I’d read Ian’s fabulous report in awe, and was quite aware that I was probably going to be on the course for longer than the vast majority of other racers.  I decided that not getting injured was the number one goal, even moreso than usual, and was prepared to allocate the majority of my focus to this.  Feeling well and fueling properly was number two.  Third, was time: Looking at past results, I decided that 4:30 was realistic.  The idea of being on the course for 5 hours did not interest me.  I wondered if there was any possible way to do this in 4 hours, since it was only 12 miles, after all.  Whatever, we’ll say 4:30 and adjust as needed.

The night before the race:
The stupid cold that’d been bugging me all week was finally just about gone!  My fake taper consisted mostly of taking naps…  I’d only run once since Sunday.

I couchsurfed at a place about 40 minutes away from the event, which meant a) sleeping in a bed and b) having my lovely host insist upon feeding me.  The bed, which I nestled into around midnight, was awesome.  I put a hoody between my head and the pillow since the sheets reeked of detergent and, though it was too bright to sleep a lot (supermoon!), I slept some, and was very comfy.

The dinner, which I tried at first to completely avoid, ended up being fine, and we ate next to a woodstove while listening to lovely piano music.  There were tons of veggies – broc, carrot, cauliflower, spinach, tomato, mushroom, avocado.  Pasta.  Some sort of peanut sauce.  Dark choc peanut butter cups.   I’d snacked on some protein stuff (involving tofu) in the afternoon so it all worked out well.

The 72 year old gay guy I surfed with had started an HIV clinic in Zimbabwe several years ago and had just recently returned from 3 months of solo backpacking around Europe.  His house was fantastic – there was a tower (which is about to be rented out), a greenhouse with infrastructure for two ponds, a crazy mirrored and tiled bathroom… very unique and I should have taken some pics.

The morning of the race:
The place wasn’t hard to find, though my GPS was no help.  I stumbled easily onto it; it was not 10 minutes outside of downtown Amherst.  It took me about 45 minutes to get there from Shutesbury, including one stop to pull over and eat breakfast.  I ate mostly about 90 min before the start; usually I try to be done 2 hours before.  I wasn’t super worried since I have done a lot of food-timing experiments in training. Basically nothing matters unless I am trying for significant speed.

Breakfast was 2 slices of sprouted multi -rain bread, one plain and one with flax seeds and peanut butter. Water.  Chia seeds. Can’t recall but I think I ate a banana too.

After getting my number, $35, I returned to my car and shut my eyes, feeling like I didn’t get enough sleep.  All around me, people were engaging in pre-race rituals and calculations — yoga, course description, shoe discussion, who was wearing the jesus sandals, who did what totally barefoot, what are you bringing, what am I wearing, etc.  The myriad, colorful race shirts, shoes, hydration packs, fuel belts, handhelds, compression sleeves, bandanas, waistpacks, and other gear of unknown descent/use were all hella deep.  Each new combination of colors/stuff was like a fringe and tassels to highlight our collective insanity.

I eventually got myself up and headed over to the restroom line, where I chatted a bit with a plucky chica named Helena, who I liked right away.  Everyone around us was talking about this marathon or that calf stretch.  Helena was telling me something funny but I guess I was not awake yet since I don’t recall what it was.  I do remember that I liked her company and that we parted with best wishes to each other for a great race.

The race:
The field of around three hundred runners, mostly males, packed into a tight herd on the side of the road, near the start.  An announcer declared a bunch of things that I couldn’t hear, except, eventually, GO!  I hung back and eyed the immediate vertical slope as the faster people attempted to get going ahead of me.

The start is at around 620′, and the initial climb up is up 1,014′ Bare Mountain, and this happens within the first half mile over a mix of loose shards of reddish basalt and dirt.  No one around me ran this part.  I was somewhat stuck in traffic but I probably couldn’t have gone much faster anyway.   People were literally gasping already all around me.  Soon, I was too.

After cresting the first hill, there began to be moments of running like 20 steps and then there would be the issue of steepness again.  There was a great deal of being passed, and some passing as well.  I was behind a topless guy at one point, we’ll call him Monkey Man, who was wearing faded yellow swim trunks, a size too small.  As he clambered up the hill, he extolled the virtues of his minimalist shoes.  Each of his footfalls were terribly placed and his legs were quivery and unsteady.  Trying to exist behind him while continuously watching this grotesque terror (not sure that it was necessarily worthy of such harsh words, but at the time it seemed somehow appalling!) and worse, wondering how long before he fell on me, was totally unnerving.  He tripped and slipped and wavered.  I couldn’t stand it and managed to pass him, subtracting the tension but adding the baggage of another goal: must beat Monkey Man, at all costs.

I saw Helena several times in the first mile and a half or so, and we cheered and smiled for each other.  It was helpful to have a buddy in place.  It was overall a fairly quiet crowd save for gasping and grunting.  People did chat some, mostly about recent marathons, upcoming ultras, shoes, and hills.  I remembered in the 2011 Bradbury Bruiser, cruising along on the Island Trail, listing intently to the people ahead of me talking about the splendid views in Franconia Notch and recent Mt. Washington climbs.  Dreamy time…

As the crowd began to spread out, the actual running remained limited.  The power-hiking was extensive.  This was taking forever.  I began to face the sober fact that I may well be out here over five hours.  At one point, Monkey Man came teetering up and passed me.  Grrrr, why, that little….!   Fortunately he was going fast enough to be out of my sight, so I wouldn’t have to be near the lurching mess of Monkey legs.

Down, up, up, up, down, up, etc.  In a couple of spots, I had to let go of my handheld in order to hang on to rocks and climb.  Fortunately there was very little mud; things were quite slippery enough without it.  Temps were in the 60s, partly cloudy and clearing.  There was a nice breeze on each summit, and the shady areas felt great. It wasn’t particularly warm otherwise and I was quite comfy.

I was a little disappointed with the lovely views because I live in Maine and am thus completely spoiled.  There was endless springy greenness and farmlandiness far below, but the landscapes seemed too busy, littered with too many buildings, like a carelessly composed painting.  Something you could never stomach seeing on a postcard.  I didn’t spend much time dwelling on them though since I did Not want to be out here for 5 hours.  It is an interesting area though, and certainly different than what I am used to.

