Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Monday - War Pigs

Our ritual continues and it is great. The ritual is run, then head down to Pleasant Valley Brewery and hit up the 35 cent wings.
Greg made the trip out to run, and we cruised a rugged 12 miler known as the Sap Lines. This is also a 14 miler with a different finish down some switchbacks, but we opted for the 12 (I did) and wanted to recover a bit. Not sure how much I recovered bc we were rolling fit fast and relaxed.
Najem, Boj and T-Paq joined us at the pub for wings and sweet potato fries. The serving staff is always delicious ;).

Monday, August 27, 2012

Epoch

This was an epic week and marked an epoch of awesome. The week started at the top of Mt Washington and ended at the top of Mt Mansfield.
On Monday, Greg and I headed to the Franconia side of Mt Washington for a solid day above tree line. I suggested the Crawford Path, which is a quick 2.9 miles up to above tree line, then 5 awesome miles to Mt Washington. It was mapped so we could get 16-17 miles.
We packed small packs (Greg had 70 oz of water haha) and hit the hill. The first climb was great. I think I said either, "this is great," or "this is awesome," and uncountable amount. But it was great and cussing awesome.
Once we were above tree line it was even more amazing. It was a crystal clear day. The weather could not have been more perfect, we were very fortunate (and grateful) for the weather.
I felt more inhuman than human, I felt awesome the whole day. It must have been transcending energy of the outdoors, but I was wired and could have run all day.
F N A, it was awesome. There were some views where it looked like there was no civilization.
Ran up in 1:38 and descended in 1:14.

Epoch Week Continues

Tuesday - the day after an epic 17 miler on Washington should be a rest day. I plan on racing at Mt Mansfield on Sunday so a day of rest will be good. Ran 7 at GP with the girls. Felt fine, no real things. Added another 3 plus 16 miles on the bike to town (BF) and back.
Wednesday - Headed to Greg and Pisgah to run 9 in the AM. The trails were great, we coasted. Later in the evening I ran with the future 2012 VT State XC Champs for 6. I added 2 more to get 7.
Thursday - went out to the Marathon Road for 10 miles with 3 at a good effort. Felt more sluggish today than any day this week, but opened the first mile in 4:52, felt faster, but I was more flat than I thought. I tried to hold this pace and went 4:58 for mile 2, started to feel better. By the time I ended the third mile I was finally feeling ok and way better than when I started and clipped 4:50 for a total 3 mile in 14:40. Felt good about the time.
I later went back out to GP for an easy shake out 7.
Friday - hit GP trails again with Boj in the evening. Gave my temple as long a wait as possible until the next worship.
Saturday - Greg joined me for the Sap Lines 12. This is a hilly run, and as it turned out, not the best prerace run. But, it doesn't really matter, I've run tired and a bit flat before...
Sunday - Mt Mansfield 4.3 mile road race, Race to the Top of VT in Stowe.
I knew Stowe was awesome, but I also got a chance to check out Smugglers Notch, very cool and gorgeous.
This race was at 9am, so I was up and out by 5:15 to make sure I got there with time to spare.
It was to be a hot day. Very hazy and humid, but I was very excited to race to the top of VT.
As I'm warming up a van opens its doors and the most legit looking dudes piled out. There must have been 6-7 of them and they looked the part. I would figure them to be XC skiers, which meant they could be tough on the climb.
The race started and a few dudes went out hard. The first 500m is the worst of the whole race, and I wondered for a split second on what to do. I hung in the pack till the top of the first climb (500m) then took the lead and made a move to end any ideas of anyone trying to hang on to me. The beginning had some very runnable sections and I made sure to press hard on these and open up the stride. It might have cost me a bit at the end, but it worked and I ran solo for 4 miles increasing my lead.
I ended up 33:53, and to make sure I was King of the Mountains I continued running to the tip top of Mansfield (which is beyond awesome!!!) and then ran down to bag 17 for the day.
It was a tough race, with a lot of talent in the field. Before the race started the starter announced said that anyone who breaks the course record will receive $500 bonus! This was too much to ignore, so I kept my watch on and was checking splits as I clipped. What the dude failed to mention is that the course record includes bikes!!! Haha. Seriously, the running course record was held by a guy I never heard of, so I knew that was coming down, but then after the fact to find out that it included the bikes... Made me shake my head and smile. I joked with the race director that the running record should be apart from the bikes bc they have 21 gears to choose from and I only got 1! I also joked that bikes are a great machine and was made bc it is easier/efficient than running or walking.
Instead of complaining I took it as a challenge for next year. Karma is great, by laughing about it, the director told me that he was going to toss some dough bc I broke the running record by almost a whole minute!
As it also turned out, as primarily a runner, I was a minority. It seemed that most people there were XC skiers or mtn bikers. Def a great venue. The prizes took forever but thats bc they were the best prizes I've ever seen at a race or heard of. The raffle prizes were ridiculous.
Great day to end a great week as I start the taper a bit. Got 95 miles this week and feeling good.

