The Pinnacle

Finishing Lap #1 of the Pinnacle
in Newport, NH
[Photo: Gianina Lindsey]

"There are no failures -- just experiences and your reactions to them."  -Tom Krause

Newport, NH -- Is it possible to love something but at the same time not enjoy it?  Sunday I continued my tormented relationship with mountain bike racing at the Pinnacle in Newport, NH.  Before I go any further...let me say that the folks at Team-Pinnacle are fantastic!  aR has been racing their fall double duathlon, the Pinnacle Challenge, for ever and ever.  They couldn't be nicer and have some the best singletrack in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region for sure.  Now back to the story.  For years I've really, really enjoyed mountain biking.  Heck, I just bought myself a new Felt Q720 hardtail to add to my collection.  Nothing fancy, mountain biking is a diversionary activity for me so I can't really justify dropping $3k on a rig that will spend more time next to my furnace than in the woods.  But it's something I love and it's something I can do with my son Brayden (more on him later) and my brother Jay (when he's around...or when we take trips to places like Moab).  And it has always seemed to me that if you really enjoyed something "recreationally" then it's only natural that you'd also really enjoy it "competitively".  It's that way for trail racing, road racing, and snowshoeing for me.  But as hard as I try, I just can't seem to love mountain bike racing as much as I do mountain bike riding.  And I'll try to explain that paradox.  Brayden, Timmy Lindsey, the Lindsey Clan, and I headed to Newport this weekend for a planned Father's Day mountain bike race.  I'm familiar with the course from the Pinnacle Challenge each fall and as I already mentioned the folks at Team-Pinnacle are great so it really was an easy choice.  Timmy, in his first mountain bike race, planned to ride the Novice class (2 laps/10 miles) while Brayden & I the Sport class (3 laps/16 miles).  The first mistake I made was in my own self-evaluation and class selection.  I've raced the 24 Hours of Great Glen for the past 4 years and I've ridden Slick Rock in Utah so surely if anyone is a novice it is not I!  Like I said...mistake #1.  I lined up with the other Sport-Masters II riders who would go off in the 3rd wave exactly 2 minutes behind the first group with no fewer than 5 or 6 waves of Sport & Novice riders to follow.  The course would include a shortened 4 mile loop and then two 6 mile loops climbing all the way to the top of the Pinnacle before the incredibly fast and fun 2+ mile berm filled "pump track" descent.  The bonus would be riding the "pump track" on all three loops.  It almost made the killer granny gear climbs worth it...almost.  Within minutes of starting the race I felt like I was log jamming faster traffic behind me on the narrow technical singletrack.  Acknowledging I was slower I repeatedly pulled off to let the stronger riders pass thus eliminating any possible rhythm or momentum (of mine).  The RDs describe the Pinnacle course as "technical" and these dudes are mountain bikers but in years past I've ridden the entire track without as much as a dab.  But in all cases I've been riding with very little pressure from a large chase pack.  Normally I'm accustomed to yielding to faster guys (and gals) on mountain bikes so it's really not that big of a deal but nearly 3/4 of the Sport & Novice field behind me (some 20+) passed me during that first lap making for a choppy first 40 minutes.  One of those 20+ was my son Brayden who started several minutes back.  With very little effort he made up the time gap and passed me before we hit the high point of the course.  His 18 year old legs, substantially more seat time, and fearlessness on the descents were a trifecta that I couldn't possibly overcome and, with the exception of video games, for the first time in his life he was kicking his old man's ass in something competitive.  Is there any better male "right of passage" than that?  Okay, there are a few but it's probably in the Top 5.  Just before "The Plummet", located at the end of each loop, I took a wrong turn.  Within a 100 meters I realized my mistake and doubled-back but the mind screwing was just beginning.  Racing through the START/FINISH area I headed out for loop 2 of 3.  This time a longer 6 mile version of the same loop we just did including an additional ascent to the very top of the course.  Again, like in the first loop although with slightly less frequency, I dodged out of the way as faster riders approached from behind.  By this time my confidence began to wane and I was dishing on technical spots that I otherwise could pull off.  And for some reason each time I fell it became harder and harder to get my shoe released from my pedal resulting in repeated slow motion hip/forearm shivers to the dirt.  Approaching the big drop back to the START/FINISH I had had enough and decided to call it quits.  I wasn't bonked or injured.  I just wasn't having any fun.  And looking at my watch...the Expert and Elite classes were getting ready to get on course for their 4 laps!  I knew had I started that 3rd lap all of those riders would be racing around me as well.  With respect to not funking up their race I opted to just get out of the way.  My first DNF this year for sure and perhaps...ever?  It's weird, as the standard bearer for this team and organization I feel incredibly guilty and ashamed when I don't measure up to our mantra, RACE acidotic which means giving nothing less than everything you have.  It's what I admire in so many of my teammates and what at times I lack so woefully.  I still love mountain biking, I just don't think I enjoy mountain bike racing.  And I'm really, really bummed and confused about it.

