Andover Country Club XC race

This year was my fifth time running at the scenic grounds of the Andover Country club. Every year the course has been slightly different and it’s anyone’s guess how long the race is. What you do get every year is a tough rolling course with a mix of grass, cart path, and road. You also get an opportunity to square off against other clubs in the team competition. This is racing as it should be.

I did a nice easy 3+ run in the morning with slowly recovering Steve Peterson. About the only benefit of a noon race is that you can sneak in some mileage in the morning to help the all important weekly total. Temps were in the upper 30’s to low 40’s when I arrived at the golf course a little more than an hour before the start. I parked right behind JJ and saw Mike Q get out of his truck just as I pulled up. He mentioned that Bob Wiles was present along with Dave Q, so it looked like we’d have a strong team. Jim P had mentioned that he hoped to race, so we’d have more than the five needed to score for this years race.

We all gathered at 11:15 and headed out for a nice 3 mile warm-up that included some gymnastic moves to clear the gate leading out of the ritzy neighborhood, we were lucky no one was guarding the gate when we came back…we definitely didn’t look like we belonged. It was cool seeing a bunch of other teams warming up in big groups. After the warm-up I changed into my Inov-8 trail shoes and headed out for more than a mile of strides. I also checked out the last ½ mile of the race. Last year I was outkicked in the final few meters, partly because I thought we had a lot longer to go. I hoped to not make the same mistake this year.

My plan was to try to stick with Jim P for as long as possible. I figure he is running faster than I am right now, so if I want to run faster he’d be the guy to go with. I also hoped he’d drag me along and pull me away from Dave Q. I beat Dave on Thanksgiving, but that didn’t give me much confidence…he is one tough guy and if he is close with 800 to go he’d blow doors on me. Anyway, about 400 lined up for the start and went off like crazy when the gun fired. There were elbows flying and hands on backs as we did a nearly 180 degree turn 100m into the race. The next scary part was the golf-cart-wide bridge and the sharp turn (with a curb), but after that the real racing began.

Jim pulled away a bit as we moved around the fast starters. Dave went by at about ½ mile into the race and I went with him. Soon after we passed Danny F (Acidotic Racing) and started closing on Jim. Dave and I were cutting tangents like mad, nothing illegal mind you, but we were going the shortest possible route. On the long back stretch around two-miles into the race I slightly gapped Dave and made a move on Jim. Dave and I both chose to run on the fairway while everyone in front of us seemed to have taken the slightly longer and deeper grass along the edge of the fairway. I caught Jim as we rounded the sand trap and green and headed onto the cart path. I tried to move around Jim but really didn’t have the turn-over to really get anywhere. I felt great on the downhill sections and would put a few seconds on him then he’d pull back even on the flats and uphill sections.

I checked my watch on a turn and figured I had about a mile to go. It felt all-out already but I wasn’t going to ease up with Jim right there and the footstep from behind indicated Dave was not off the back. On a longish downhill I tried to make a break but just couldn’t quite get away. Jim caught back immediately and with a little over 800m to go Dave went by. I struggled to go with them on the final climb and they seemed to just float away. I pushed the downhill into the finish but really didn’t gain any ground. Jim just edged Dave at the line and I rolled in 3 seconds later. I hit the ground wheezing. Man, that hurt.

I met my goal of running with Jim for as long as possible, but didn’t score for the team (despite finishing 9th overall). Dave had mentioned during the warm-up that the final spot on the team was going to be either him or me. He was correct and despite running the race exactly like I hoped I was not quite fast enough to be on the scoring team. I’m not disappointed…I came away feeling I absolutely ran as hard as I could on that day. Whenever you can say that, it should be enough.

Next up: 10km USA National XC championships 12-11-10

Results:
1 Nate Jenkins 17:30 M30 5:01 SAC
2 Jim Johnson 18:21 M33 5:15 CMS
3 Bob Wiles 18:25 M33 5:16 CMS
4 Mike Quintal 18:30 M32 5:18 CMS
5 Joe Donnelly 19:04 M42 5:28 WRT
6 Ryan Kelly 19:21 M29 5:32 Acidotic
7 James Pawlicki 19:32 M36 5:36 CMS
8 David Quintal 19:33 M47 5:36 CMS
9 Dave Dunham 19:36 M46 5:37 CMS
10 Jefferson Welch 19:59 M23 5:43
11 Danny Ferreira 20:11 M28 5:47 Acidotic
12 Brendan Kearney 20:12 M27 5:47 SRR
13 Jonathan May 20:27 M41 5:51 SRR
14 Dermot Neylon 20:39 M29 5:55
15 Harris Hardy 20:42 M47 5:56 AE

Q-Brothers

Week Ending 11-28-10

Pretty good week, got over 70 miles and raced twice.  Next up: Travel to the USATF convention next week and then to XC nationals the week after that.