ET

This will bring up to speed the week of 8/13-8/19. It is really is the same cuss different day. I probably could do it in one sentence: I rule and ran 108 miles. Sounds good. But, one of the five people that read this silly idle words may be curious how it happened, so, here it goes.
Monday - ran a DeMar Marathon course 20 miler with Greg. It ended up being 6 miles at 5:40 pace, then 2 c 5:40, then 1 x 5:40. This was a lot of road after a solid week previous.
Tuesday - I went an checked out a trail that would link up a new run. It went from behind my place but then crosse over to the Athens/Grafton trails via a snowmobile path. Ended up with 14 long miles. Tough recovery run, but who are we kidding?
Wednesday - shook out an AM 10 miler on the trails. Felt ok, but felt good on the afternoon 7 I added at VT Academy trails.
Thursday - another double day, but had an intense hill session in Grafton. The hill is Turner Hill Rd and is vicious the first 800. All together the hill is 950m with the first 800 very steep and the last 150 mild/gradual. The goal was to stay just at redline then open up the stride on the "flats," which wasn't flat at all, but try to change gears. Ran 10 miles worth of hills and felt awesome! The 7 I added later at GP was slow and felt good to clip off some miles.
Friday - workout #2... It was a 12 mile lead out into Putney Mtn. Najem joine me and paced me through, and then 2 miles before the hill we added a 2 mile in 10:30 (5:18, 5:11), then up the hill I went. The week before I ran just over 19 minutes for the hill, but today I climbed in 17:30!
Saturday - the KSC dudes joined make and I for a long 15, which I called 16, around the abandoned orchard. Great run. We went very controlled and stayed that way. Rest on the rest days was followed today.
Sunday - Fyffe made and appearance and we ran the 10 mile version of the apple orchard loop. Great to see Fyffe. At one point he told me he felt like he was racing. I reassured him that it was BC, WE WERE RUNNING 5:20 pace!!! Dude can roll.
Week total = 108
After 8 weeks I has 937 miles, avg of about 117.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Sunday - Focused

Greg had a run planned in Pisgah, this sounded great bc I was ready to get back on the trails. We ran a 15 mile loop, and I felt awesome. It was a great run with Najem and Fyffe as well. Once we got back to Greg's house I opted to add 5 more miles on. I wanted to nail another 100+ mile week and this is what I had to do. I also wanted a long run. 15 is just a run now, and I don't want that to go away...
After adding my miles up I found I was at 97, so I shook 3 hilly miles behind te house out to get the Benjamin. I later found out that I never wrote into my running log the 9 miler around the orchard, so I ended my week with 109, a huge CUSS YEA!

Saturday - Popple Dungeon

Najem and I had an awesome day. The weather was perfect after we climbed a righteous hill, bc it started to down pour and wipe away the heat.
We parked in Grafton and headed west, wrapping around to Popple Dungeon road. This stretch was awesome. The rain and the downhill for 6 miles, was a great combo. Najem felt good/great so we ran well. This is an awesome winter time run of 17 but worked just fine in the summer.

Friday - 9

Easy 9 miler with Najem around the Leach Rd abandoned apple orchard. Felt a little residuals today from the workout out, but I'm telling myself it's just my body wanting more epicness. Cuss yea!

Thursday - Me Thing

The day after an epic workout is always interesting... Will I be sore? No. Will I be tired? Nope. Will I be able to run? Cuss yea!
Woke up the next morning feeling good. Had a goo stretch after last nights run which made my morning enjoyable. I hustled out to GP and covered a 7 mile loop of single track trails. Awesome morning...
Later in the evening I joined the BF high school kids for a run at the Hugh school. I ran 5 with Tim Eno and Larry Legend Sayers and then tacked 2 more miles with Eric Malnati. It was great to run with Eric. He didn't say 17 words on all runs I've done with him when he was in HS, but he ha great stories and was a great training partner. He has some awesome opportunities ahead. One great thing about Eric is that he trusts and listens to his coach, and had great insight about the "good stuff..."