NEXT UP: US Mountain Running Championships at Cranmore Mountain (NH)

POST-SCRIPT:  Nobody asked me and nobody probably cares but after reflecting 24 hours on the race I know what I'd do differently if I ever hosted a mountain bike race.  First, the Expert and Elite classes would race first thereby assuring that these folks would have a clear course to ride.  I'm sure they think it sucks to have to avoid the slower Sport & Novice riders.  Depending on the course (laps or loop) the Sport & Novice riders would race once the Elite & Expert riders had finished or began their final lap.  And the Sport & Novice riders would seed themselves according to ability like any other damn trail or road race.  It makes absolutely no sense to me to line faster riders up behind the slower ones.  Seeding would assure that the fast folks get out and race on clean track and the slower riders would ride off the back also having a clean track to ride.  Clearly the likelihood exists that the slower riders will be lapped but only a small margin and only near the end of their race (or not at all for the fewer lap Novice riders).  For sure I'm no mountain bike racer or RD and as someone as already said to me..."they obviously do it the way they do it for a reason!" but for me I'd probably enjoy it a little more without feeling like I'm holding everyone else up.  But what the hell do I know?

Exeter Trail Races presented by GoLite Footwear

Without question my favorite
course of the trail racing season!
[Photo Gianina Lindsey]

 "Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction." - William James

Exeter, NH -- I eat breakfast with him.  I drive to races with him.  I even warm-up with with him.  There isn't anyone on the face of the planet who I know better than my #1 competition at any event I race.  Yet from time to time he befuddles me.  Does something so unexpected that I wonder how much I really do know him?  I know my greatest competition, and he is I.  As an exercise physiologist I know that if we tested every trail runner finishing in the Top 15 at the Exeter Trail Races presented by GoLite Footwear there would very little physiologic variance in nearly any parameter you'd want to highlight...VO2max, lactate threshold, mitochondrial density. Yet clearly there are differences in performance.  So if physiology can't account for the differences in performance in these particular athletes, then what does?  The quote from above and my own personal experience with the topic (the Exeter Trail Race this weekend as Exhibit A) suggests that the greatest difference in athletes finishing in the Top 15 is fear.  When each of us is faced with the "obstruction", and we all confront it, the athlete(s) who in that moment are not afraid of what lies on the other side...are the ones who are able to continue to push forward and find endless resources of ease and power.  William James' quote is on the footer of my blog.  You'd think of ANYONE, it would be ME who would know first hand the benefit of pushing through the obstruction!  Yet a woeful lack of attention and commitment to the moment, resulted in a mental shortcoming at the instant in which I needed all of my focus on that problem.

