AdiRUNdack Trail Series - Race 4 - 27 May 2014

This week I learned several things:

• My fitness is finally at the point where I can hike for hours at a time and not burn out.
• The black flies are out all over the place, and biting at lower elevations.
• I swell up at the site of black fly bites like some people swell up from mosquito bites.
• I'm finally capable of running a 9 minute mile.
• It takes more than 5 hours for a large burrito to pass through my stomach.
• I can run a 9 minute mile with a burrito trying to escape.

On that pleasant note, the AdiRUNdack Trail Series has come to a close.  Kevin and Elizabeth Emblidge carried the series for their respective genders.  Susan Thompson and Tylor Duguay took second, and Joe Porter took third for the men.  The third place women's slot was a close one, with Gabriella Frittelli managing to hold on to her lead over Dennie Swan-Scott by 25 seconds.  All told, 66 runners made it out for all four races.  Congrats to everyone who participated in the series, and in individual races!

Today's race was easily the warmest of the series, with a temp around 80º F for the start of the race.  The biggest change I noticed was that the run up toward the water tower was not flooded with sunlight.  As I neared the top of that, I kept hearing clicking noises, like someone was on a bike right behind me, but every time I glanced back, I couldn't see one.  Finally, as the trail started to descend, I saw a pack of mountain bikers making their way along a different path.

As I hit the track for the final stretch, I was happy to see my family there, cheering me on.  It took a little while, but I managed to sprint some of the track, coming in at 29:48.  Once we were all back in, Rebecca started the raffle and then the awards ceremony.  After that, we all headed up to get ice cream and then head home.  I can't wait to race here again next year.

Next up is Savoy Mountain, in August.  I'm starting my mileage build this week.

Until next time...

AdiRUNdack Trail Series - Race 3 - 20 May 2014

This Tuesday was the third installment of the 2014 AdiRUNdack 5K Trail Race Series, and it was another fun day.  Next week will be the final race of the series, and we'll find out who won the 20k challenge.

Current Standings

The 20K challenge is looking fairly locked up: Kevin Emblidge crossed the finish line first in each of the three races, running 17:47, 17:22, and 17:29, followed in each race by Tylor Duguay, at 19:05, 18:49, and 18:26.  Joe Porter finished 3rd in the first two races and 4th in today's, at 19:19, 19:08 and 18:36, and appears to be the current contender for #3.  Erik Sointio and Ryan Connor appear to be in the #4 and #5 slots, respectively, but Erik only has about a 20 second lead.  (I am basing this off of an informal review of the race data; I have not loaded this in to a spreadsheet for analysis and my findings are by no means official.  In order to win, place or show in the 20k challenge, you need to participate in all four races, and you need to be fast.)

On the women's side, it's a little harder to see without loading the data up, but here's what I think is going on: Elizabeth Emblidge is the clear leader, running 19:38, 19:21 and 19:23.  Next up is Susan Thompson, with 21:40, 21:30, and 21:24.  In third is Gabriella Frittelli, with 23:04, 22:54, and 22:56.  Susan Keely was in 4th, with 23:25, 23:17, and 23:20, but she was overtaken this week by Dennie Swan-Scott, who cut a full minute off of last week, running 23:31, 23:35, and 22:25.  (Again, this is by no means official; just my observations from reading the results sheet.)

Walt McConnell deserves a special shout-out, too.  At 82, he's the oldest participant in the series, and if I can run as fast as he can when I'm 82, I'll be very, very happy: 44:09, 42:29, and 41:13.

It's great to see so many people improving week over week!

The Race

Rebecca started us off again, this time with a working megaphone, and we were off.  I ran well the first two miles, but fell off the pace a bit on the third.  I had already decided that I wasn't going to sprint the track this time (more on that in a minute), and I think that was the deciding factor.  I finished in 31:05.

What went wrong?

I stepped out of the office to head to the race, and the moment that I stepped outside, I felt a twinge run through my Achilles tendon.  I knew exactly what it meant: I had been pushing the transition to zero drop too hard, and my tendon was starting to get injured.  I considered heading home to get different shoes, but there was no way I could make it in time.  So, I decided to just roll with it, and to ease off if I felt it twinge again.  The tendon was fine during the race, but I didn't want to risk another round of tendonitis, so I kept my pace as consistent as I could as I ran the final portion.  I love to finish strong, whether it's on a long run or at a race, but I just couldn't justify it today.