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Tuesday - Abides

With workouts planned Monday and Wednesday, my rest days need to be on point and do the job of rest and recovery. Tuesday was just that, originally planned to run 7 and 5, but ended up feeling great after the 7 miler and didn't need the other 5...
Najem and I drove out to Windham VT, to a place called Hamilton Falls. (Rated #2 waterfall in New England). Very cool spot, but best past is there is a great 7 miler that is 6 miles of flat and 1 mile of climbing back to the car and the waterfall.
The water is fresh out of the mountains teat and is gloriously cold and perfect for soaking the legs or cleansing your soul. So... We did this.
Then hung around the house with the girls and relaxed!

Wednesday - Mr Self Destruct vs Heresy

Today was to be an epic 10 miler on the Marathon Road in Grafton. I was shooting for rice pace and hoping it would feel like training effort with a click up of intensity.
This was all a great idea, but I was freakishly on and the run was of legendary proportions to my current training. I rolled...
5:29, 5:22, 5:18, 5:29, 4:48, 5:03, 5:05, 5:10, 5:19, 5:04 = 52:18...
Felt godly the whole run. The breathing was normal and I was one with the effort and rolled comfortably. Everything was better than expected.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Monday - Loin Queen Parader

"Gonna turn it up inside your head..."

Yesterday's mountain finish was awesome and very exciting to feel good while making a solid climb. Monday was looking to be a true test to try many things: run, run relaxed, fast, in control, comfortable and within myself.
I headed back to the Marathon Road with Najem and Boj on the bike. Boj ran 4 hours the day before and was looking to loosen up on the bike.
Here was the plan: 3 mile warmup, 3 x 2 mile at 5 min pace or as fast and relaxed as possible, and then cool down. The 2 mile repeats were going to be run on the same section of road to keep it honest, so 2 miles in one direction, mile cool down, turn around and then go the other direction, mile cool down, then finish heading back towards the start.
The warm up was what it was. I didn't feel great leading out and hoped I'd make it through the workout still on point. Composure was huge to today.
The first mile of the first set was a bit fast at 4:50, but felt well within my comfort zone. Ended up chilling and settling in for a 10:00. We jogged off a mile and turned around to start the second set which is "up hill" or flat... I opened up the first mile of the second set in 4:55 and comfortably ran to a 9:59. Certified roller is certifiably rolling. Once again I jogged off the recover mile and mentally geared for the last one. I was surprised to find how little effort it was in regards to the day I had the day before. Don't get me wrong, it was an effort but I could not have done this workout a few months ago, so to be tackling the work and the times was a great feeling.
I opened the first mile of the third set in 4:45 and knew I had the third set all wrapped up. My main focus was checking in with Boj to see if I looked as relaxed as I thought I felt. With 90 seconds left I smoothly increased the pace all the while keeping my relaxed breathing pattern. It was great to finish in 9:41 for the last set, know I was done for the day and took down another obstacle in my training.
I ended the day with 19 (7 miles in Keene on the rail trails) and felt very good, especially bc it was Monday an we were going to crush wings after at the pub!!! Cuss yea!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Wednesday - Independence

July 4th... Great day to get outside... Well, I'm already always outside so this is just another day in that realm, but its ELLIE's birthday!!! Hell yea! My babe turned 5 today we had a full day of events.
1. Run Saxtons River 5k (3.2+ miles)
2. Log some miles
3. Hangout at Greg's house
4. Catch a few fireworks before bed.
I woke up feeling ok after last nights mile, more sluggish from the miles than the wicked cussing speed... I planned on running to town, racing, cooling down, then running home.
Got to run the (adopted) hometown race. Here was the plan: run to town (2.5 miles), 2 mile warm up, race, 2 mile cool down, run home = 12 mile morning.
Plan was great, ran a decent effort with the main goal of staying relaxed and bio mechanically sound. Ended up tacking on 2 extra miles in town for a 14 mile day...