The 10 miler at the Exeter Trail Races presented by GoLite Footwear is hosted by acidotic RACING and skillfully directed by teammates Sarah Silverberg and Ri Fahnestock (course designer).  The course that Ri has crafted is quickly becoming one of my favorite trail racing experiences.  A dizzying roller coaster of roots and rocks, the figure 8 layout is as much a test of athleticism as it is aerobic endurance.  In 2010 I had one of my best all-time performances racing the course as hard from start to finish as any race I've ever done.  With a very consistent and successful winter and early spring I had a tremendous amount of confidence heading into the weekend.  Remembering how important getting out quickly was to last year's performance I jumped off the gun and worked to get out front before the singletrack narrowed the 80+ strong field (of 4 & 10 milers).  And apparently it worked...because as we hit the singletrack (20 meters into the race) I was leading the field!  Not exactly what I was looking to do, but I figured that eventually the Top 5 would get tired of my slow pace and find their way around.  For what seemed like way too long they let me lead.  With the abundance of toe grabbing rocks and roots there was no way I was looking back, instead trying to focus on the measured cadence of my pursuers.  Eventually of course they went around but because the 4 & 10 mile races were held on the same course for the first 2+ miles there was really no telling what place I was in when 4-6 of them trucked on by including my teammate and eventual 2nd place finisher Dan Hayden.  Content to let that lead pack do their thing I settled into a comfortably hard pace remembering that 10 miles at "Fort Rock" can be brutal.  I ran alone for a while skillfully picking lines through the boulder fields, root stalks, and hairpin turns.  Shortly after crossing under Rt 101 I caught glimpses in my peripheral vision of another challenge and I recognized the familiar singlet of Coastal Athletic Association.  We raced within 3-5 meters for a mile or so but I could feel him gaining on me.  At some point when he was within shouting distance I spoke back words of encouragement and alerted him to some of the more abrupt directional changes with shouts of "LEFT, LEFT, LEFT!" or "RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT!".  Karma always comes back around and any chance I get to spread a little around during a race I never miss an opportunity.  When we finally were running within a meter of each other I learned his name was Tim.  We agreed we'd work together to hold off the hard charging duo of Dave Merkt (Shenipsit Striders) and my aR teammate Dan Dion who had closed the gap and were eager to make it a four car locomotive.  When I sensed Dave & Dan closing I asked Tim if he wanted to go by but he refused instead encouraging me to keep up the pace.  Mere moments later the other two had their grips on us and now I was dragging four instead of just two.  It's incredibly difficult to hold off one challenge on slippery singletrack, but holding off three was damn near impossible.  Feeling as though I had slowed considerably since our company had arrived I veered off the trail and let Tim and Dave race by but to my surprise Dan asked me to pull a little longer.  When we hit the Rt 101 tunnel with less than 1.5 miles to go Dan easily dispatched of me.  It was at that moment that I stared the obstruction squarely in the eyes.  I had a pretty easy choice...stick with Dan and let him pull me to the finish or fade back in fear of an epic collapse.  Without the proper attention to the challenge I squandered the moment.  There wasn't anything physically wrong with me when Dan raced around.  Fear prevented me from tapping into those sources of ease and power James talks about and that I've felt numerous times before.  I managed to keep Dan in sight but never challenged him finishing 7 seconds back in 10th overall (3rd master) in 1:18:19.  Ri switched the course up on us this year so technically it was our first time racing this design.  Had the race been another few hundred meters my good trail/snowshoe racing brother from the Striders John Agosto and my aR teammate Rich Lavers would have surely caught me.  I believe growth comes from learning and on Sunday I learned that I need to write and keep James' quote with me at every race and read it right before I start. 

RESULTS

Next Up: Pinnacle Mountain Bike Race, Newport, NH

Pineland Farms 25k

"It's not the heat, it's the stupidity."
- Jay J. Dunn
[Photo Gianina Lindsey]

MEMORIAL DAY QUOTE:
"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it." - Thucydides

