before (my longest run in months ), I wasn’t sure how my legs would hold up and planned to make it a social run.

As we set off on the dirt road around Lake Wintergreen, lovely in the morning light, Sandy was surprised by the unexpected appearance of a long-lost friend and former running partner. They quickly set about updating each other on the eventful last few years of their lives. After a mile or two, I decided to give them room for their conversation and continued on at my own pace.

The first section of the race was a fun, varied romp with alternating smooth and technical sections, a few guardrails to climb, and some rocky drops to leap. I encouraged an aspiring virgin Bluff runner as we neared the big climb. The air was humid and I found the long, rocky push to the summit extremely grueling. Given my depleted legs, I was barely able to sustain a run and saw that most of my compatriots also seemed to be tottering indecisively between running and hiking. By the time I reached the top, I was so exhausted and focused on my feet, that I almost forgot to take in the stunning views of New Haven from the summit. I ate a few dried apricots, hoping that the brief road section on the ridge would give me time to recover before the dicey technical descent down to the notch over the Merritt tunnel and back to the Lake. By this point, runners were pretty spread out, but I had no shortage of company, as there there were pairs of spirited Quinnipiac student volunteers deployed to every remotely ambiguous trail intersection. It was a relief to hit the dirt road on the back side of the lake and to know I was past the most difficult sections. My body seemed to go on autopilot as I settled into a brisk jaunt over the twists and turns of the familiar, well-loved lower trails. I managed to pass a few folks on the flats and downs, but then struggled to keep my momentum and stay ahead of some of them on the rolling ups (a familiar pattern for me in races…yet I keep avoiding those Sleeping Giant hill repeats! Those who indulge–please invite me along next time!) The final 1.5 mile stretch of the race is on a completely flat, completely straight dirt road. On training runs, I sometimes I appreciate the coasting after a venture to the rocky upper reaches.

But on this occasion, as on many others, it felt extraordinarily long and boring. I started to daydream, remembering other West Rock experiences….my initial explorations with Catamount…a snowy, single-digit group bimble (when Shellygirl claimed the overlook chair!)…a nighttime run with Allstate on that same section with only one dying headlamp between us… The sudden lack of trail obstacles to negotiate made it hard to stay focused and maintain my pace. I caught myself inadvertently slowing down several times, until the sound of a runner thundering up behind me finally motivated me to kick into gear and finish strongly.

The appealing finish line spread hit the spot perfectly– lots of coffee, fresh fruit, and bagels. Exactly what I like to eat at 9 am on a weekend (but usually BEFORE running). I even indulged in a delicious bonus donut (yeasty and sugar coated), which made me wonder why I don’t eat them more regularly. I started to walk back to the finish to cheer on Sandy and James, but they appeared before I could get to them, having made very speedy progress. Sandy and I were the top two (of three) in our Master’s age group and I was thrilled that she’d felt confident and done so well during her first “real” trail race. I was also delighted to select from the award table a very generous gift certificate to Ibiza wine bar. In keeping with the Habitat for Humanity theme, race trophies included engraved hammers for the overall winners and pieces of recycled lumber for age group winners (not quite as distinctive as the Soapstone rocks!).

I would definitely recommend this very enjoyable and well-organized local race (which also included a 5K option). While trail race volunteers always seem to be a good sort, I found this crowd to be exceptionally friendly and dedicated to the enjoyment and well-being of their participants, as well as to the cause that it supported. It seemed a shame that more runners weren’t present to enjoy the occasion. In addition to an interesting and varied course, there were lots of nice extras, including tech T-shirts, massage therapy, and well-stocked, eclectic goody bags (playing cards, 5 razors, bakery granola, gu, toothbrush and toothpaste, water bottle, chabasso bread). In one of the morning’s amusing moments, I felt like royalty for a few instants when the massage therapist summoned two burly runners to lift and carry the massage table I was inhabiting to a more pleasantly shady location. Truly a full-service race experience!

'Relax Diana, the chair will be here any minute - Turst me!"

