AND TIME TO FOCUS ON 2013
Fall has been great for training this year and in Northern VT we were lucky enough to miss Super-Storm Sandy and the Nor'easter. Trails have been mostly dry but temps are finally starting to dip and the day light hours are getting shorter each day. It's still been a mix of shorts and tights but more often now it's the tights and a headlamp so winter is fast approaching. And talk of screw shoes is becoming a reality again. The joys of winter running!
I had an awesome time helping to coach the So. Burlington girls cross country team this fall. Definitely one of the highlights of my year working with the girls and Coach Jess!! But it also gave me time to back off on my own race schedule which was a much needed break and just time to run for fun. Once that was over in early November, I suddenly realized it was time to get my butt in gear and start training especially with some races set for mid January 2013!
I've been slowing ramping up the miles again but trying to keep it fun. I hit the mountains once a week for some good long hill runs. Here are some of the adventures I've had recently:
Mansfield Loop, Fall edition: Always a challenge on this 26 mile loop and fall is an exceptional time to run this. Leaves are down, temps are cooler and the views can be spectacular.
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| The Chin on Mt. Mansfield |
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| Waterfall heading toward the Trout Club |
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| Stowe Premier Property |
Some of the loop includes a short section of dead end dirt roads with prime real estate in the Stowe Area. For only $1.6 million, you can own this fine home.
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| The Sound of Music at Trapps |
Or if you prefer more civilized living, Trapps offers wonderful accommodations with spectacular views. Just beware of the trail police as you run through the trails at Trapps.
Part of the ascent up to the Chin is along the Toll Road and you may be thirsty and out of water but DON'T drink the water from this pipe!
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| Bad Water Source |
As it's source is from this muck hole just above containing who knows what dead organisms. Not convinced? Ask Aliza :)
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| Sandy approaching as seen from the Summit |
The Chin on this day was quite eerie looking with Sandy approaching from the south.
The descent along the Long Trail is always interesting with many Chutes and Ladders and rock faces.
All in all, it was a spectacular day. I took the time to relax and have fun with the run. I made it out just at sunset but was even prepared this time as I had a headlamp in my pack. But I did run out of water like usual, but only a couple of miles before the end.
Camels Hump, another great training run: The Hump offers many different options for routes and distances depending on time and weather. The summer certainly is the most popular but winter runs may be the quickest on packed out snow with spikes as the snow fills in the gaps between the rocks. For fall, you face the challenges of mud, ice and snow all rolled into one day.
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| The Summit on Camel's Hump |
This particular day on the Burrows Trail started out with mud, then scattered snow followed by the intermittent ice flows in the thicker woods and then back to snow with ice near the summit. Not quite enough ice and snow for the spikes ( I left them in the car any way), although they would have been nice at times. But certainly enough ice to make it a more challenging day to say the least.
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| Ice Flow heading up to the Hump |
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| More Ice |
I always think if I take the Forest City Trail down it will be better. Never is, just more ice on the descent.
Overall it was a great day on the Hump. I was amazed I stayed upright the entire day. I have a hard time doing that in even good conditions.
Appalachian Trail: While visiting in CT over Thanksgiving I discovered some amazing trails that were all new to me and it included part of the Appalachian Trail.
I found this section while searching on my smart phone which I usually refer to as my dumb phone, or maybe it's because I haven't figured out all the features and I'm not the smart one :) The trail started in Kent, CT and I did an out and back into Cornwall Bridge or somewhere near there. Not really sure where I was.
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| The start of the trail |
The trail starts out climbing over a fence before running through some open fields, then the fun starts with some great hills.
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| The Ledges steep descent |
One of the more fun sections was an area called St. John's Ledges. Here's the description:
Although it may look daunting, 90 stone steps installed by Appalachian Mountain Club volunteers and a professional trail crew make the descent manageable but hands may be needed for balance and leverage every so often. After this knee-jarring descent you might reconsider the difficulty when witnessing rock climbers ascending the adjacent sheer rock face from the bottom up.
This was actually a really fun section except for the bottomless leaf hole I fell in causing me to descend a bit faster than expected and while picking up speed hitting rocks I had to do a self arrest much like in the snow. I didn't see any visible blood flowing not that I really looked for it but just kept moving or it would have hurt a lot more.
Part of the journey included some really nice single track along the Housatonic River.
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| Caleb's Peak |
Other peaks offered pleasant views of the valley below.
All in all a great day and another adventure. Not so unusual, I had to ration food and water. Not knowing where I was or where I was going and not having a pack to carry enough supplies was just typical for me and always a learning lesson. I sort of forgot to pack any kind of hydration equipment or backpack on this journey to CT. So I ran for 4 1/2 hours on 22 oz. of water and 3 GU gels. I did carry $2 with me but never saw a store so it was useless. The last hour I was running on fumes and the vision was deteriorating from lack of calories and fluids. I did roughly calculate when I might finish up and wanted to make it out before sunset as I did have a headlamp... but left it in the car since I had no way to carry it. Luckily I got out of the woods by 4 PM as it was getting dark in the thick of the woods towards the end.
The training continues. Along with the running I keep going to bikram yoga once a week whenever I have a free moment. Still a major challenge to successfully make it through without bonking. And the core work has been increasing. Not at a gym but cutting and hauling firewood. The lottery Gods in the next couple of weeks will be deciding the rest of the season for 2013. Will it be the Gram Slam, Hardrock or maybe Tour de Giants?? Time will tell!
"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the
whole idea is not
to beat the other runners.
Eventually you learn that the competition is
against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing your love of running with us.
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