New Gloucester, MAINE -- I have a handful of "A" races on my schedule.  These are my favorite events for both the challenge and the community.  The Pineland Farms 25k in New Gloucester, ME, hosted by Trail Monster Running, is at the top of that list.  The 2011 version would be my fifth consecutive start and would mark a highpoint for acidotic RACING.  The 16 aR athletes that made the trip to RACE acidotic was by far our largest turnout at the event.  I rode up with teammates Rich Lavers, Timmy Lindsey, and Jay Myers.  All three would be racing the 25k version of the event for the first time and I attempted to share my knowledge of the course.  The race essentially breaks down into five 5k's.  The first 5k is downhill and fast, the 2nd 5k regains the lost elevation and is sneaky hard, the 3rd 5k is a rolling recovery, the 4th 5k is a roller coaster, and the 5th 5k is always short but includes a few tougher climbs and an open field to the finish.  Reviewing my performance (and collapse) from last year I formulated the following 5k split plan to PR; :22, :48, 1:07, 1:30, 2:53.  At the start I once again seeded myself incorrectly and had to dodge and weave for the first few hundred meters to get up to pace and find some clean running lanes.  Rich and Dan Dion ran with me for the first 5k and we hit the first split a little fast at 21:45.  By this time the 300+ runners had gotten single file and the wide nordic trails made running the tangents very easy.  Just before the 10k mark Rich fell back a bit correctly deciding to run his own race.  Dan stuck with me aswe hit the 10k split a full 2 MINUTES up at :46 (24:23).  Knowing that we had just run one of the toughest 5k's on the course a little faster than planned I felt very confident that we had banked some precious time and that a PR was well within reach.  Then it happened.  In a bit of ominous self-fulfilling prophecy I utter the phase to Dan, "Just relax.".  I've had 24 hours to mull it over and I'm still not sure exactly what happened but I must have "relaxed" a little too much.  Feeling great and very in control I actually caught and passed the very talented and tough John Agosto of the Shenipsit Striders.  But when I looked at my watch at the 15k mark I almost couldn't believe it...1:11 (25:27).  I had not only squandered the two minute bank, but I had put myself now 4 minutes in the hole!  The 5k split tells the story.  I was a full :60 slower than the 2nd (harder) 5k.  With a painful knowledge of the last 10k of the race I quickly surmised that attempting to make up 4 minutes on the 'other side of the road' was both foolhardy and selfish.  The final 5k of this event has bared witness to some of my most epic physical collapses.  I made up my mind that I would not add to that archive today.  We had, after all, a team title to contend for and I was at the moment our 3rd place runner (behind Phil Erwin and my mentor Steve Wolfe).  Although I clipped off my 20k split (26:31) the objective at that point was to run consistently to the finish.  Something a double hamstring uberspasm prevented me from doing in 2010.  The last 5k was graciously short and I crossed the finish in 2:01:20 good enough for 22nd overall (15th master).  When I reviewed my performances from years past I was actually pretty surprised to learn that although I felt prepared and raced well, the 2:01:20 would be my slowest finish at the event and the 2nd time in 5 tries that I failed to run sub 2:00.  But curiously I feel okay with the effort and am very pleased that I didn't have any health issues.  After the race I had a chance to enjoy the free BBQ and beers with my great friends and teammates.  And although we were 2nd (AGAIN!) in the 25k team competition it was another great event put on by some the best in the business. 

NEXT UP: Exeter Trail Races presented by GoLite Footwear

Weekend Double: Northfield & Hoppin' Mad

RACING acidotic alongside the
guru of mountain racing Paul Kirsch
[Photo courtesy Scott Mason]

"What goes up, must come down."  -Sir Isaac Newton

PART I (Saturday): New England Trail Running Championships at Northfield Mountain

Northfield, MA -- Snowshoe racing doubles are one thing...mountain/mud run doubles are something all together different.  The Hoppin' Mad Mud Run had been on the 2011 schedule shortly after returning from the 2010 event.  Funny how motivating a cash prize and free beer are you know.  But I had no, zero, zilch, nada intentions of doubling up this weekend less than 7 days from my "A" race of the entire trail running season (Pineland Farms 25k)!  That was until my good friend and teammate Rich Lavers coerced me into racing the final Northfield Mountain race under the direction of the incomparable legend Dave Dunham.  "Piece of cake." Rich implored.  He didn't show up.  Completely fine under the circumstances as family always comes first but having committed an entry fee and agreeing to be the carpool driver there was no way I was getting out of it.  And I'm really glad Rich "talked" me into it.  The combination of it being the last Dunham-directed edition of the race and the fact that it was serving as the New England Trail Running Championships assured that a completely STACKED field would toe the line.  Walking to registration I ran into Paul Kirsch.  Paul is the driving force behind the USATF-New England Mountain, Ultra, Trail Running and a top notch athlete in his own right.  Having dusted me at Mt. Washington last year the fact that he was sandbagging before the race seemed a little peculiar and I let him know that I wasn't going to fall for it.  A big part of the lure of snowshoe, trail, and mountain racing for me is the community and the competition.  For the most part I know the guys I'm racing against.  Saturday was no exception.  Shortly after the race started I found Paul and locked in on him doing my best to pick through the traffic and get off his right shoulder.  Paul is the definition of a mountain runner.  Living and working where he does affords him the luxury of training consistently in the White Mountains of NH.  And the Northfield Mountain course set up perfectly for him...3 miles UP the mountain and 3 miles down the mountain.  As we began to climb I was content and surprised that I was able to stick with him.  He pulled me up the first two miles of climbing.  With less than a mile of climbing to go I offered to pay back the favor and pull for a little while as I was feeling strong and owed him a debt of gratitude for the work he had just done.  Without consciously trying to pull away I felt him fall back beyond the typical 3-4 meters needed to keep 'hooks' into someone.  Really enjoying racing with him I encouraged him to continue to work knowing that it was probably only a matter of time before he raced by.  I reached the high point of the course slightly ahead and proceeded to descend.  I am typically not a great downhill runner and Paul is equally adept at racing downhill as he is at racing uphill.  As I attempted to "relax" and let gravity take over I wondered how long it would take him to catch and gap me.  One after one, smaller, lighter, fitter, more courageous runners flew by me like I was watching.  But curiously no Paul.  Perhaps I had put enough time on him in those final few hundred meters of climbing to hold him off?  With a 1/4 mile to go I could feel every downhill foot strike reverberate up through my knees and hips.  I couldn't wait for it to be over...give me 20 miles uphill ANY DAY just no more running down!  In some crazy stroke of luck I was able finish two places and 19 seconds ahead of Paul.  Had the race been a 1/2 mile longer he would have surely passed me.  I finished in a respectable 46:26 good enough for 50th overall and 19th master.  Always first class Paul was the first to shake my hand. 