OK, don’t get mad, this isn’t a 100 mile adventure, but it is a wild and crazy 10 miler and it was an ADVENTURE! The morning the storm hit, I had to get to RT 1 in Guilford, to KC’s Pub (my restaurant), to turn on a generator. My wife wouldn’t let me go during the night when the storm hit, and since we hadn’t lost power yet, I agreed. However, by 7am I wanted go. We had moved all of the food into the beer cooler and I new it would be OK for a while, but now I was getting nervous. At 8am I said screw it and told my wife I was headed out. She reluctantly came with me. Up one road, trees blocked the way, up another the water was too deep, the final way out was also blocked by trees and water. We had to turn around and go back home; we couldn’t get off the Head. I told Deb, ahh the hell with it, I’ll run to the Pub! She said I was crazy, I got dressed, txt Jerry, Cathi and Forrest. Jerry and Cathi both said I was crazy (crazy from Ultra runners? hmmm). I ran into town, having to detour several times, simply because of trees down, poles and wires down (lying in water is not a good thing) and just plain flooding. I finally ended up on Rt 1 which really wasn’t bad; it didn’t even look like a storm was raging. At the Pub, I was able to start the generator and survey any damage (none I am happy to report). The return trip took me through the Green area (what a mess) and an attempt to go down water street. When the water got above my knees, I had to turn around and push up through River Street (which it was). Course now I has the wind at my back, smooth sailing. I tried to go down Mulberry Point and got as far as the causeway; which was washed out. The town had a front end loader trying to make a road through for the ambulance. Somebody had broken a hip on the other side and was cut off. I offered to help with a gurney, but they were bringing in a high wheeled dune buggy to make the crossing. I ran on top of what was left of the sea wall, waded some and made it to the other side. When I finally reached home, the ordeal had taken close to three hours (including time spent at the Pub). Not a long trail race, but certainly an adventure that will be on my “tell the grandkids” list! BTW, no pictures, I was having a hard enough time fighting the wind and sideways rain. Sorry folks!

Shelly Girl and I have been hearing about the Spring Loop for as long as we have been bimbling so with summer coming to a close, Saturday seemed like the right day to take on the challenge. Like most things events often don’t turn out the way one plans. [Read more...]

As several Bimblers head out to run a little bit of the AT this weekend, consider this [Read more...]

On Saturday morning Shelly Girl and I decided to jump in the car and drive to Massachusetts to run the Oxford Dam Trail Race. After a summer of mountains I was looking for something flat and totally runnable and Shelly was looking to find the groove that has been elusive in her running this summer. For both of us the race turned out to meet our goals.

We did not know much about the race, other than it is put on by the Central Mass Road Runners, it is a part of the Grand Tree Series, just under eleven miles of trail and it is supposed to be fast. I had read several race reports which seemed to indicate there would be no major climbs, a variety of non-technical single track trail and various types of fire roads. Of course defining a hard climb or technical single track is not as simple as one might think. I suppose it really depends on your experiences in previous races, but this looked good and off we went to find out.

We left bright and early and got to Oxford about 45 minutes before the start. The crowd looked small and I think the turnout for this race is effected by a lot of other races going on this weekend (Ocean Beach, Sea Legs Shuffle and People’s Forest to name three) This was fine by us, in fact it was the type of race we wanted.

After the usual preparations, mainly consisting of figuring out what to take on a course we did not know on a day that was hot and humid, we wished each other luck and toed the line.

The race starts with both the long and the short course (5 miles) runners starting together and ascending a hill of about a quarter mile. Considering there was not supposed to be any hills I was a bit surprised, but it really was nothing too serious and I chugged forward until we reached the single track. The trail was a bit more technical than I had anticipated but it was very fair and I just settled into a pace I thought was moderate. Within a mile or two I was keenly aware of two things. First, it was hot and the course was fairly exposed to the sun and second, I was breathing way too hard for this early in the race. The trail was quite easy so I really was in a bit of a panic as to what was going on. First order of business was to slow down. So I adjusted my pace and even walked a couple of bumps. I always find stopping and walking helps me when I am out of the zone. As I tried to regain my composure I took inventory and realized that my legs were feeling pretty heavy. I am not used to that feeling this summer. Everything I have done has been geared towards mountain type courses and the feelings on those races has been pain more than leg fatigue. I suddenly realized that I have not done a race all summer where I had to run the whole time and run pretty fast. These are not my type of races! We got to the 3 mile split, where the short course went right and long course goes left and I almost veered right. It was hot, I was out in the open on flat roads where you are supposed to run fast and I was sucking wind three miles into the race. Yikes! I struggled on as best as I was able and slowly worked my way back from the brink. One thing that helped was I tried to focus on the thought that this was good training for me. I was no longer racing but simply trying to get used to running hard on runnable trails.

By the second aid station, at roughly five miles, I was tired but I had a better frame of mind and settled into a pace I could maintain. The trail continued to alternate between nice shaded single track and out in the sun fire roads, with some ATV trails tossed in for good measure. The trail was terrific and I was already thinking that I simply need to come back next year better trained for this type of race. At the last aid station (roughly seven miles) I ate a bit and walked a hill, to gain as much energy as I could, and then took off for the final three plus miles. All day the trail was nice and rolling and while I would say the course was a bit more hilly and technical then I had anticipated it still was quite a fast course and everything is runnable. Up to this point in the race I had been the guy getting passed but finally I started seeing people up ahead and, as we all know, passing people always helps your frame of mind. While I was tired I was well in charge of my mind by this point and just went as fast as I could go and soon enough I was done. The real highlight came about four minutes later when I saw Shelly Girl pounding down the trail. To be honest, she has not felt that great about her running this summer. This combined with the heat, that she does not like, and the speed of the course made me think it might be a rough day so I did not expect to see her for another five minutes. When she hit the tape at a little over 1:41 I knew she had had the day she was hoping for. Sweating and gassed, but smiling, what more can you want? Plus, she got pumpkin bread for winning her division , which we chomped on all the way back to Killingworth.