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Void

Let's get philosophical. I am training at a level with numbers and times I've never trained at. I've ripped down the norms and established the highest levels as my new regime. I am at a place I've never been, fitness and mile wise, and everyday is "void" running. "Void" running to me is placing yourself at a point in the universe where new things are approaching. Being in the void is exciting. I am fully aware that I am striving and striding for/towards new goals, times, results and adventures. I'm training at a place I've never been in hopes of results I've never seen. There are also hopes that all this will lead to other great opportunities I will be fortunate enough to attain.
There's a force greater than all out there and I'm about to add it to my repertoire.

Back to the CussFest: Villain Running

7/31 - 8/6: 130 miles for the week.

Monday - Jesus, Moses and all those other holy cuss', did we get some trail covered today! This run was not for the weak. Greg, Najem, Boj, and yours most handsome tackle down a ridge run from Mt Wantisquiet(?) to Pisgah ridge to Greg's house. Cuss me! Brutal. The conditions were tough and the terrain was rugged yet runnable. I felt very good the whole run which saved me. If I was off by the slightest %, it would have sucked a cuss. All that, when I could have just said, "21 hard miles."
Eager to add to the day I hustled out for 5 more in the PM where I saw 2 young bears (2yrs old) and got to within 40 feet of one. It was awesome day! I'll do the math for you: 26 miles for the day (as I typed this line I just shrugged my shoulders, indicating that it ain't no thang).

Tuesday - 10 very flat miles on the Westmoreland Railbed with Najem. Followed by a solid outing at GP for 10 more. 20 for the day (in case you ain't Rainman with your math).

Wednesday - decided on some "light work," and for out to Grafton to do 2 x 2mile on the Marathon Road with Najem. 10 miles total, with a 9:24 and 9:41 splits in the mix... Righteous!!! College days nickname is back, "certified roller!" Felt completely under control and within my comfort zone. May tackle a 2 mile time trial on the track, I might pace, but will people e able to hang on???
Almost forgot about the 10 miles I added on in the PM on the Vermont Academy trails... :)

Thursday - had to use today as a recovery day, so Greg cam over and with Najem ran a hilly 14 behind my squalor palace. Goosh, it does feel good to be a gangster.
I hadn't seen Fyffe in a few days sink planned a 5 miler with him before the Olympic trial races. Ended up adding 3 more in Putney for a total of 22.

Friday - had a late start to my fitness, but ended up running before the Olympic track races to Fyffe's house. Najem dropped me off and I told them I was going to run 10 (bc I felt tired). I ended up running quick and felt light and very very strong. 10 turned into 14 hilly trail miles on the Pinnacle trails before reaching Fyffe's house. It was also 95 degrees out and it felt it. But I was zone running and rolling. Felt good.

Saturday - Fyffe came over and ran 10 with Najem and I. I had a double run day planned but only ran this run. We ran in the abandoned apple orchard and it is the least hilly (but hilly) run I have. Great run that ended well.

Sunday - Swiss Marathon training run. My idea was to simulate, on a mini scale, of what I'll be racing in Switzerland. We, (Greg, Fyffe, Najem and I) were going to run from my house to the top of Putney Mtn and go via Athens. The lead out to the mountain is a flat 15 miles on mostly dirt road and ending with a 2.5 mile climb (on easily 10% grade) up Putney mountain. This run was awesome. I felt like a bag of mashed up cuss holes the first 5-6 miles but slowly started to feel ok, then good, then up the mountain if felt great. The best I ran was on the mountain. It wasn't a workout or anything any different. He goal was to "just run" the mountain stage and feel in control (which I did).
Ended my week with 130 miles, feel excellent and look forward to hitting the Alps. It is fun I think how precise and exact I'm training for dudes I haven't met or briefly met. I'm fortunate to have been selected for this team and want to make sure I am at the best possible fitness/race level as I can be.

Stepping Up the A Game

Having a "down" week for what I was looking for was probably for the best. I was shooting for 120, but cuss happens. This week was very similar as far as where I chose to roll...

7/23 - 7/30: 120 miles for the week.

Monday - Took a bit of an adventure this moving and had a solid AM with righteous hills. Took down a 14 miler at GP with the girls. Later in the PM I Voltroned with Greg an we glided through a rugged 9+ behind my house on the switchback trail. 25 miles for the day. Felt very good each run.