RESULTS

Two time Team Champion aR-BLACK (L-R)
Jason Massa, Rich Lavers, Phil Erwin,
Danny Ferreira, and I.

PART II (Sunday): Hoppin' Mad Mud Run

Amesbury MA -- When you're the defending champion at anything there's always a little more pressure to perform.  Add increased expectations to the mix and it'll keep you up at night.  And so it was that I brought a completely new team to the 2011 Hoppin' Mad Mud Run in Amesbury expertly hosted by Julian Thompson and the folks at HEAT Event Management.  We had such a great time at the '10 event and were treated so graciously that returning to this 2nd year event was a nobrainer.  The challenge would be putting together a team that would rival the previous year.  For the uninitiated, the HMMR is a 10k road/XC course filled with 'military' obstacles held on the spacious Woodsom Farm.  Teams and individuals proceed out in waves.  The RD's had given us the preferred "elite" first wave designation (thereby adding to the pressure).  The trick would be to stay ahead of any other team in that first wave (obviously) and lay down as fast a time as we could.  Not surpisingly the lure of cash, free beer, and glory was enough to get early commitments from Danny Ferreira, Rich Lavers, and Phil Erwin.  And needing an 11th hour substitution our newest teammate Jason Massa stepped up and stepped in.  Before the start we chatted with whom would eventually be our only competition, the Muddy Trotters, led by masters snowshoe racing champion Theresa Ridgway.  It was this same co-ed team that we beat last year by the narrowest of margins.  Not having scouted out the newest obstacles before the race the great unknown held too much potential for catastrophe so our strategy was to get out early on the 2.5+ mile road run, establish a lead, and then try to hold on.  Passing the mile marker in roughly 5:50 we were running comfortably hard and still densely packed together as we put a gap on the Trotters.  Entering Woodsom Farm at just shy of 5km our first obstacle was a series of 5 or 6 Jersey barriers.  We would later learn that our GPS 5k split (18:29:13) was Rich's 5k PR...and we climbed over 6 Jersey's barriers and at least 5 low hurdles!  As we negotiated the obstacles Danny and Phil took turns leading and pulling, clearly the fittest of our five.  Cleanly through 5 miles of fields and obstacles we had managed to establish a lead on the Trotters but they certainly hadn't given up.  In fact, at times it seemed like they closed the gap.  Then with only a handful of obstacles left and less than a 1/2 mile to go the only "experienced" Mud Run competitor on our team, me, screwed up two consecutive challenges.  The first, a reverse slip & slide (in other words you ran up the slip & slide) covered in dish liquid.  For some reason I was the last to attempt it and made it barely 1/2 way up before I went to hands and knees and slid all the way to the bottom.  Now feeling like 1st place was slipping out of our grasp my haste seemed to make the obstacle even more difficult (or could it have been two 10ks in a row?).  With a little coaching and a helping had I finally made it to the top of the 20 foot slip & slide section.  As we ran down and back up a small climb to approach the cargo netting I felt like my experience at the Shawnee Peak Challenge last fall would serve me well on the most daunting obstacle.  I was wrong.  Scrambling up and over the 10 foot high obstacle my left foot hung up on the opposite side of the structure as I attempted to descend leaving me in an awkward position over the top log.  Somehow I managed to free my leg and get to the bottom and by this time the Trotters were just one obstacle behind and closing fast.  Jason and Rich had run ahead to get a little cushion as Danny and Phil hung back to assist me (again).  Pulling up the rear I entered the mud pit with the rest of the team and we crawled to the finish in 43:17.3.  Really an astonishingly fast time considering the XC course and dozen or so challenges.  In the end, our time was just a few minutes faster than the very gutty Muddy Trotters and we successfully defended our team title taking home a great cash prize, free beer, and some great memories. 