Dashboard on the way to the Andover XC race - Maint Req'd

M - Lunch 3 in 21:53.  PM Winni 5 with Dan in 37:25
T - Lunch 3 in 20:04.  PM 2xbasin loop plus 5m loop 15:47 & 36:24
W - Lunch 3 in 19:53.  PM 3xbasin loop plus 5m loop in 57:47
Th - Race at Maudslay with 1,541 of my closest friends.  3.1 up/3.1 down/3.1 race plus strides
F - Lunch 5 in 34:30.  PM Winni 5 with Dan in 36:37
S - AM 4 on the Rivah with MQ in 30:02, then nice easy 5m in 40:46
Sun - AM 3 (15min with Petey) on Rail Trail, PM 3 up, 3 down, 1+ strides, and 3.5m XC race (story to follow).

Totals
Week - 72
Month - 260
Year - 2,463
Life - 109,834

Andover CC

Winners Circle XC race

I’ve been running the Winners Circle Thanksgiving race at Maudslay state park since 2003. I went this year with the hope of running close to my time from the last couple of year (around 17:30). I got to the race more than an hour before the start to avoid the crowds. The race is billed as the “largest mass-start XC race in the country”. With 1,200 finishers last year it can get pretty crazy if you don’t arrive early.

I picked up my number and bumped into Dave Quintal on the way back to my car. I was happy to see him; I thought I’d be on my own. It’s always more fun to have a teammate around for warming-up and down. We headed out and ran the course for a warm-up. I felt sluggish, but not terrible and was definitely feeling the adrenaline from the idea of a record field all trying to get to the first turn without taking a big spill. After our 3+ warm-up I switched into my Inov-8 trail race shoes and headed out for another mile with some strides. I was cold, heeding Dave’s advice to go with just a singlet and shorts (and gloves), but not bad. I felt decent doing strides while watching the crowd still marching over to the line.

The start was crazy, but not as crazy as years past. I got out well and following Bob Strout (1:53 speed from back-in-the-day) who loves to go out quickly. This course is great for fast starters with 200m flat then a quick 600m downhill before you start climbing. I worked my way around some of the kids who went out fast and reeled in Strouty by about 600m into the race. Dave also likes to go out fast so I was a little surprised to have closed on him before the ½ mile at the bottom of the downhill. At that point I’d already moved into right around 10th place which was a bit of a surprise. Usually I’m in the 20’s at the point in the race. I tried to push on the uphill, which is basically the next ¾ of a mile. I moved up as high as 5th place and was passed by just one guy (just after the mile). I didn’t feel all that great, but felt like I was putting in an effort that was all I had. I really pushed the downhill leading into two miles knowing I’d need all of the cushion I could get on the final climb back up to the field (the last ½ mile climbs up the same hill we run down at the start). I had a feeling that Dave wasn’t far behind and I know he has a lot more speed than me at the end of a race, so I kept pushing as hard as I could. I was wheezing pretty badly as I turned into the final climb and I was tempted to look back and see where Dave was (I didn’t want him to see me looking so I ended up not taking a peek).

The final 800m was tough, but any last 800 especially in a 5k is tough, and I pushed with all I had until I hit the line. I was a little disappointed with the time (17:37) but happy with the effort. I think the cold and the wind (how could it be windy in the woods?) kept times a bit slower than years past. Dave came in one place and 10 seconds behind me. We headed to the car for warm clothes and then headed out to do the course again. You could tell that the field was bigger than last year. It was hard to find an opening to run in on the way down the hill. We ended up finishing our warm-down a little before the last finishers came in.

The crew was very efficient and right after the last finisher they started the raffle and within 15 minutes they were awarding cash for the top finishers. Dave and I were both surprised to get a nice pay-off for our efforts.