Sadly, the Mt Holyoke summit had been uglified by humans and I ignored it.  The two middle aid stations, which consisted of a couple of guys in four wheelers and a slew of gallon water jugs, came and went; I didn’t stop.  I was running near Purple Shirt girl for a while here; we chatted a bit and I liked her company.  The fast people were starting to fly by us, already headed back to the start/finish, and we marveled at their ability to run stuff this steep without breaking themselves.  I encouraged them as they passed — some looked like they needed it! — and imagined each word I said was one more thing I wouldn’t have to carry any further.  Lightness.

At one point, on a very narrow section with a steep dropoff on the right, I saw two people headed for collision.  A potentially scary moment ended in an impromptu bear hug, and everyone was fine.  Such is the nature of the out-and-back.  There were also a few places where it was easy to get off course if you weren’t paying attention.  Infrequent small white blazes and a handful of spraypaint arrows were the only markings.

After several more summits, who knows how many, the trail went down for a long time.  The intensity of the terrain backed off a bit, and I appreciated being about to run somewhat steadily for more than 30′.  Crazy.  In fact, one thing Purple Shirt and I had just agreed on was how weird it was that the running parts were the easy parts.  When you could run, on this course, that meant you had time to relax and savor it.  Hiking meant the opposite.

I hadn’t looked much at the GPS but I’d basically been going as hard as I could, as hard as I dared.  I kept expecting the headache to descend, but every time it didn’t, I just kept working.  My pulse went nuts on many occasions.  Any time it started reverberating in my skull, drowning out my thoughts and threatening to burst (maybe not, but it felt like it), I tried to slow down.  Yes, to go even slower.  Mind you, I was not even running when this would happen, it was just that steep.  When it was safely under say, ~200, or something, I pushed forward again.

Continuing to dodge fast people, soon several mentioned that we were almost at the turnaround.  The GPS said there was a mile left to go, but I hoped it was wrong; the threat of five hours continued to loom.  I had friends to meet in Portsmouth for supper, and it would be so wrong to be late for supper because of a run I started at 9am!  So wrong.

The turnaround appeared, bless its precious midway soul.  There was total junk there for noshies, stuff like fake oreo cookies and candies and gatorade.  I was glad to have brought along some salty nuts, because who doesn’t love salty nuts?  I refilled my mostly empty Amphipod and got out of there.  I ate a couple of the nuts as I dragged myself up the smooth-ish hill.  They helped to perk me up a bit, but kind of stuck in my throat.  I suppose they are probably not the perfect race food but that was what I had.  And better than the fake oreos etc.  I also had a Luna bar with me but that was kind of a backup snack that I was hoping to not need.

I was shocked and amazed that the GPS had said 2:00 at the midway point.  I re-calibrated to try for 4 hours.  Because not only am I slow, I am also consistently slow.  4:00 would be awesome though, if I could do it…

I was positively dragging, still occasionally passing and being passed.  I was never alone for more than a couple minutes — someone would pop into view.   I saw a lovely white golden retriever.  Passed a Vegan Athlete shirt woman.  Chatted with a kind fellow who was doing the Pineland 50k.  He said his legs had stopped working.  We hiked together for a little while.

The gel kept me drinking more water than I would have, which was great, though I realized I was nearly out of water before the last aid station.  I nervously hoped they’d have some left by the time I got there.  I did a little math at one point and saw that I had only 3 miles left, and was at about 3:00 hours.  Surely, I thought, I can run(hike)(crawl?) the last 3 miles in an hour.  Surely!

The beautiful sight of the final aid station, with plenty of water left, had me overjoyed, and I refilled and thanked the nearby dudes.  A tiny child rang a cowbell.  I left, trying hard to stay on schedule.

And soon, I was falling behind.  Struggling to put one foot in front of the other, I did the thing where you make yourself “just run to that tree, then you can walk”.  ”Run to that rock.”  ”Now run to that stump.”  But my pulse kept getting so high that I would end up having to ease back to get it under control.  So I just went steadily forward, climbing, pressing on.

My calves were fatigued to a point where that they couldn’t support my weight on the uphills.  I was landing flat footed.  I knew they’d be sore afterwards, but amazingly, even in the depths of fatigue, nothing really hurt.  Just the slightest twinge in the left hip/upper leg, a known problem area, which was totally insignificant.  I also hadn’t fallen or tripped yet and was waiting for it as my gait disintegrated.  My newly filled Amphipod, which had seemed heavy when it was almost empty, seemed even heavier.  The day was comfortably warm, but I’d gotten slightly chilled a few times.  I couldn’t tell if it was just the feel of fatigue or if there was a genuine cat’s paw.  Overall, other than being trashed and unable to move forward well, I felt… decent.

And then, at the last summit, who did I catch up to, but Monkey Man.  He was still careening dangerously and, though his complexion was dark, he seemed a bit pale.  As I passed him we both said encouraging things to the other, and all was right in the universe.

I carefully, slowly ran the last half mile of downhill, back over the treacherous basalt shambles. In my mind, I was sailing fast since I actually passed quite a few people, including Purple Shirt girl, which I think surprised us both.  In reality, I am sure it was a bounding hobble.  Everyone else seemed to be walking.  I was thrilled that the gentle weather was so merciful, that this last slope wasn’t slippery, and thrilled beyond thrilled to be finishing.

When the hill ended, it was so uneventful that I couldn’t tell if I’d gotten to the finish.  I asked two or three(?) people before someone said, “yes, you finished!”  No one took the tag on my bib and and there were no other indications, except that I’d known it was an out and back.

The GPS said 4:22.   It had taken me eighty minutes to go the last three miles.  Apparently I finished 280th out of 306.  There was only one other Maine person there; I believe he is a training buddy of Mr. Cake.

What’s good about “running” 12 miles (GPS said 10.5 miles) in 4 hours and 22 minutes?
I didn’t get a headache during or after. Nothing hurt, although as I write, it’s four days later and I can still feel it in my quads and calves.  But zero joint pain.  None.  I didn’t fall.  I didn’t even trip.  I didn’t bonk.  I survived a new gel.  No stomach issues.  No cramping.  No chafing.  No blisters.  No hot spots.  I passed a bunch of people in the last half mile.  I could walk afterwards.  Yes, the past few days have involved soreness, lots, and I took Monday and Tuesday off from running.