RESULTS

NEXT UP: Pineland Farm 25k

7 Sisters

Finishing another (and my
last) 7 Sisters Trail Race
[Courtesy Gianina Lindsey]

"You cannot get ahead while you are getting even."  -Dick Armey

Amherst, MA -- 7 Sisters just isn't "my thing".  Two sisters, heck even 4 sisters maybe...but seven is way past my limit.  Last weekend I once again ventured to western MA with my teammate Rich Lavers (and others) to take on the vaunted 7 Sisters Trail Race.  Despite my epic physical collapse last year, I made the decision to give this race one more go in an attempt to redeem my performance from 2010.  When we arrived on race site we met teammates Timmy Lindsey, Dan Hayden, Judson Cake, and Ryan Welts.  Unlike last time around, this time around I had a race plan.  Run the downs going out easy, power walk the steep ups, and try to split between 1:15-1:20.  The race starts with an immediate 15%+ sharp basalt scattered ascent.  The combination of being fresh (it's the beginning of the race) and fairly descent at climbing (up) this initial section was a great warm-up.  Rich and I stayed together for the entire 6 miles out.  As I picked cautiously downhill other competitors flew by.  Having done that last time and failed miserably I tempered my competitive spirit and let them go.  As we approached the turnaround I was surprised to see that we had run a 1:14.  It really felt much, much slower than that.  Both of us caught a quick splash and headed back out.  At some point in the next 20 minutes I told Rich that we might as well turn the event into a 2-man adventure race and work together to help each other to a PR.  Rich had run 3:20 here last year after a terrible fall and deep forearm laceration with 4 miles to go left him no other choice then to walk it out.  With our 1:14 split, assuming both of us stayed upright, his PR was safe and with as good as I felt mine was also in play.  On the return trip we'd take turns pushing and pulling.  When I noticed he was falling off the pace I put him in front so we'd stay together (a typical strategy in adventure racing).  After a series of climbs he'd return the favor.  And then, with less than two miles to go, my 7 Sisters demons returned.  As we negotiated a steep ascent my legs seized causing me to immediately stand upright making the climb nearly impossible.  I called to Rich to ask if he still had any of the Shot Blocks left that I had seen him stow before the race.  In a twist of tremendous fortune he did and he graciously gave them up.  Without him, and those Shot Blocks, it would have certainly been a repeat performance...or worse.  In moments the cramps had abated and we were again moving purposely forward as the clock ticked past 2:40 on our final ascent.  Now with only minutes to go to set a PR (2:49:11 in 2010), Rich led us down the final steep sketchy descent.  With all I could do to stay upright and with my adductors twinging to signal an impending revolt I shuffled downhill toward the finish taking one last peek at my watch.  Although not a picture perfect effort, I crossed the finish in 2:46:18 good enough for a nearly :03 PR and a nice final chapter to my 7 Sisters experience.  Rich finished 8 seconds ahead securing his own PR and redemption from a course that took it's measure of flesh last spring.  It was also a great day for acidotic RACING as Trigger Point Performance sponsored athlete Judson Cake finished 8th overall, Ryan Welts 14th, and Dan Hayden 34th.  And less than two weeks removed from his first Boston Marathon, 7S rookie Timmy Lindsey finished in just under 4 hours.  A cruel testament to the brutality of this race.  On the 3 hour ride home I had plenty of time to reflect.  Although pleased with the PR, I finally realized that this type of trail/mountain 'hiking' is just not my cup of tea.  I'm simply just not motivated enough to put in the miles necessary to perform to my potential but I have a great deal of respect for the 82 people who finished ahead of me.  7 Sisters is an epic race.  But from now on I'll experience it through the tales of others.