Next up: Andover Country Club XC race on Sunday, if my foot is okay…

My results at the Maudslay Thanksgiving race
11/27/03 - 17:52 - 14th
11/25/04 - 17:09 - 4th (1st 40+)
11/23/06 - 17:45 - 15th (1st 40+)
11/22/07 - 17:29 - 14th (3rd 40+)
11/26/09 - 17:26 - 12th (4th 40+)
11/25/10 - 17:37 - 6th (2nd 40+)

This year:
1 PATRICK ARD  16:21 5:15

2 Tom Leger 16:44 5:22
3 Tim Murtagh 17:03 5:28
4 CHRIS KEALEY 17:10 5:31
5 THOMAS ESPONNETTE 17:19 5:33
6 Dave Dunham  17:37 5:39
7 DAVID QUINTAL 17:47 5:42
8 Peter Van Nostr 17:50 5:43
9 BRIAN MCDONNELL 18:12 5:50
10 MIKE COHEN  18:13 5:51

40+
1 4 CHRIS KEALEY 43 17:10

2 6 Dave Dunham 46 Bradford MA 17:37
3 7 DAVID QUINTAL 47 17:47
4 21 PAUL YOUNG 45 18:52
5 26 JOE GURCZAK 43 19:05

County High Points

Last weekend I finished my fifth state, getting the final county high point in Vermont.  Getting more states is going to be more difficult and involve a lot of travel and planning.  I've got 141 county high points, only about 3,000 to go!

Thanksgiving races

The only days of the year I've raced on more often than Thanksgiving are New Years Day and Independence Day.  I ran my 13th Thanksgiving race today - story to follow - I've run 15 times on July 4 and 14 times on January 1.  Below are my Thanksgiving results.

11/24/88 Jordan Marsh Road Race - Boston MA 5m in 25:30 for 12th place in a field of 2400

11/26/92 Feaster five - Andover MA 4.96m in 25:32 for 3rd place in a field of 3060.  I ran this as a "tempo run" in anticipation of XC nationals two days later.  It paid off as I got 25th at Nationals.

11/25/93 Feaster five - Andover MA 4.96m in 24:17 for 5th in a field of 3167. 6000 runners combined, had to weave thru the 5k runners in the last mile.

11/23/95 Feaster five - Andover MA 4.96m in 24:08 for 2nd in a field of  3937. 8,000 entrants combined, lost on a kick to Yiannelis 24:07.  Last year the race had money $.

11/28/96 Feaster five - Andover MA 4.96m in 24:38 for 1st in a field of 3016.  Dan took 2nd in  24:48.

11/26/98 T-day RR - Ashburn VA 6.21m in 30:48 for 3rd in a field of 450. I was working in Washington DC at the time.

11/23/00 Feaster five - Andover MA 4.96m in 25:14 for 3rd in a field of 2749.

11/27/03 WCRC XC - Newburyport MA 3.1m in 17:52 for 14th in a field of 755.

11/25/04 WCRC XC - Newburyport MA 3.1m in 17:09 for 4th in a field of 644.  Ran w Beck moved thru from 10th to 4th. Bernier 1637, Pawlicki 1700, Beck 1705. 1st 40+.

11/23/06 WCRC XC - Newburyport MA 3.1m in 17:45 for 15th in a field of 884 my 53rd race of the year. 1st 40+

11/22/07 WCRC XC - Newburyport MA 3.1m in 17:29 for 14th in a field of  958.  3rd 40+

11/26/09 WCRC XC - Newburyport MA 3.1m in 17:26 for 12th in a field of 1200.  4th 40+

1996 - Dan is just taking the corner

Vermont is green

My weekend began with a 2.5 hour drive north, and just as the sky was bright enough to read a map, I arrived at Blinn Hill in Dresden Maine. This was my first destination, a Maine county prominence point. I drove to the radio tower and walked around, there was no real view and nothing that was obviously the highest point. I probably spent less than 2 minutes and took off to Whitten hill. It was a quick 30 minutes to Sabattus Maine where I parked on the side of the road next to the radio tower. The wind had really picked up but temps around 30 and being only out of the car for 5 minutes made this another quick bag. That was my last pre-race destination so I headed off to Freeport for the XC race.

After finishing third at the Freeport XC race (story elsewhere) I jumped in the car and drove an hour to get Clark and Hosac. The two mountains are very close to each other and the height is nearly the same, so to claim the county high point it is standard practice to climb both. I parked on a quiet dirt road on the north side of Clark and ran up a logging road that climbs almost to the summit. It was a short bushwhack from the end of the road to the summit. I decided to head directly south and see if I could just cut cross-country to Hosac. It just seemed easier than back-tracking then hoping that the road wasn’t posted (no trespassing) further along.

I headed directly south and took a look at the cliffy area and thought "This is do-able". I took it very slowly working my way down in the slick oak leaf covered slope. About halfway down I took a big spill and nearly lost my camera (I was carrying just a camera and my car key). I cut up my hand and was bleeding on the map so I stopped and adjusted the camera and then continued down the slope. About 5 minutes later I realized that I no longer had my car key! I keep a spare under the car, but hadn't checked on it in 3 years...today would be the day. I hit the road and ran to the summit of Hosac, took some pictures and then ran the road back to the car. I had a few moments of panic after I got the key out and it wouldn't work in the door. It turned out to be the valet key and luckily I had nothing I needed in the trunk of the car so I was able to continue with my hikes.