I am blown away that it took me so long to finish after reaching the midpoint at 2:00, but I spent so much time maxing out my heart rate that I think I truly did all that I could do on that course.  I am left with an honest snapshot of where I’m at, for better, for worse, or for neither.

This was possibly the most physically demanding challenge I have ever experienced in my entire life.

~4 hours and 22 minutes
~10.5 miles according to GPS (or possibly 12 miles according to race website)
~Clearing to sunny, partially shaded course, occasional light breeze, insane endless hills and generally treacherous footing.  Some areas require climbing, using hands.  3700′ elevation gain.
~Brooks Cascadia 6, Smartwool type socks, pants, tee shirt, Amphipod (drank 2+ worth of h20).  Ate several salty cashews/almonds and most of a Vega Raspberry Gel.  Brought and didn

On a personal competitive level I’ve also had a goal of breaking the 2 hour barrier at this race for a number of years:

2004 – 2:06:58
2005 – 2:02:51
2006 – injured and didn’t race, Jim Dunn broke 2 hours
2007 – 2:00:35 so close!
2008 – ran the Bull Run Run the week before so didn’t race
2009 – 2:14:57 the hot year
2010 – 2:07:33 under-trained
2011 – ran the Big A 50k instead

More than just about any other race course I’ve run this one seems to be effected by the weather (snowfall during winter and rain during spring) in ways that dramatically impact finishing times. While we all know that the early spring was unusually dry this year we had some heavy rain recently that left me uncertain about what to expect. I knew it wouldn’t be as wet as some previous years so I was optimistic that the combination of a solid winter and spring of training with a somewhat dry course would add up to less than 2 hours.

I was definitely a little nervous before the race today, mostly because of my goals, but I also bumped into Michael Wade and Steve Wolfe before the race. Not that I should get too hung up on what other people are running, but they were two faces that I recognized and I was guessing that they would be shooting for a similar time as me. I haven’t actually done much racing with either of them, but knowing that they are both solid 3 hour marathoners (and I am not) had me wondering if it would be wise for me to try and run with them. I took a fairly conservative position at the start, behind Steve and Michael, well behind the really fast guys (Tilton, Johnson, Freeman), and behind the pack of much younger guys who were mostly doing the 4 mile race. I really hoped to take it out easy today, but in typical gIANt style I ended up getting frustrated with the pack and kicked into a high gear pretty early.

The first 1/10th mile is on paved road, then downhill on a dirt road for a half mile before we enter the woods. Last fall there had been substantial logging in this part of the woods so the trail was nearly impossible to identify with a layer of woody debris scattered across a thick base of mud. Not long into the nastiness I found a runner coming straight at me, apparently going back to retrieve a lost shoe. I bumped shoulders with Steve as people seemed to be going every which way and that’s when I decided to just go for it. Screw the pussyfooting and just blaze down the middle of the mudfest. This worked to get me through the crowd, but also had me concerned that maybe I was burning through a little too much energy too soon. I also was starting to regret pulling away from Steve and Michael, figuring it was only a matter of time before they caught back up to me and I didn’t know if I’d be able to hang on once they passed.

At mile 2 the 4 and 14 mile races split off from each other and the big kids run along a stretch of dirt road for just over 1 mile. I turned my heavy wet feet over as quickly as I dared, not wanting to lose any of those places I so boldly took, but also trying to be mindful about not continuing the trend of going out too hard. As we neared the end of the dirt road my watch beeped a mile split and I looked at it for the first and only time during the race: 7:03. I wasn’t sure what to do with this information, it was a flat mile on hard packed dirt road so of course it should be fast, but was that too fast? Too slow? No time to analyze, it was time to climb. 200 feet up in about 1/4 mile on a “trail” covered with slippery dry leaves. I ran what I could, but it wasn’t much.

Once at the top of the escarpment I managed to get back into a run pretty quickly and the course then dropped back down about 250′ in the next mile on nice dry trail. There were three runners ahead I was attempting to chase down, and another two or three right on my heels. The next 1.5 miles were a gradual climb up about 400′ on terrain that was more rugged, although not too wet. Just before 5 miles the course branches off to the left where we run one side of a loop before re-joining the mostly out-and-back course. Then at about 6 miles there is a 1 mile loop that can be run in either direction and serves as the turn-around point in the race. It’s also the wettest part of the course.

I’ve run this loop in both directions and have been part of a lot of debate about which way is faster. I chose the counter-clockwise direction which features a gradual, totally runnable up, steep technical drop, then a short gradual climb. I think this is faster than the other direction which has you running (or attempting to) up the steep part. Kevin Tilton disagrees with me, and he set a course record today so maybe he’s right. Anyway, when I was roughly half way around the loop I saw two of the three guys I had been chasing coming towards me, but I had no idea if they were still ahead of me at this point, and when I exited the loop I couldn’t see anyone in front of me so who knows.

I did close in on another runner who had done the loop the same direction as me, but two others came up from behind and we had a fairly tight pack as we cruised back down the long, gradual 1.5 mile hill. This part was the most fun of the entire race, but all this fast downhilling was taking a toll on my legs. When it came time to switch gears and head back uphill I had a hard time making the transition. The lead woman in the race passed me and I couldn’t keep up with her running pace. Luckily I was able to hike at a pretty good clip so I didn’t slip too far behind, and I managed to keep ahead of the other guy who had been chasing me down. Back up to the escarpment, too tired to think about enjoying the view, I started to stress about what was going to happen when we hit the dirt road, and then the 1.5 mile mudfest after that. Down the slippery dry leaf-covered drop I managed to pull away from my chaser, and back on the dirt road I tried to catch back up to the lead woman and the other guy ahead that she had passed.

