All I need is one life, one try, one breath, I'm one man,
What I stand for speaks for itself, they don't understand,
Don't want see me on top, I'm too egotistical
Talkin' all that slick cuss the same way these gods do,
Wonder what my secrets is?
People will move on you, only if they know what your weakness is,
I have none!
The last month following Finland has been surreal. The training hasn’t slowed or stopped and has been the direct opposite, it has taken off. It must have been the never setting sun, and my dopamine is running wild. The summer weather has been ideal and epic and has allowed for some awesome training as I recover fully to tackle the next 50k at Killington.
I’m out everyday hustling a lot (A LOT) of quality runs, and have been able to have some great dudes joining me along the way. There was a bummer moment when we were 1 mile from the trail head: I forgot my cussing shoes?!?!?!?! Seriously, who does that? So I ran barefoot.*
Two days after arriving home, I Voltron’d with Greg and Brett and we all hit the 91 to run around Mt Moosilauke. Remember, I’m 3 days removed from a 5 hour 55k effort race, so no mortal men could do what was about to go down. Brett did some solid recon and we goaled for 2.5-3 hours on the mountain. Moosilauke is a great mountain that is incredibly runner friendly. After some initial confusion about lefts and rights, we started the climb. I felt awesome. No explanation. I just felt great on the climb. We chilled at the top and took the sights for a moment before heading north a little before descending down. The downhill was a reminder of my mortality as my big toe was talking to me and was sore. Once we got the bottom, we cruised along a rolling single track. It was awesome.
At the very end of the run, I was done, content, relaxed and ready to get into some water. The trail was a little overgrown in sections (even though the map made it look like I-95). At that moment, an unreal pool popped out of the single track. It was deep and crystal clear and godsend. Also, ice cold, filled with big cuss trout and amazing. Brett is proving to be a great running partner in addition to his duties of being a great friend, where he’s always up for an adventure.
*Or, I had to borrow a pair of Brett’s kicks.
Training continued as Wu’s saga, and the next big hustle was with Brett, and Drew Best at Stratton. This was another one of Brett’s brainchildren thoughts, a Stratton Double Up, that was going to roll around 3 hours with some great climbs. Drew zipped up from that southern state of VT, and we rolled. The weather was hog cuss! Pouring on and off and chilly. The initial climb warmed us up quick, but it was a very wet day. Reminiscent of my days as a night Owl at KSC. This run did not feel like 3 hours while we were out there, as we chatted like 80’s John Hughes girls on the telephone the whole time. It def felt primal and epic, and was a solid day with great dudes!
36 Chambers, door number 7: I was cruising the interweb and was thinking about heading out to the Adirondacks for a day on their remoteness. I love the Whites and Greens, but there is something a bit different about the Adirondacks. I few years ago I hustled the FKT on Mt Marcy’s ascent (1:12:02) and wanted to attempt another untouchable time. The 1:12 was weak, and I knew I had more in the tank. Since then, the record had (SPOILER!!! “HAD” bc I erased it) been lowered to 1:10:21. I really feel that I can run 64-65 min on this climb. I brought my wing-girl, Lena with me to be a part of this. I awoke at 4:30 and headed to NY. I wanted to be one of the first people on the main trail. Unfortunately, I didn’t read too many official sites and found out when I got there that there is a leash law in the High Peaks area. CUSS!!!
I got my angel, Lena, there and now I got to roll fast as cuss with a leash?!?! I love adversity and saw this as that (a form of hate) and after (for real) politely communicating with the Rangers (who were really awesome about it) I put a 9 ft long thin climbing rope around Lena and headed out and up! I’ll keep it facts and honest, I dropped that leash as soon as I was out of site, but let it drag so I could grab it fast if needed. Lena was the best behaved and listened the best as she must have got my mental mind messages I sent her as we were running. It helped that I was rolling at a very high effort and she stayed either 5 ft ahead or behind me the whole way. We topped out at 1:09:01 for a new FKT. The first 2 miles are gradual and super runnable and I held back a bit to attack the first climb. This is where I made a mistake and it cost me a couple minutes. I need to go out hotter, and then just run the climb. This will make the difference when I go back this fall and lower it again (Sub 60?!?!?!). Kids, say no to drugs if you hear someone say this that ain’t me!
On the way down we checked out of the little side views and waterfalls and had a solid 3.5 hrs in the Adirondacks. On the top I found out from the Summit Steward that there is a $250 fine for having your dog off the leash! And that the Ranger I spoke with at the bottom is the dude that ALWAYS writes tickets (Ironically, on the way down, I was holding the leash and passed him, he thanked me for my cooperation and wondered if I was ever going to touch the leash, I reassured him that I was more surprised, haha). I was talking to a third Ranger I met with Mr. Tickets, and I was joking around about how’d I would have just ran away if they tried to give a ticket, and laughed. This is when an environmental officer, we will call him Big Richard, poked his nose into our conversation with a raised voiced stating: “I’d catch you! And you’re being disrespectful for thinking I wouldn’t…”
I had a mini mental explosion! YOU SERIOUS BRO?!?!?! Big Richard had his pants tucked into big cuss combat boots, a long sleeve (it was 75 degrees out) and was strapped with a taser and gun. I then had a voice inside my head say, cuss it, and unleashed on this Big RIchard. I let him know that he was the one being disrespectful and insulting to my fitness level (all the while laughing, as I was joking with the Ranger I had met earlier). I stressed how out of his mind and delusional he was to think that he would catch me. I told him to unclip that holster and fire the taser up, bc he’d never see my skinny cuss again. I even gave him the opportunity to play a game in the parking lot: Big RIchard, you can chase me around the parking lot, I’ll give you 2 hours, and YOU STILL WOULDN”T TOUCH ME, LET ALONE SNIFF MY SWEATY SHORTS!!! C’mon! (And yes, I need to let this go, but as an educator, dude needed to be educated).
My Voltron hetero-lifemate is Greg Hammett. We run, we chill and we (he) are balanced for each other. I’m going to live to be 98, and it’s mos def bc of Greg. Add Glenn to the mix, and I can do anything. Their big 4-0 was on the horizon, so Greg organized a run up Pumpelly trail on Monadnock. Johnny Hammett, myself, Brett and Boj joined Greg to the top. This was a great run, and made me think a lot about what’s in the next chapter. When I think about it, this is what comes to mind:
Menacin' methods label me a lethal weapon, making witnessin' breathless imperfections.
We, born leaders, never leave the block without my, my bro.
Got me a dog, named him Eazy G.
In physical form, let it be known, WE troublesome.
Death before dishonor bet on bomb on them first bro’s.