Looking at the cliff section



After Clark/Hosac I headed north and quickly found my way to Sebago ME and a big parking area for Douglas Mountain. I ran from the parking lot to the Ledges trail, took a few pictures from the top of the tower then ran down via the woods trail. It was a little more than 2 miles and I had the trail pretty much to myself, although this mountain gets a lot of traffic.

My sixth and final peak of the day was a late afternoon run up Shawnee Peak east to bag the north slope of Pleasant Mountain. I headed straight up the lift line then caught the trail to the summit and whacked for the county high point. The climb was pretty tough, I was definitely feeling tired. The top had some very nice open woods and there was a great view from the top of the ski slope. I tried to talk out loud pretty much the entire time I was out there. I didn’t see any hunters but I heard that the woods were teeming with “a bunch of idiots from out of state”.

The next morning Eric and I left his house at first light and headed to the southwest side of Camel’s hump. It was 20 degrees and sunny when we parked at the Burrows trailhead. Eric used running shoes with "an aggressive tread" and I went with Jalas (spiked orienteering shoes). This was going to be an easy day for me with just the 5 mile round trip as my only run of the day. We were hoping that it wouldn't be too icy. The first mile or so was great, and then it was a mix of snow and icy spots but nothing too bad. We hit the top in 53 minutes and stayed on top taking pictures for 6 minutes. This was my final county high point in Vermont and I wanted some pictures. We were very cautious on the descent which ended up taking us another 1:01 (total time = 2:00:35). Conditions were great! No wind at all and temps in the teens on the top. We passed one hiker on the way up and there were about 15 people headed up as we ran down. This turned out to be a perfect morning for me to get my final county high point in Vermont!

Pictures: http://doubledmountainrunner.shutterfly.com/2282

Weekend totals:
21 miles running (including the XC race)
7 Peaks

Week Ending 11-21-10

Took it pretty easy this week trying to relax still post-marathon. Starting to worry about XC looming fast. Felt like I was running well at Freeport, haven’t raced in Maine in over 5 years.


M – Lunch run 3 in 20:12, PM Winni 5 with Matt S in 35:40

T – Lunch 3 in 19:38, PM Winni 5 in 33:58

W – Lunch 3 in 19:49, PM Winni 7 with MS, JJ, DV in 50:50

Th – Lunch 3 in 20:19, PM Winni 5 with Dan in 36:10

F – Lunch 3 in 20:33, PM Winni 5 with JJ in 35:21

S – warm-up/down plus strides at the XC race in Freeport 17:38 3rd place. Then another 9 miles bagging six different mountains.

S – 5 miles with 2,300 climb/descent getting Camel’s hump with Ed Horse in 2:00:35

Totals
Week = 63
Month = 188
Year = 2,391
Life = 109,762

Morse, checking out another trail on Camel's hump

Freeport XC race

With the trail marathon two weeks behind me and the the XC nationals looming I decided it was time to hit the road and run some XC.

I found a race in Freeport and decided to head north and bag some county high points along the way, more on that in another post.

I got to the race site and after checking in and getting the scoop on the course I headed out.  The course was great, with lots of twists and turns.  There were roots and a little mud but really the only tricky stuff was wherever there was a bit of ice.  I warmed up on the course and felt pretty decent doing some strides.  I bumped into Todd Coffin - Dirigo, a former CMS runner.  I knew there would be some competition.

It was just above freezing and the wind was blowing when about 75 of us took off.  The local high school team took off, the knowledge of the home course and the narrow trail may have caused them to go out a bit too fast.  I was in about 10th when we hit the woods about 400m into the race.  I quickly moved around the Freeport XC guys who slowed in the woods.  Todd went by me about 800m into the race and I tried to keep him close.  When we hit the start line about halfway through the race I was ten seconds behind Todd and pretty well ahead of fourth place.  I got as close as three or four seconds with less than 800 to go, then at 400 to go Todd glanced back and took off.  He was gone and moved back up to a ten second gap.  I was pleased with taking 3rd in 17:38.  It felt good to get some fast running in after the last two marathons.  Hopefully I'll be able to run as fast at the tougher Thanksgiving XC race this week.