I was putting in a tremendous effort but my legs just weren’t responding the way I wanted them to. My shoes, socks and gaiters were soaking wet and caked in mud making my feet feel heavy and sluggish. Looking at my splits after the race I see that I ran the dirt road mile in 7:58 on the way back, 55 seconds slower than the way out. Of course there were 7 gnarly miles in between, but I’m not sure if that’s good or not. At the time it definitely didn’t feel good. Lucky for me everyone else must have been suffering as much as me because I managed to hold my position.

From the dirt road we turned back onto the mudfest trail for 1.5 miles of soggy slogging. On the way out there were probably less than 50 runners ahead of me, but on the way back I was running through mud that had been churned up by all 225 people on the way out and however many people there were ahead of me on the way back. What kept me going was the fear of an acidotic runner catching me in the final stretch of the race. Serves me right for going out too fast, but I really didn’t want to drop a place after running well for most of the race.

There were several groups of volunteers along the course and I was able to gauge the distance of the runners behind me by the lapse in time between them cheering for me and the next person. It was uncomfortably close, but I didn’t dare turn back to see who was there. I wasn’t about to take my eyes off the mud and splintered forest debris in front of me.

When I finally came out of the woods and hit the dirt road it was only 1/2 mile of uphill “sprinting” to go. I actually managed to close in on the guy in front but didn’t have enough to catch him. The combination of chasing and being chased served as great motivation throughout the race and right up to the finish. I didn’t look at my watch until after I crossed the line, having absolutely no idea of what my time was going to be and I was totally surprised to see that I had broken the 2 hour barrier by a substantial amount. While there was definitely less water on the course than in some previous years the mud seemed to be just as thick and nasty as ever. I’d like to think that my time is mostly due to better training, but I can’t totally discount the course conditions, and of course give credit to the other runners who motivated me from in front and behind.

time: 1:50:09
distance: 13.14 miles
pace: 8:22
place: 16/93

RESULTS

weather: high 40′s, sunny, windy

conditions: thick mud, not much water, plenty of dry trail

gear: Inov-8 Roclite 295, Inov-8 gaiters, socks, shorts, singlet, hat

After getting up at 5:30 with Sam this morning, we headed over to Weston from his parent’s house, leaving them gulping cups of coffee in anticipation of a long day with an energetic 2 1/2 year old Thank you Grammie and Grampie! Sam had a great day and we really appreciate you watching her so we could go run and have fun!!

It took us no time at all to motor down the quiet highway and get off in ritzy Weston, winding our way through some serious houses on our way to the start of the race, in a field/horse riding ring at the edge of Jericho Woods. The Trail Animals put on a really nice race, well-organized, with lots of nice volunteers, a huge aid station piled with food, and a well-marked course that wound through some lovely woods. It was cool and windy, and I stayed in my long pants and jacket as long as I could. Brrrr. Still, the sky was bright and blue, and the sun was warm. I shivered a bit as we waited for the start, but warmed up and got comfortable once the race got underway.

My goal was to run the loops comfortably, shooting for 10 minute miles for at least the first few laps. Of course, being me, I started out too quickly, spending the first few miles chatting with a fellow thru-hiker named Fedex, who hiked the trail in 2007. We had fun talking trail for a while and it made the time fly by. Around mile 3, Nathan sidled up next to me and said, “Hey, when do you think we’ll catch up to Blaine?” Ha. Funny man! We stayed together until around mile 4, at which point, I realized he was going slightly faster than was “comfortable” for me at this point, so I let him go. It would have been nice to stay with him, but it was early yet and I had to run my own race. Even with my attempt to slow things down, I came through lap #1 with the clock reading 55:xx. Ryan, who ran the 10k, had quickly organized my things and ever-so-nicely set up all my stuff right at the edge of the field near the aid station, all ready for me to easily pick up what I wanted for the next lap. What a good hubby!

As I set off for loop #2, Ryan called after me, “Take it easy!” Point noted. I made an effort to slow down, although I was a bit loathe to do so, especially on the wide and even carriage roads which simply begged for quick running. I ran mostly alone, passing a few people here and there, getting passed, etc. I saw Nathan up ahead at a few points, but he slowly disappeared. I ran along enjoying the scenery and glad to be out on such a nice day. The woods down here are much greener than up our way, and the forest floor was filled with greenery and wood flowers – we ran through a big section of blooming lily of the valley, there were lots of purple violets blooming, as well as some wood anemone and a few flowering trees. Of course, there was also a lot of poison ivy, and I was very conscious to stay in the middle of the single track. I definitely didn’t want to bring home that sort of souvenir! The loop was a nice mix of wide carriage roads, some twisty but friendly single track, and just a few small stretches of rhythm-stopping mud and rock, all rolling up and over small hills, along the edge of fields and through this wonderful tract of conservation land. I came through loop #2 somewhere around 1:54.

Loop #3 passed in a similar fashion, and for the last few miles, I was slowly but surely catching up with who other than Nathan! We came into the aid station with me right on his tail, but somehow I got back out faster than he did. I am fuzzy on the numbers on the clock at this point, but I know I was doing the loops in under an hour, even if just. I passed Christine near the beginning of lap #4, asking her to tell Nathan to come find me. I figured he would catch up to me soon enough.

Although the loop was a good one, at some point in loop #4, my legs were starting to let me know that they were a bit upset with my pace, and my stomach was starting to make itself known as well. I had been doing really well up until mile 18 with my fueling, eating every three miles and feeling pretty good energy-wise. During lap #4, I took a Gu at mile 22, but it was a struggle. Ah well, I wasn’t going to give up at that point. I was just going to keep on pushing, or at least try to not slow down too much

I was aware as I was coming to the end of loop #4 that I was on pace for under 5 hours, but when I did the numbers in my head, I knew, unless there was some sort of miracle, I wasn’t going to get a 50k PR. Still, I thought I could do pretty well if I was able to keep going at a decent pace. I didn’t really want to eat anything, so I grabbed 3 chips from my aid station and headed back out quickly for the final time. One more lap to go! The day had warmed up and I could tell I hadn’t been drinking enough, as with each bite of chip, my mouth felt really dry. I think those three chips lasted about 2 miles and it was all I could do to get them down. But no matter. Onward! Last time through! The benefit of the loop course was that I knew where I was, and had noted when I had around a mile to go. I picked up the pace as much as I could, but had to slow dramatically to get through the final crossing of the muddy rocky stretch before attempting to get my legs moving again for the last 1/2 mile push. Ryan had been telling me all along that the girl is 3rd place was a few minutes ahead, and although I was steadily passing people in the last lap, I couldn’t quite tell if I was lapping them or if they were people I was catching up to. I passed a number of women, but in the end, the woman in 3rd beat me by about 1:30. Shucks! Still, I can’t be too upset – I finished in 4:52:12, as 4th woman, and feeling strong most of the way. I’m happy with how the race went, how I felt, how my body held up and how I was able to keep steady and keep pushing even at the end. Definitely a good race, and a happy surprise to come in under 5 hours! I’ll take it!