(Looking back over my data, my minimalist mileage (barefoot, or shod in VFFs or Trail Gloves) went way up the past few weeks.  I had been doing 1-3 miles a week (walking or running) in minimalist footwear, and then I jumped up to 4 miles, then 11 miles and so far 6 miles this week.  This is most likely the source of the problem.  I need to reel the miles back in and then slowly build them up again, and not let myself get overconfident yet again.)

I also screwed up the fueling a bit.  I had eaten a snack two hours before the race start, but it was a bit heavier than I really should have eaten, and I don't think it had a chance to fully digest.  Furthermore, I've been experimenting with different fuels, and today's pre-run fuel did not sit well at all.  As soon as we rounded the hard left to start climbing the hill (into the sun), I felt like I was going to throw up.  That feeling didn't leave me for hours.

I think that's about it.  I was very happy with my first two miles; I might have pushed too hard on mile 2, but I was having fun running uphill into the sun, despite my digestive issues.  I think that's what matters here, anyway: having fun.  Pushing yourself, and having fun.

Until next time, be excellent to each other!

AdiRUNdack Trail Series - Race 2 - 13 May 2014

Last week I wrote a quick report about the first leg of this series, and posted it to my blog as I usually do.  I don't usually promote these posts; they're done so I can remember what I did a year from now, so I can practice my writing skills, and so my friends can learn about what I'm up to.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I received notification from Facebook that my blog post had been posted to the Adirondack Runners group.  The race director, Rebecca Smith, had kindly posted my blog post to the group, and the president of the group, Amy Hachem, had commented on the Facebook post.  I was floored.

So, when I went to get my bib for tonight's race, Rebecca recognized me, and said that she had found the post while looking for articles on the race.  I was still amazed that someone had found it that quickly, and I'm thankful for everyone reading these posts, and to Rebecca for posting it where others could find it.

The Race

I walked a few laps around the track to warm up and then made a quick trip to my car to drop off my water bottle.  I had contemplated running with it (it's a small running bottle with a bit of nylon to keep it on your hand while you run), but decided I didn't need it.  During the last race I had found myself wanting for water midway through, but I had made it.  I figured that I would be fine this time around, too.

We all lined up near the start a little before 6.  I found Matt, whom I had talked with briefly after the last race.  We chatted for a few minutes, and then Rebecca got up to say a few words.  She remarked with a chuckle that no one had gotten lost last time, reminded us that there was no one out there to tell us where to go, and to just go straight if we were in doubt.  Then we were off.

I started in the middle of the pack this time, and found myself running way too fast once again.  Matt pulled a little bit ahead of me, and I tried to keep up with him, but he was moving just a little too fast for me.  At the end of the first lap, I managed to catch up briefly, and then he was off again.  I did my best to keep up the pace, to keep passing, and to keep moving, which worked for the first mile.  Right before the end of the first mile, Brian Teague ran past me, talking with another runner.  He had taken pictures of the last race, after having run it himself, and then repeated the trick on the Prospect Mountain race last weekend.  I don't know how he can run and then immediately hold a camera steady enough to take pictures of the other runners coming in, but I'm grateful for it.

I slowed down a lot on the second mile's hills.  During the last race, mile two was when I found myself fighting the urge to walk almost constantly.  This time around, it wasn't quite so bad.  My knee was hurting, I was thirsty, but I would live.  So I kept running, right up until we passed the water towers near the mall and the course started descending.  The big toe of my right foot got caught on a root or a half buried log, and I found myself sailing toward the ground.  I caught myself on my hands in a break-fall, but I didn't have time to throw my legs back.  My right knee, the one that had been hurting, the one that always hurts, ended up covered in dirt and what appeared to be blood.  The race had me in its thrall, though, so I jumped back up and kept running.

Two other runners whom I recognized as being around my pace cut past me just then, and I felt a surge of adrenaline.  I flew down the hill, focusing on turnover, and I passed them in short time.  I was determined to finish strong.  When I got past the people cheering at the edge of the track, I poured on whatever energy I had left.  During the run last week, I had nothing left by this point, and I just did my best to finish.  This week, I didn't have that problem: I ran the track portion at the end in the 7s, and finished at 29:20, a full 35 seconds faster than the previous week, another PR.  (I know I'll plateau eventually, so I'm enjoying these PRs while I can.)

Afterwards I walked over to the point where the track meets the woods road, and cheered other runners on for a little while.  After that, I caught up with Matt; he had also bettered his time from the previous week.  He said he was constantly looking to see if I was catching up to him, but I had lost sight of him after the first mile and hadn't seen him at all after that.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Rebecca, and all of the staff and volunteers who put on these series.  The races are a LOT of fun, and they're well run.  I strongly recommend that any area runner check them out.  There are two more left in this year's series, on the 20th and the 27th.