Betty ReeZ WhoopieZ - 5km XC

Freeport, ME, November 20, 2010

1 Josh Zolla M 24 15:54 5:08
2Todd Coffin M 49 17:28 5:38
3 Dave Dunham M 46 17:38 5:41
4 Jorma Kurry M 39 18:03 5:49
5 Bennet Wade M 17 18:47 6:04

Whoopie Pie prizes for the top three in each age group

USATF trail series

This year marked the first foray of the MUT (mountain/ultra/trail) into actually designating a trail series. The four race series was comprised of the trail national championships at 10km, 15km, ½ marathon, and marathon. Mario Mendoza placed in the top 5 at three races to take the inaugural series. Tim Van Orden was top 40+ in second place overall and I took 2nd 40+ and fourth place overall. Plans are in the works to have a Trail Runner of the year named in 2011. Currently MUT only awards a Mountain and Ultra runner of the year.

USATF trail series
1 282.47 Mario Mendoza Cambria, CA M 24 Asics Aggie RC
2 267.85 Tim Van Orden Bennington, VT M 42 Central Mass striders
3 200.00 Max King Bend, OR M 30 200.00
4 173.74 Dave Dunham Bradford, MA M 46 Central Mass Striders
5 165.76 Scott Dunlap Woodside, CA M 41

My medals from USATF National championships this year.

L to R - 2nd 45-49 Mountain champs, 2nd 45-49 10km trail champs, 1st 45-49 Marathon trail champs, 10th overall Marathon trail champs

More XC - 30 years ago

My final race of my Junior year of XC...

Trailblazer?

This is the first time I've been called a trailblazer, much better than some things I've been called.

From The Eagle Tribune today

Week ending 11-14-10

This was a rest week. I’m hoping that a couple of easy weeks will knock out the ankle tendonitis and the continuing PF soreness. Five weeks until the first snowshoe race!

M – Lunch run 3 in 21:25

T – Lunch run 3 in 20:35

W – Lunch run 3 in 19:57, PM Winni 5 in 34:56

Th – Great easy 5 in am 40:10 then Winni 6 in Afternoon

F – Lunch 3 in 19:58, PM Winni 5 in 34:43

S – 3 warm-up, Red course at UNO club champs 73:12, 1 warm-down

Sun – 4 on my own 30:34, 3x5 minutes w Petey, 4+ with Scott and the LaPierres

Totals
Week = 55 miles
Month = 125
Year = 2,328
Life = 109,699

10 Years ago

Some familiar names in the results...

20 Years ago - US marathon championships

11-11-1990 Columbus Marathon

I'm in the back of this pack at about half way

2010 US trail marathon championships

I've posted pictures here.

Top runners right before the start

Mt Grayback

I've posted pictures of my climb up Mt Grayback (7,048') that I did the day before the marathon.

Pics here.

Action Dave on a trip to Oregon

Check out the pictures at: http://doubledmountainrunner.shutterfly.com/2219

Week Ending 11-07-10

Goal for the week was to relax and be ready when I reached the starting line for the marathon championships. My hope for the marathon was a time faster than last year (3:09) and hopefully a higher place (16). I was fortunate to meet both of my goals with a 3:03 and a 10th place finish. Next up: Rest.


Monday - 430 am Industrial Park 5 in 37:32. Lunch run 3 in 21:01

Tuesday - Lunch run 3 in 02:05, PM 6 miles looping in the woods of Bolton with JJ in 44:32

Wednesday - 430am Industrial Park 5 in 35:25. Lunch run 3 in 19:51.

Thursday - Nice morning run 5 in 38:27 then all day flight to Oregon

Friday - Morning 8m run with 3,000' of climb/descent. Afternoon 3m easy with Richard in 23:57

Saturday - US Trail Marathon championships - national champ in the 45-59 & 10th place overall in 3:03:25

Sunday - 3 slow miles with Richard at 4am in 25:20, then all day flight home.

Totals:
Week = 70
Month = 70
Year = 2,273
Life = 109,644

Top 10

Trail Marathon National championship

Well, my goal was to run under 3:05 and my stretch goal was 3 flat...I was very happy with a 3:03:25.  The bonus for me was winning a gold medal in the 45-49 and even better was taking 10th in the USATF overall.  I also won a $75 gift certificate to Rogue Valley Runners for being the runner who traveled the furthest!

Splits:
Who can say how accurate these were, some seemed way off others not so much so...such are the vagaries of a trail marathon.  Great job by Hal and the RVR putting on a great event.