The Trail Monsters were out in full force today, with Ryan and Erik running the 10k, Blaine rocking the 50k, Nathan finishing about 9 minutes behind me and George, using the race as his final long run before Massanutten, finishing strong around 5:30. Brenda, Christine, Ann and Kate all had great marathons – with Kate putting in an impressive finishing kick at the end! We were set up in the field in style – Ryan grilling sausages and burgers, with lots of beer flowing, and as always, the wonderful camaraderie and support that comes with a great group of friends. After the race, I kicked back in a chair, eating, chatting and resting, and just soaking up the energy of the day while I enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my back. It was a fun day, for sure!

RESULTS (preliminary)
50k (Garmin read 30.78 miles) – 4:52:12
23/92 finishers; 4th woman

By Randy Woods

Review of Nathan Sports Photon LED Reflective Vest

I bought my first Nathan LED equipped reflective vest at Maine Running Company in Portland in early 2011. I run to work most days and my job starts in the pre-dawn hours. I wear a headlamp every day and before I got the reflective vest I always used a clip-on light or two. I wasn’t really shopping for a reflective running vest, but I bought it the first time I saw it because it looked like something I could wear year round to increase my visibility. I have worn it most days for a little over a year and I’ve found it to be comfortable in all weather conditions. I have mostly positive things to say about it and the one problem that I had was corrected by Nathan.

To put the vest on, I hold it by the back with the front hanging down in front of me and then flip the back part over my head. There are clips on the bottom front and back to secure it around your waist. I’ve worn it with just a short sleeve shirt and with several layers and have never had any chafing. The vest has a small zipper pocket in front for a phone or other small items. I carry a snack in mine every day. The front is a deep V-neck that separates over the shoulders and comes back together at the very bottom of my chest. The pocket begins about an inch below that junction and goes to the bottom of the vest.

The problem I had with my original vest was with the lights. The three LEDs are spaced out along a 6-inch strip with an on/off button on one end. The lights on the first vest I bought stopped working after about a month. The strip felt very flimsy. When I called Nathan, I talked to a real person and they replaced the vest for me in less than a week. But that light strip didn’t last very long either. I kept wearing the vest without the benefit of the LED for several months. When I decided to write this review I noticed on the Nathan website that they had redesigned their running vest. I called Nathan again, told them that I had bad luck with the LEDs on my vest and they provided me with a new vest at no charge. Their current offering is what I have described above. The current vest has two LED strips (one on each side of the chest) and it is obvious that the strips have been improved. I’ve worn it for about two months with no problems. The new LED strips seem much more sturdy. The on/off button is more responsive.

Back

Front

In the interest of safety I highly recommend that runners and cyclists display lights and wear a reflective outer layer. Most people are not comfortable drawing attention to themselves and I think that emotional element may be the biggest obstacle for some who could benefit from a product like this vest. If you’re worried that the flashiness of the vest will make you look like a freak, please consider this – you’re running in the dark. Or you’re running through the woods during hunting season. Most people would not do that. You are a freak. Let your freak flag fly.

Wholly Crap…….The Merrimac river race was so much different than I imagined. My intent was to start conservative, use the 5 mile out as a sort of a warm up,  try and weather the returning hills then race the remaining 3 miles.

I heard the 4th and 5th mile hills were pretty tough and was not sure how I would handle them.  Though I have been running hills at Bradbury, these sounded a touch more difficult.  I figured this would be a good gauge of my condition.

I was in no hurry at the start so I hung at the back of the pack and mentally prepared for a surging walk run for the first mile or so. To my surprise, this group was in a huge hurry and there was very little clogging after the first S turn.

The terrain opened up with plenty of room for passing so the runners seem to settle very quickly. I think because the first 3 miles is fairly easy, most runners wanted to take advantage before the steep inclines.
I found myself pushing the pace also so instead of an easy 11-12 minute pace, I somehow ran a much speedier (for me), 9:58 1st  mile, a 9:06 2nd and 9:30 3rd.. I was fairly happy with this pace and only hoped I could mirror it on the return.

The first three miles were easy and I found myself enjoying the terrain and the scenery. The run along the river was amazing and I felt like I was just out for a relaxing run rather than running a race. This is unusual for me as I  tend to hate the first couple miles of a race and don’t settle into a comfortable pace.

Through most of the 4th mile I kept looking for the huge hills but found nothing that I couldn’t run up and actually enjoyed the extra work to get my heart rate going.  Mile 5 I found the hills but really didn’t get slowed down by them too much because even though they were steep, they were not very long.

The three things that slowed me down the most (miles 4 -5) was there was no room to pass because by now we were hitting a lot of return runners (I was very careful to give them the room they needed), the runners in front me were slower than I wanted to go and I really couldn’t seem to get the speed going on the down hills.

My cardio recouped  very quickly after each hill so I felt ready as I hit the next one. In the end, there was really only two inclines that were difficult. I was reduced to a ridiculous pace in the my 6th and slowest mile because I hit the runners coming through their fifth mile and they didn’t seem to give me the room I allowed the oncoming traffic when I came through. I found myself pulling off the trail and actually stopping many times.  I guess that is one drawback from an out and back on single trails.

By the time  I hit mile 7, there were very few runners coming and I was able to settle into a comfortable pace. Each of the last three miles became quicker and I began passing many runners. There were a couple runners pushing like I was and leap frogged with  each other to keep our pace going.