NEXT UP:  Northfield Mountain Trail Race

RESULTS

Merrimack River Trail Race

Runnin' Da Rivah
[Photo courtesy Rose Dunham Washak]

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered , you will never grow."  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

ANDOVER, MA -- This weekend was my second time around at the Merrimack River Trail Race and once again the race didn't disappoint.  Not only did acidotic RACING turnout a HUGE number with 14 athletes in action, but the event drew a lot of friendly familiar faces and a similar personal result.  After such a long snowy winter (finally thank goodness!) everyone's spirits seemed to be buoyed by the combination of terrific April weather and yes, DRY TRAILS!  The objective for this race, as it is for nearly every race for me, is to run hard and consistent.  Word had it that the trail was in outstanding shape and would be "fast".  I ran really well here last year paced by some good friends on the way out and some great competition on the way back.  My very good friend, teammate, and competitor Rich Lavers and I seeded ourselves just behind the 3rd row in what looked like a strong front field.  As the start command was given the field began to move forward toward the trailhead only to come to almost a complete stop as 5 wide tried to squeeze into a 2+ wide trail.  Once we were finally running I felt and it looked like I had lost a lot of time and positions in the early jockeying.  Rich and teammate Jerry Fitzgibbon were 7 or 8 spots in front as a long line of runners negotiated the first few hundred meters of trail.  The pace seemed much slower than last year and I knew I was way out of position and needed to start to make a move if I had any chance of splitting around :35 like last year.  As the course opened up to a field I started to catch back up and finally gained Rich's shoulder.  We ran in this order for a few minutes before I offered to pull.  As the early race progressed the field thinned and it became a little easier to find a rhythm.  Rich stayed right on my shoulder through the mile split in 6:21.  Although that seemed a little fast for a 10 mile trail race I was actually quite pleased considering how poorly I had run that first mile from a tactical standpoint.  We ran together picking up a handful of spots through the first 4 miles until reaching the powerlines where things got a little tougher.  I opened a little gap running much more of this section than last year thanks in part to my busy snowshoe racing schedule this winter.  It was also around the powerlines one of my Trail Monster Running nemesis' Jeff Walker caught and passed me.  I only saw him one more time as the field doubled back after the 5 mile turn around.  I hit the 1/2 way split in 35:07.  Reaching the powerline climbs again I ran all of the ups and pushed the sketchy downs as hard as I could safely manage.  Although gassed by the climbs I recovered very quickly and worked as hard as possible over the next 1.5 miles knowing that the final 3 miles were flat and fast.  Looking at my watch at the 7 mile mark I did a quick calculation in my head (never a good idea) and roughly figured that my PR of 1:13 was out of reach.  Without someone close enough in front to pull me along I wasn't in the best position to attempt to make up :15-:20 per mile.  Content my overall place was secure I tried to settle into a groove although my legs began to feel a little weary.  With a mile to go I again peeked at my watch and low and behold this time calculated a PR was actually within reach after all!  Obviously I had done the math wrong earlier but thankfully didn't tank it instead maintaining my painfully slow pace.  When I reached the underpass with just a few hundred meters left I knew that I had actually pulled it off...a PR at The Rivah!  I crossed the finishline in 1:11:15 placing 29th overall (8th master).  Reviewing my splits revealed that I was only a minute slower on the return trip.  For an early April 10 mile race I'll take that every time.  Nearly all of my aR teammates stuck around the awards ceremony as Judson Cake, one of our own, stood atop the overall podium.  Joining him were fellow teammates Steve Wolfe, Jerry Fitzgibbon, and Robin Allen-Burke who all took home age group podiums.  It was fantastic to see so many first time teammates make the trip to Andover.  Although the result is incredibly rewarding, 7 Sisters looms in less than a month.  Based on how I faded in the last 5k this weekend there is still much hay to bale.

RESULTS

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