637
733
823
800
729
617?
753
919?
725
706
646
1323 2miles = 13 miles in 1:36:25
628
628
623
707
629
629
631
619
622
2024 3miles
642
72
Total = 3:03:25
2nd 1/2 = 1:27:00

1 Max King M 30 2:41:24 M-Open

2 Mario Mendoza M 24 2:47:04 M-Open
3 John Tribbia M 28 2:47:55 M-Open
4 Brad Mitchell M 40 2:52:17 M-40-44
5 Alan Rozendaal M 40 2:53:34 M-40-44
6 Timothy Olson M 27 2:55:32 M-Open
7 Andrew Schupp M 30 2:55:32 M-Open
8 Yassine Diboun M 32 2:58:42 M-Open
9 Neil Olsen M 43 2:59:31 M-40-44
10 Dave Dunham M 46 3:03:25 M-45-49
11 Greg McMillan M 41 3:03:57 M-40-44
12 John Leuthold M 42 3:04:52 M-40-44
13 Tim Van Orden M 42 3:08:03 M-40-44
14 Scott Dunlap M 41 3:09:00 M-40-44
15 Lawrence Merrifield Jr M 42 3:14:31 M-40-44
16 John Couillard M 29 3:16:20 M-Open
17 William Emerson M 46 3:17:01 M-45-49
18 Jamil Coury M 25 3:17:20 M-Open
19 Katie Caba F 39 3:23:12 F-Open
20 Jeff Caba M 40 3:23:15 M-40-44

Mt Grayback - Josephine County, OR

I headed out to Oregon to run the U.S. trail marathon championships in Ashland.  Whenever I take a trip I try to find a nearby County High Point to attempt.  In this case the closest was Grayback mountain which was only about an hour drive from Ashland.  The day before, I flew for 12 hours and after a restless night I was up well before sunrise.

It took just under one hour to drive to the trailhead.  The trip reports were very helpful, I checked the mileage when I turned onto Thompson Creek road and found FS1005 road at 11.7 miles.  I never saw the National forest boundary marker but did see that FS1005 was right at the point that you LEAVE Josephine county.

The road was in great shape, but unfortunately at 2 miles there was a huge tree down across the road.  I carefully turned the rental car around and pulled to the side of the road.

 Usually some extra running is a bonus, but with the marathon looming I was a little worried.  This would mean 1.8 miles (3.6 round-trip) of additional running and an extra 500-600' of climb and descent.  I decided it wouldn't be bad if I just ran VERY slowly, heck that's just what i'd need to loosen up my legs from all of the travel.

I was out of the car 30 minutes after sunrise (8:20AM) and slowly jogged up the road.  I reached the trailhead (1.9 miles) in 19:05, took a swig of water and started the steeper climbing.  I reached the trail junction at 5,500' in another 16:12, looking forward to the next section of switchbacks.  Up until that point the climb was pretty steep but the trail was in great shape.  The next part was very nice with soft trail and moderate grades.  I hit the final trail junction at 6,100' after 17:03 (total for approximately 4 miles from the car was 52:21).  I took a little more than 3 minutes to tighten my running shoes and  take a few pictures.

The next part was the non-running section.  I headed up the steep open east face of the mountain.  I zig zagged a bit and had to go around some patches of snow above 6,400' but nothing was too bad.  It took me 20:29 (1:16:25 total) to reach the top.

Steep, but not the steepest part

I hunkered down low on top to avoid the chilly breeze (45 degrees when I left the car) and took some pictures and had some excellent GU Chomps (sort of like Gummi Bears).  The summit register was soaked despite being in a jar so I couldn't sign-in. 

 I decided it would be fun to make my way over to Windy Gap and run down the trail from there.  I reached the unnamed peak (6,988') in 18:14 but saw that there was quite a bit of snow leading down to the Gap so I changed plans and plunged into the woods.

This was a small area of snow before the Gap

The footing was descent in the woods and I worked my way down to the southeast.  After 30:42 I popped out on the trail about 200 meters from the junction.  It was back to running again, but a nice slow shuffle to spare my quads.  My descent to the trail junction was only 1 minute faster than my ascent (15:52) and the drop to the trailhead was only 2:30 faster than the climb (12:36).  The final 1.8 to the car went by pretty easily and I found myself back at the road block in 16:41.

This marked my 38th state with at least one county high point reached.  Trip stats were about 8 miles running and 2 miles hiking with 3,000' of climb and descent.  Total time up was 1:16:15 and down was 1:33:45.  Total clock time (including breaks) was 2:56:09

Now off to the Marathon!!!

Action Dave relaxes in the hotel room with the current issue of New England Runner

Marathons

The trail marathon championships will be my 34th marathon and my 46th race at or over 26.2 miles. 