Everything was perfect until mile 9 when somehow a root grabbed my left foot ( not sure how this happened because there were very few roots here) and I found myself flying forward toward the ground rather than running.  I hit hard and the runner that had been chasing me along with two others were able to push me back three spots. I don’t know why this bothered me but it did.

I was discouraged to lose those spots but also determined to get them back. It was so difficult to get back in the zone and I only caught two of the three but at the same time passed another runner and out kicked one right at the end, so I gained a total of five spots.

I finished strong and somehow beat my estimated time by almost 25 minutes. It was one of those races where the running gods were in a good mood and I felt like I could continue forever. In essence,  I guess I slapped the Merrimac down a bit as it could not get the best of me…..at least not this time.

Stats:
10 mile race 1:35:53 (9:36 pace)
5 mile splits:  1st half 50:51, 2nd half 45:02
Splits: (garmen read 9.48 miles so the splits are a bit slower)
9:58
9:06
9:30
11:22
11:12
12:56
9:46
9:31
8:49
7:51

The days leading up to the final race of the Bradbury Mountain Snowshoe Series were an extravaganza of snowshoeing with 6-8 inches falling on Thursday, but by race day we were just lucky enough to be able to pull off the race with minimal snow coverage in a lot of places. On Thursday I got out near the end of the storm for a 5.5 mile snowshoe run on some local trails. I learned that the worn-down-then-sharpened cleats on my snowshoes no longer gripped the deep snow, but at least the trails would be packed before the race. On Friday I met Ryan at Bradbury to check out the trails for the race. Despite what looked like a lot of snow there was virtually no base on the mountain trails so we knew we had to find a course on the east side trails. With Ryan on his skis and me on my snowshoes we each headed out to break trail and see what it was like out there. We both covered 6 miles (hard work breaking trail for that long) and finished up about the same time. We spent a few minutes coming up with a combination of what both of us had seen that took in the best trails and tried to minimize any duplication of the previous race course, oh, and also looked like it would be close to 5 miles. We agreed that I’d go over the course the next day, and then we’d finish the course marking on the morning of the race.

On Saturday I returned to the park with Emma and we planned to walk the course and get as much marking done as possible. When we arrived it had just started raining, and as the morning progressed the rain picked up and was visibly turning the nice new snow to slush. Bastard. It took us 2.5 hours to walk the course, which turned out to be 6.25 miles, and we were soaked, and tired. Luckily there appeared to be a loop we could lop off the course to get it down to 5 miles, but it wouldn’t be until race morning that I’d go back out to confirm the distance.

By Sunday morning the rain had really screwed up the snow. Our only hope was that it got cold enough for long enough over night to solidify the course enough that we wouldn’t be running through slush and puddles. I got to Bradbury at 7AM and strapped on my snowshoes for the fourth consecutive day, the first time this winter I’ve been able to do that. I headed out onto the course with a big handful of orange flags to survey the conditions and finish the marking. Things were taking a bit longer than I expected, and in the interest of saving something for the race I decided to skip the Bat Cave, which I know from running it a bazillion times before is just over 0.6 miles long. So when I finished marking the course and my Garmin said I’d run 4.44 miles it looked like the course was going to be pretty much right on 5 miles when we added the Bat Cave in. However, the distance I came up with after running the race was 4.63 miles. I know that the bat Cave is definitely longer than 0.19 miles, in fact when I look at that section of trail on my GPS data from running the race it measured at 0.62 miles. But for some reason I still came up short on the race course. So while I’d like to believe that the race was 5 miles long I have no data to show that it is, and a few other folks also came up with less than 5 miles. Oh well, I doubt that anyone was looking for more after they crossed the finish line.

By the time I met up with Ryan on the course he was about 3/4 of mile from the end with a shovel in hand trying to cover up some of the bare patches of ground. I thought it seemed silly at first, but it actually work great and meant that our snowshoes never had to touch dirt and rocks.

While we got everything else set up for the race I had plenty of time to forget about my own racing strategy, so at about 10:45 Emma and I went out for a short warm-up to get the blood flowing and the mind focused. I had run well at the previous two snowshoe races so I put a little pressure on myself to make this another good one. Since Jeremy couldn’t make it to this race due to much better plans out west I knew I had a pretty good chance at taking second place in the overall series standings, but Jeff wasn’t that far behind me and I thought he had a chance of catching me if he had a good race. Since I was (once again) the only one who knew the race course I was able to formulate a race strategy and was actually able to execute it.

Race start, photo by Blaine Moore

I lined up next to Judson Cake, which seemed a little crazy, but my plan was to go out hard for the first 1/4 mile on the wider trail and then ease back a bit when we got to the twisty single-track. I did slow a little on the single-track, mostly due to the terrain rather than from a decreased effort. I was pretty sure Andy was right behind me and Jeff, Scott, Peter and Jamie were part of a tight pack that had me running scared. My knowledge of the turns helped a bit but I couldn’t put any distance between myself and the pack that was on my heels.

At about the 1 mile mark we turned onto the Snowmobile Trail which was wide and well-packed. This was going to be the first real opportunity for anyone to pass so I really pushed hard on this 1/4 mile stretch to ensure that didn’t happen. I was a little surprised that no one made a move, but it was still early. Back onto single-track and I slowed enough to catch my breath back, but the pressure was right back on again. I slowed down a bit more when we entered the Bat Cave, knowing that it would virtually impossible to pass on this tight trail. I think Jeff later mentioned my casual pace through here, but that was part of my plan. When we exited the Bat Cave we had a gradual uphill and I did my best to push the pace again on this stretch. Then back onto the Snowmobile Trail where once again I really had to speed up to fend off any passing attempts.

At 3 miles we turned onto the single-track of Ginn and I slowed a little to catch my breath. The pressure was immediately back on and now I could tell it was Jeff. I had no doubt that he knew exactly what the time differential was between us in the series standings and I was now pretty sure that he was going to try to beat me. I now had to decide if I should push the pace here to try to lose Jeff or relax a bit, hope that he couldn’t pass on the narrow trails and save it all for the 1/4 mile straightaway sprint to the finish. Neither option seemed like a good way of ensuring that I would stay ahead of Jeff.