So at the end of the day, it was a terrific race. The course is fast (Jim Johnson won the race in 1:04. That’s almost 11 miles of trails in 64 minutes!!)well marked and the RD put on a great event. Shelly found her groove and I learned I need to work on running faster. Plus we got Pumpkin Bread!

Lefty

Suds began to try to tell me about Escarpment on one of our West Woods runs, but I told him I preferred not to know. Mr. Bimble also tried to tell me about the Escarpment Run by telling Snobody, with me inadvertently listening. Bottom line is NO ONE CAN EXPLAIN THIS RACE TO YOU. It’s kind of running up MT. Washington; you have to do it to know it.

In case you haven’t noticed, although I have gotten slower (I’m going with Pulmonary Hypertension instead of “getting older” and “genetics”), I pretty much don’t shy away from anything. Escarpment was there, so why not do it. Mr. Bimble’s suggestion to Snobody of getting a couple of 3-4 hour runs in may have helped me, but I wish Lefty had suggested 12 hour hikes in steep mountains to me long before the starting line.

I drove half way the night before and was the second person into the finish area the next morning, making sure I had plenty (1 ½ hrs early) of time for the bus to the start. Lefty showed up 1/2 hr later. Catamount and Snobody caught a later bus, but the four of us were able to hook up before the gun (yell) start.

Escarpment starts at 1800 feet on single track. Lefty suggested that we don’t hang at the back because there really are very few places to pass and as the runners space out, you will get pushed to the back (my new favorite place). So I pretty much ignored his advice and hung out with Dick (RD) at the back. Now for those of you who do not know what “pulmonary hypertension” is, it is the inability of the lungs to move blood under stress (hills) causing the blood to back up into the right ventricle. I basically have to wait for a flat or downhill for the system to smooth itself out again. Needless to say the first 3.2 mile climb up 1200 ft was a chore. There was a lady in front of me with the Boston Marathon logo on her shorts. She was older than I, competing in her 12^th Escarpment, who kept telling me this was the easy climb. Shit!

Folks you basically run (hike) up a cliff, along a cliff and down the other side. In between are hard, harder and hardest climbs (can we say literally hand over fist pulling on roots and rocks) and then can we jump (crawl, scale) headwalls that are up to 20 ft? I ran (hiked) with people (nice) without (oh the solitude) and basically enjoyed the hell out of being in constant exertion (spell check that). There were vistas that Suds had alluded to that were vast. There was my favorite smell of balsam. There was the fact that my feet didn’t hurt because Forrest had convinced me to buy new montrails with a wider toe box (thank you thank you thank you; no lost toes). You could hear the aid stations long before you could see them and you couldn’t see them until you got to them. I busted my hump for 6 and ½ hours. I knew going in I would be slow (did we say there were hills in this race). As I told Lefty at the beginning, “as long as” I make it home.

I finished with Snobody waving and smiling at me, a very welcoming sight. I felt strong, legs felt good, feet didn’t hurt and it was still early enough to get home.

PS. This race was very well managed. The aid stations were great and still had plenty left when the last of us went through them. At the cutoff station (which I made with 20 minutes to spare), all I received was encouragement. There was a ton of supporters left and plenty of food at the end. Kudos to Dick the RD.

Here is my take.  Strap in as it’s a bit wordy….sorry.

OK.  WAKE UP!!  As many of you know, I am not a morning person, but even the most enthusiastic rooster would complain that 3am is way too early.  While a feeble attempt to get to bed super early the day before was planned (yes, organizing and packing for the run was the culprit that trashed it…if only I could only be more like Guthrie & Shellygirl!), the hour nevertheless proved challenging.  AND it was still hot and humid from the sun-baked day hours before.  Did I say I was grumpy? [Read more...]

More to come on Escarpment when we recover. However, for a taste, you should know that Lefty (after much whining about what shape he would be in after the Pemi loop) posted a PR and got his 6th time shirt. Cat and Snobody both handled the middle of the pack well (and did their level best to downplay their shape after working/driving schedules/ not enough training blah blah blah). Lostc made sure the end of the run was well looked after (and made no bones about it).  Can I exchange my quads with anyone?