Date	What?	Where		Time	Place	Field	Notes:
04/18/89	Boston Marathon	Hopkinton	MA	2:22:03.0	17	5122	On 2:14 pace through 20
02/25/90	Bay state marathon	Lowell	MA	2:51:00.0	4	250	Workout
10/14/90	Bay state marathon	Lowell	MA	2:58:28.0	18	202	Workout
11/11/90	Columbus marathon	Columbus	OH	2:19:28.0	26	4059	Qualified for Olympic trials
06/02/91	Nipmuck	Ashford	CT	3:01:54.0	1	120	Tough trail race, set the still standing CR
10/20/91	Bay state marathon	Lowell	MA	2:38:23.0	4	385	Paced Petey
11/03/91	Rhode Island marathon	Newport	RI	2:29:28.0	3	1025	Tough course
03/01/92	Hyannis marathon	Barnstable	MA	2:54:58.0	12	500	Workout
04/11/92	US Olympic trials	Columbus	OH	2:21:18.0	20	110	Hot day, top 20 finish
10/18/92	Bay state marathon	Lowell	MA	2:52:18.0	14	380	Paced Mike Beeman
12/12/92	Rocket city marathon	Huntsville	AL	2:20:51.0	1	874	Took the lead at 23
10/17/93	Bay state marathon	Lowell	MA	2:51:25.0	19	379	Workout
10/31/93	Ocean state marathon	Newport	RI	2:26:06.0	2	450	Tough day
04/09/95	World Cup Marathon	Athens, Greece	GRE	2:27:51.0	56	101	Great trip!
09/24/95	Clarence Demar	Keene	NH	2:30:25.0	2	324	1:11 first half then "jogged"
12/09/95	Rocket city marathon	Huntsville	AL	2:25:41.0	9	1069	Barely made the top 10
10/06/96	Portland marathon	Portland	ME	2:34:57.0	2	325	Paced Byrne Decker
10/27/96	USATF NE marathon	Falmouth	MA	2:24:05.0	2	809	Lost to Craig Fram in the last mile
12/14/96	Rocket city marathon	Huntsville	AL	2:19:50.0	2	883	Rough weather
10/18/98	Bay state marathon	Tyngsboro	MA	2:21:36.0	1	682	Qualified for Olympic trials
12/12/98	Rocket city marathon	Huntsville	AL	2:22:35.0	4	866	Another windy day in AL
05/02/99	USATF championships	Pittsburgh	PA	2:21:55.0	10	2289	Hot day, a lot of DNF's
09/24/00	Clarence Demar Marathon	Keene	NH	2:29:10.0	1	277	Workout preparing for 100k
09/30/00	NH Marathon	Bristol	NH	2:43:31.0	1	103	Workout preparing for 100k
10/29/00	USATF NE marathon	Falmouth	MA	2:30:53.0	5	796	3rd marathon in 7 weeks
11/09/02	Stone Cat Ale	Topsfield	MA	3:06:10.0	1	72	Great fun
12/14/02	Rocket City Marathon	Huntsville	AL	2:36:22.0	10	815	Top 10, just.
10/31/04	USATF NE marathon	Falmouth	MA	2:50:19.0	18	920	Not a workout!
10/15/06	Dupont forest USATF champs	Brevard	NC	2:55:56.0	7	122	Surprise top 10 at National champs
10/28/07	USATF NE champs	Falmouth	MA	2:49:25.0	27	1005	40+ PR
10/18/09	Baystate - USATF NE	Lowell	MA	2:59:41.0	75	1561	Long run = 8m
11/07/09	Lithia loop - USATF national	Ashland	OR	3:09:36.0	16	143	See above
10/17/10	Baystate - USATF NE	Lowell	MA	2:58:06.0	79	1565	Long run = 12m (once)
04/07/01	Chicago Lakefront 50k	Chicago	IL	2:57:36.0	1	118	American record, then remeasured 50m short!
09/16/01	Pisgah Mountain 50k	Chesterfield	NH	3:56:11.0	2	54	My streak of second place ultra's begins
03/23/02	USATF National 50k champs	Pittsburgh	PA	3:13:19.0	2	54	Verrington wins and CMS takes the title
04/20/02	Sybil Luddington 50k	Carmel	NY	3:21:51.0	2	34	As a "hard workout"
11/17/02	Nifty Fifty - 50k	Coventry	RI	3:20:07.0	1	23	Nasty day, pouring rain and cold
11/14/04	USATF National 50k champs	Peachtree City	GA	3:27:14.0	5	42	5th overall and didn't score for the team!
12/19/04	HUFF 50K (33 miles!)	Huntington	IN	3:43:25.0	5	219	Ugly, ugly race
07/29/05	SRR 24 hour	Wakefield	MA	4:31:00.0	52	62	I dropped out of the 24 hour at 50k
08/26/06	Headlands 50k - Natl Champs	Sausalito	CA	4:35:14.0	13	166	Toughest and LONGEST 50k I've ever done
07/28/01	USATF 50 mile Natl Champs	Crystal Mountain	WA	6:59:15.0	2	128	Less than a minute out of first
11/17/01	JFK 50 mile	Boonsboro	MD	6:11:18.0	2	818	Very cool course
10/08/00	Chancellor's Challenge 100K	Boston	MA	6:46:39.0	1	58	Pace = 2:51 marathon, 2:51 marathon, plus 10 miles.