Jeff planning his move, photo by Blaine Moore

At around the 4 mile mark Jeff finally made a bold move and went around me on the left. And he was really moving. I had all I could do to keep up with him and a gap started to open between us. I felt defeated, at the pace he was going it looked like he might have a chance of opening the 1 minute gap he needed to beat me in the series standings. He was breathing like a wounded gnu (his words) and I regained hope for being able to hang on. I closed the gap and got right on his heels. I could have made a move to pass but decided to wait until we got to the Link Trail where I wouldn’t have to step off into deeper snow and waste any energy. At one point I heard Jeff mutter “I’m Done” between breaths, and his pace was definitely slowing, but I remained patient. When we finally hit the Link Trail I kicked it in and went past on the double-track trail. I didn’t believe that Jeff was really done so I pushed it as hard as I could for final 1/4 mile. Luckily it was enough for a second place finish in both this race and the overall series standing. Sweet. Thanks to Jeremy for not showing up, and to Jeff for making me really work for it.

time: 39:17
distance: 4.63 miles (5 miles?)
pace:8:29 (7:51?)
place: 2/37

RESULTS

weather: high 30′s, overcast

conditions: wet, sticky snow, this in places, slushy in others, some ice

gear: Atlas Run snowshoes, Saucony Kinvara, wool socks, leg compression sleeves, shorts, long sleeve shirt, glove, cap

Bradbury Blizzard…What Was I Thinking?

I ran The Brad east side Wednesday night and really felt great. It seemed I was not as far out of shape as I was thinking. It probably helped that I was 10 lbs lighter than this time last year even though I have not run much this winter.

Saturday morning I ran a few miles with my son and again I felt really good and actually ran a bit faster than I thought I would for an easy run.

Sunday morning made the trip to Home Depot (seems like a weekend ritual lately) Got back in plenty of time to change up and head to Bradbury for the snow shoe race.

I had time once I picked up my number and dropped off the Banana bread to throw on the snowshoes and get a little acclimated before the race. I had no idea how my legs would feel because I hadn’t snowshoed all winter.

Lucky for me we were running the east side instead of the mountain side….this should help me considerably. I hit the trails and immediately found that Ian and Ryan had done a great job marking the trails.

Everything felt great as I settled in rather quickly to what seemed like a decent pace. The legs felt good, cardio was good, I was dressed just right. Everything was almost too good… Suddenly I started worrying about how I would feel during the race.

Perhaps I am using up all my energy during my warm up run and probably should have waited and save this for the actual race. I felt so good, I quickly pushed that thought right out of my mind and convinced myself that this would surely help my race rather than hinder it.

After about a mile, I looped back toward the start and finished my warm up at about 2.25 miles. I had to estimate because for some reason I didn’t bring the Garmen today (OK…I forgot it)

As we waited for the race to start, I felt really good and was certain I could at least hang in with the same runners I finished with last year. Just to be sure, I stayed back at the start and ended up falling in behind Jerry, who by the way is an amazing runner at 74 years old.

I wasn’t too worried about being behind Jerry because he always starts fairly fast and sets a consistent pace. I felt great and waited patiently to find a spot to pass.

I passed Jerry and picked up the pace a bit to chase down the next runner.
I caught her and wasted no time going by, then caught two more and passed them. This race was shaping up to be a good one as I felt strong and fairly settled in. There was no doubt in my mind at this moment, about two miles in, that the run yesterday and the warm up this morning had surely helped me in this race.

Once I got into what I figured was mile three (sucks not having the Garmen) something changed……like the flick of a light switch, I suddenly felt the weight of the snowshoes and the legs were feeling quite gassed.

It was this moment, merely halfway through this race that I asked myself that question….What was I thinking? Did I really think 5 miles on snowshoes would be a breeze? I realized rather quickly that I had a very strong 2 mile race in me, but 5 miles would be a different matter all together.

I labored through mile three and did actually pass two people….. it was Eric and Brenda and they stopped for her to tie her shoes.
So it was more like pass by default and they quickly passed me back.

Mile 4 was more of the same and I resorted to walking some of the inclines. There was no doubt now that the 2 mile warm up was a big mistake.
During this mile, two of the people I passed returned the favor and left me in the dust.

I began to get worried as I could see glimpses of one of the girls I passed and Jerry behind me and I worried they would pass me too. Though I was totally out of energy in mile five and did get passed by one runner, I was determined to keep Jerry behind me.

I hated the fact that I was no longer running my race as I had resorted to worrying about the runners behind me rather than concentrate on the race in front of me. I can tell you, it sure makes the miles go by much slower when you are concentrating on the people behind you.

Halfway through mile 5 the cardio just gave out and I was now hanging on by a thread and a small thread it was….the only bright spot was knowing I was going to finish and even if it killed me, I would find something in me to get a kick at the end.

Once I got a glimpse of the finish line, it was like a horse heading for the barn at feeding time and the kick came from nowhere I.m not sure where because I had no energy left. The finish was fantastic….it felt so good to know I made it as mile 4 had tried very hard to convince me I wouldn’t.

What a great race, snow shoe races are designed to be difficult and why would I expect otherwise. I had 2 miles of bliss, 2 miles of hell and 1 mile of determination. In the end I felt I earned and deserved the gratification. I am so glad I ran…..I just wish I could have stayed around longer after.

Snowshoe racers like a big dump

Jamie letting me by so I can close the gap with Scott, Andy, and Ian

Shoeing!

The Bradbury Snow Series was outstanding! The amazing part of this series was for a Winter with not much snow, Ryan actually was able to carve out a course for each race. Almost by divine intervention, we actually did have a blizzard on Thursday. Although it rained Saturday, Ryan and Ian found a great course!

As always, I lined up at the back of the pack, happy to be wearing, my Emma lended TMR shirt! I started happy and as I finished George told me to channel my ”inner Emma.” I did the best I could channelling and was pleased and finished to a great group of cheers from a special group of people of which all I admire and they each inspire me in so many ways!