Gear Analysis

One interesting aspect of running the same course week after week is that you can compare gear when you're pushing yourself over the same terrain.  There's a lot that you can't control, such as the weather, or how you're feeling, but you can use the experience to get a rough feel for how you perform when using certain gear.

I had already decided, going in to this, that I would run this course with different footwear each time, to try to finally figure out what shoes I want to wear for this terrain.  I've dialed in my road footwear (Brooks PureFlow 2), but my trail footwear is still all over the place.  After this race, I also realized that it might not be cut and dry.  I love my Bikila LSs (Vibram FiveFingers) for the type of terrain in Coles Woods, and they also did great on hikes up smaller mountains, and even Mount Equinox.  When it came to the High Peaks, though, with its mud and and eroded faces, they fell short.  I found that I had to push my foot down completely against the rock to get traction, and when I didn't, there was a good chance that I was going to slip.  The treads on the Bikila aren't that deep, and I think that's the source of the problem: get enough mud on them and you're in danger of not making contact with the terrain.  So I might need to settle on one pair for woods roads and smaller mountains, and another for the High Peaks and similar terrain.  Regardless, I still have a lot to learn.

On the first race of this series I ran in my Trail Gloves (Merrell), which are perfect for this terrain, and I didn't have any problems with them.  This week, I took out my Spyridon LSs, which are the trail running FiveFinger model.  I have a love-hate relationship with these shoes; they bite well on most surfaces, including some ice, but they tend to hurt my feet.  I'm not quite sure where the problem is.  In today's race my feet were OK, but my knees were hurting.  I'll probably run in my Bikilas next week, and I'm curious to see if my knees end up hurting during that run.  For the final week I might take out my road shoes.

I'm also trying to nail down running backpacks and clothing, as I find myself gearing up for longer and longer runs.  This race, to keep it simple, I just ran with an SPI Belt to hold my phone and my keys, and I found myself forgetting that it was there.  Last week, I, uh, well... I ran in my work clothes.  So my phone and my keys were in my pocket; no pack needed.  It wasn't horrible, running in jeans and a polo, but it was definitely sweaty.  (I do most of my midweek runs like this during the cooler months, when sweating isn't a problem.)  This week I stuck to a normal running outfit: wool running shorts and a wool base layer up top.

Well, that's enough rambling for one day.  Until next time, be excellent to each other.

AdiRUNdack Trail Series - Race 1 - 6 May 2014

I've wanted to check out Cole's Woods, in Glens Falls, NY, for a while. I got the chance yesterday, when I participated in the first leg of this year's AdiRUNdack Trail Series, put on by The Adirondack Runners and the Glens Falls YMCA. The turnout was a record: 163 runners and 142 finishers. The organizers seemed very pleased with the number of participants.

Around 6pm, the designated start time, we made our way over to the start line. The race director said a few words, explaining that there would be no one out on the course telling us where to go, but it was well marked, and if we were in doubt, just go straight. Then we were off.

I started too far back in the pack, and spent most of the first lap around the track passing other runners. After a lap, we headed in to the woods as one long mass of runners. I passed a few more runners, and eventually found people who were running at roughly the same pace.

The course is a lollipop, with some time on the track thrown in at both ends. In the middle is a hill that goes on for a while. I pushed hard up it, and pushed hard down it, trying not to give up any ground. As we started making our way back to the track, I found myself getting passed. A lot. I did my best to keep up the pace, but I was running low on gas. I accepted my fate, did my best, and ran every second of the course. For my efforts, the timing gods blessed me with a 29:55, which beat my goal for the race by a full 5 seconds.

It was also a PR. The last (and only other) time I ran a 5K was for a virtual race to benefit the Boston One Fund. I ran a 36:06 on the Camp Saratoga 5K course on 4/20 last year.

After the race, as I was recovering, I ended up talking with another runner, named Mike. He said that he had been following me for most of the race, and didn't think I was going to let him pass. I told him I was doing my best not to get passed, but on the final stretch I ran out of gas. We talked a bit more, and then I went up to the finish line to cheer other runners on. Once I felt I had returned to a somewhat normal state, I took my leave and headed out. As I was leaving, an 82-year old gentleman named Walt was coming in, and I stopped to cheer him on, too. He finished in 44:09.

All in all it was fun, and I look forward to doing it again. I love the energy that comes from running with other humans, especially in a competitive environment.

Until next time, be excellent to each other.