County High Points - Vermont

Addison and (half of) Washington County

Mt Abraham and Mt Ellen

10-24-10
I was hoping to finish off the final county high points in Vermont last weekend, but the icy conditions on the very exposed summit of Camel’s Hump, squashed any plans of even attempting that peak. Eric, who’d joined me the day before on his first bushwhack hike, came up with an interesting plan for getting Mt Abraham and Mt Ellen. All of the accounts we’d read mentioned traversing the range but none seemed to consider using the ski areas as access points. We figured that by starting at Sugarbush and running the ridge to Mt Ellen and descending on the ski trails would be a lot more run-able, and in our minds more fun. It also looked like the road to the gaps on either end might be closed for the moment as the region had gotten anything from a dusting to over 1.5 feet of snow.

We dropped my car at Mt Ellen just before sunrise then headed over to Sugarbush. We’d prepared our packs the night before and included strapping our snowshoes on to the back (just in case). Eric went with some Nike XC shoes with “aggressive tread” and I wore my Stumptown END high top running shoes. Eric was familiar with the first 2.5 mile up Sugarbush (2,300’ of climb) as this was the first 2.5 miles of the HERC race a couple of years ago. We took it pretty easy and ascended to the snow line without any trouble. There were some slick spots after that and some postholes to avoid but mostly the footing was very good. From about half-way up to the summit there was anywhere from a dusting to a foot of snow. We reached the viewing platform on top of Lincoln Peak in 48:21 and spent 4 minutes on the summit snapping a couple of quick pictures and taking in the limited (clouds) view.

We headed off to Mt Abraham and right away the trail looked awful, but after a very short time the grade was less and the footing was excellent. We shuffled over to Abraham (.8 mile) in 14:10 and found that the weather was closing in. Big dark clouds had eliminated pretty much any view and there was snow falling in the gap. It wasn’t snowing on Abraham but we didn’t waste any time, after 2 minutes we were heading back to Lincoln Peak. An easy 15:10 later we tagged the top of Lincoln for the second time and headed off for Mt Ellen. We only had a moment of concern as we hit the final ski slope and weren’t exactly sure where the Long trail was (it was on a ski trail). We spent the next 57:28 covering the 2.9 miles across the ridge and over the bumps of Nancy Hanks, Castle Rock, and Cutt’s Peak. We hesitated again on Mt Ellen, not 100% certain because we did not find a sign (but there was a cairn). We took a 3 minute break and took a few more pictures before the zip zag descent via the ski trails to the base of the mountain. The final 2+ mile descent took us 35:14, the upper slopes were a blast with just enough snow to make for a rapid and minimal impact descent. From the middle part of the mountain down we ran on a dirt access road and had no trouble with footing. We picked up the tempo when we finally spotted my car and realized we’d be right around the three hour mark. I hit my watch at the bottom 2:59:55 after we started. We both had a lot of fun picking up a couple of more miles of Long Trail and getting me close to completing the county high points of Vermont.

Totals
Distance = more than 9 miles
Climb/descent = 3,675

Week Ending 10-31-10

Final week of the month was my second biggest week this year with 83 miles, topped only by an 86 back in September.  Total for the month of 324 was my best this year.

M - Lunch 3 in 20:41, PM Winni out/back 8 with JJ in 59:32

T - 430am Industrial park 8 in 35:59, Lunch 4 hard-very hard- in 26:23, PM 3 at Pinnacle PT in 21:11

W - Pushed hard at lunch, new CR 19:12, PM out/back 8 at Winni with JJ and Ken T in 57:44

Th - 430am Ind Pk 5 in 35:51, Lunch 3 in 20:12, PM out/back 4 at Pinnacle in 27:58

F - Lunch 3 in 19:41, PM Winni 8 with JJ and Ken T in 58:32

S - 6m warm-up at Wason Pond trail race, 6.2m trail race win in 37:19, then 2m warm-down 16:23

S - 12 with the boyz at Bradley Palmer in 1:31:06

Totals
Week = 83
Month = 324
Year = 2,203
Life = 109,574