My usual company along the way at some points in the Bradbury races, dirt and snow, seemed to be on the chase to beat Jerry and I think they were all pretty successful in hanging with him most of the way. I ended up running the race by myself which was great training for Pineland. Although my legs at times didn’t seem to want to go ”fast”, I just kept pretending I was at the last loop at Pineland. George as promised showed up at 4 miles or so and ran with me to the finish. His constant encouraging was welcomed today and he said he was surprised, I didn’t whine a bit. I had fun throughout and was totally amazed and enjoyed the absolutely beautiful course. The great day, was topped off by an awesome Blizzard Tee Shirt, a Bada$$ Atayne shirt, good fun chatting with Linda, Bob and others after and a last minute decision to stop at Edna and Lucy’s for the best of best sammies. George of course ate his sandwich as we drove down 95 and split mine with me when we got home.

Big Kudos to Kate, Blaine and Erin for taking amazing pics. Congrats to Emma for winning the woman’s race. I did for a short second on the course see her as some of the leaders were in eye range somehow as I looped through the course. She looked strong and fast! Also, I am hoping Danielle is feeling better. I was so sorry to see this morning on FB she wasn’t going to make the race. She is truly one Bradbury Bada$$. As always, Linda, Val, Mindy and Bruce (Rick) and others, RD Ryan and Ian make it happen. I am so grateful! Thanks for a great day!

A great way to end the winter..now for spring!

Keep dreaming!

Bradbury Blizzard Snowshoe Race Report

Finally. A snowshoe race where I was happy with my performance. In all of my previous races, I’ve felt I was stuck in low gear. The rhythm of it takes some getting used to, at least for me. But today, I felt great and in sync. The fast snow conditions probably had a lot to do with that, along with taking the last two days off, but I’ll gladly take it.

Big thanks to Ryan, Ian and all of the volunteers for helping put on an incredible race series that was a lot of fun! While today might have been quasi-warm, the other two races were definitely pretty darn cold. Not the easiest conditions to stand around and volunteer in while a bunch of folks are running around in the woods in snowshoes.

Pre-Race
Kate and I arrived early to help out and socialize. As it got closer to the start time, Zak and I headed out for a warm-up on the course. “I’m feeling quite spry,” is what I think I told Zak. My legs were fresh from the extra rest and I was feeling very energetic. The trails were also fast…the snow was packed down and pretty solid, thanks to the rain the other day. Barring some sort of meltdown, fall or some other catastrophe, I could tell I was going to have a good race as long as I was careful (read: not blow the engine out).

Pre-race. Courtesy: Maine Running Photos.

We lined up and I saw David. I mentioned to him that we were close in the series standings. He was genuinely shocked by this, not knowing anything about them. He asked which of us was ahead and I told him I was. Then, he asked by how much. I smiled and said I wouldn’t tell him and teased him about not doing his homework. To egg him on further, I told him somebody was between us in the standings. He asked who. I smiled and said I wasn’t going to tell him (it was Zak).

The Race

We’re off! Courtesy: Maine Running Photos.

Fast start. Courtesy: Maine Running Photos.

Ready, set, go and we were off. Within the first few hundred yards I was in third place behind Judson and Ian. Uh oh. No, that’s not good. They’re wicked fast. But I was mindful that while I felt my pace was a bit on the fast side for me, it was also somewhat reasonable. I wasn’t killing myself here as I’ve done before in a few other snowshoe races.

Shortly thereafter I backed off a little and made room for Andy and waved him to pass. A little bit later I did the same for Scott. And then Jeff. On one hand, that was good as I knew those guys should be in front of me but on the other hand, I also wondered, “Okay, who’s next?” I turned around and didn’t see anybody in sight. Sixth place for now. Cool. The plan was now to try and hold that.

Jeff and I, just after he passed me. Courtesy: Maine Running Photos.

At one point, I’m guessing maybe a mile or two in, a series of turns on the trails allowed me to see further back down the course and I noticed Peter and David running together. They appeared to be gaining. I had some distance on them still but wanted to keep it that way.

The course turned and traversed some more. At times I could catch glimpses of the pack that was Ian, Jeff, Scott and Andy. They were ahead considerably, but not as much as I thought they were. That made me feel good because it verified that I was indeed running well. I also saw Peter and David again, noticing that Peter was gaining some ground but David was now behind him and seemed to possibly be dropping back a bit.

On a straight away a bit later and I noticed Andy was falling off from the pack a little, but still quite a ways ahead. I was more concerned about Peter and David behind me. I turned around and saw Peter alone.

More twists and turns through the woods. I noticed I was every so slowly gaining more ground on Andy. Earlier, he would disappear from sight as the course navigated around and over the boulders, trees and hills. But now he was in sight more as I was geting closer.

A bit of a straightaway now and Peter didn’t appear to be gaining and remained in place a hundred or so yards behind. Andy was now just a few dozen feet ahead and the trail took a right turn that I recognized. I knew there was only about a half a mile left, maybe less.

The trail was wide here and I caught up to Andy and decided to go ahead and make a move. I passed him and picked up the pace a little. It was kind of early to do that and strategically it might have been smarter to wait a litte bit, but fortunately it worked out okay. Andy is a beast. I have no chance of catching him during trail (or road) races, but snowshoe racing tends to mix up the variables in illogical fashion and plus I was having a good day.

I saw the finish line ahead and then initiated the rest of my kick and crossed the line in 40:27, good enough for fifth place. Sweet! I was very stoked about that.

Finished!

Post Race
As usual, after I finish a hard run and my heart rate starts to drop, my stomach began to churn. I didn’t puke though. I’m not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of that.

Afterwards, a myriad of us went for a cool down run along the side of the road (sans snowshoes) and it was a lot of fun trading war stories. Then the awards! This year they awarded long sleeved Bad Ass tech shirts from Atayne to those that ran all three races. Very, very nice, as is the race shirt for this race in particular. The beer theme for all of the shirt designs look great!  I also won a Dion Snowshoes beanie in the raffle. Very fun day!

Chillin’ with Andy and Randy after the race. Courtesy: Maine Running Photos.

Ran 4.5 miles @ 8:58/mile pace.
Official time: 40:27
Placing: 5th out of 37.
Series placing: 4th out of 11.
Trails with packed snow.
Moderately hilly.
Upper 30s, mostly cloudy.
Dion 121 snowshoes w/ New Balance MT110, long tights, short sleeved shirt, cap, gloves.