Tuesday - had an appointment near mt Ascutney, so I decided to conquer the mountain. The road race was there a few days earlier but decided to roll 22 miles with my crew instead. Also, honestly, didn't feel like paying to race up a mountain I can train on (later to retract exact statement and sell out to hypocrisy). In my training run I put together a solid time that I was happy with, 32:0... is a time I can live with. I adventured around the summit and checks out some other trails until I ended up with 12 on Ascutney.
Hit GP with the girls for a great PN run before it got dark adding 7 to the day and calling my day 18.

Wednesday - these are days I truly believe to be extraterrestrial. Had a great day and felt great the whole time. Woke up and started the day with a solid 8 miler. Headed to Keene for the Wednesday workout and had a good miles day adding 13 for 25 on the day. My workout was a series of strides at 5:30 pace and felt good to shake it out.

Thursday - THE Pete Thomas asked if I would speak at the KSC running camp and I planned my run to be in Keene. It was great, I got to speak about motivation (which doesn't take much to get me cussing wild) and then go for a run with a Death Hill, cool. I ended up running close to 2 hours and climbed Death Hill in 2:40.

Friday - Made and appearance in Burlington and hustled 5 miles on the VCM course. I was asked by race officials if I'm coming back to VCM to defend my #1 VTer, and had to tell them that I'm not interested. I'm in for the big W! Yup, you read it, run an tell that to whoever you think needs to know...
Ended the day with a 5 miler at GP with the girls. Good pre-race day.

Saturday - So I said I wouldn't pay to run up a hill I could train on and did just the opposite a week later and really paid. When I say pay, holy cuss, I paid. $65 entry fee (which is ludicrous) to run the Okemo Mtn Challenge. A 10 mile race up Okemo an down. Good news: course record. Bad news: the prize I was told about was not there. Oh well, I'm not ungrateful, just was super pumped when the lass told me about an awesome prize... Cuss happens? That's my karma slap for not going to Ascutney.

Sunday - 15 mile dirt road run in Putney with a huge gang. Awesome way to end a 120 mile week. My legs and body are responding well to the high mileage (which is normal now).

Post Stowe

The last few weeks are a blur of strides, hills, mountains and great times. I'm going to zip through and get caught up on the last three weeks, which were monstrous!

7/16-7/22: 113 miles for the week.
Monday - flat 10 in the morning, and out and back styled run on a dirt road in Cambridgeport with Boj on the cycle. Followed by a 9+ miler behind my house with Greg.

Tuesday - I was tired today and had to just bag 9 in Putney with Fyffe, Greg and Najem.

Wednesday - experimental run. Combined a few parts of run into one run. A very hilly 15 mile run through Saxtons River and Athens.

Thursday - parked out in Grafton and hit the Grafton Ponds trails. These are awesome single track and not very hilly. Great way to break up the week and cruise through the woods on well maintained trails. 15 miles in Grafton was so nice I went back out in the PM and snagged 7 more: 22 for the day.

Friday - 11 miles on Grafton Ponds (GP) trails. Felt a bit tired but not too bad. Planned an epic weekend.

Saturday - Keene Staters came out for a solid 15. Awesome run with rolling hills the first 12 miles before a bear of a climb. Tough climb but honestly my least hilly run.

Sunday - Greg came out and with Najem tapped a 22 on the Marathon road. Running completely chill and relaxed (I felt F-ing amazing!) we rolled 2:21 for 22 like we were out for a 5 miler!!!

Monday - Swift

Monday is becoming a distance day, and I really like starting my week with some miles. In the morning Boj came over and he rode the bike next to me as I shook out an easy flat 10. He ran epically the day before and was resting. I felt borderline great. I definitely didn't feel like I raced 8 miles the day before and this was mentally uplifting.
In the afternoon Greg and Jen came over to run. Jen and Emily ran out in Cambridgeport, while Greg and I ran the challenging 9+ miler behind my house. The weather was starting to c get interesting and by mid run, Greg and I were getting poured on. This was awesome bc it took the humidity away and it cooled everything right down. Made for an amazing run in the wilds of VT. Boj ended up meeting us at the top of the switchback hill (his favorite part) and running the last 3 miles with us and running well. It is always great to chill yet run a solid effort and talk about who knows what.
We then met up with the ladies after their run and rolled to wings at the pub. Great little Monday in the summer. Total miles = 19.