Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Mount Toby 14 Mile Trail Run
Mount Toby 14 Mile Trail Run
This race falls under the category of reasons to not get hung up on race times and finishing order. This has been a year where I have not trained with the mileage and intensity of past years. I have a five year boy old who, a time demanding job, and a great spouse who I want to spend time with. Something has to give. Accepting less training requires a change of mindset when race day comes up. It is not about giving up a PR, so much as it is about going out with what you have and not worrying about the miles you did not run. If I can run a good race, I am always ecstatic. A good race for me is race at the end of which I am spent, but I have been in it mentally and physically the whole way.
I ran The Mt. Toby 14 Mile Trail Run yesterday. Conditions were near ideal during the race. It was dark overcast and gloomy. I had one my best runs of the year. Since I had no aspirations of greatness I ran the 2.5 miles from my home to the start, and headed out with a hope to break 2 hours. The terrain is all jeep trails, and the runners are an interesting mix of road runners (me) and trail runners. There are serious and not so serious competitors from both running camps banging it out.
The course is an out and back run split into 4 pieces. The first four miles have two large hills and take you to Cranberry Pond in Sunderland from the Town Park. You gain a lot of elevation in those first four miles, only to lose most of it on the descent to Cranberry Pond. From Cranberry Pond to the Summit of Mt. Toby is about three miles, and 900 vertical feet. The race boasts 1900 vertical feet over 14 miles. The last mile is the steepest, with most runners walking over the loose rocky trail. Tag the fence and the race is a mirror of what you just did.
My PR for MT. Toby set two years ago was 1:50. I finished yesterday in 1:51. I tagged the fence in 59 minutes and came off the Mountain to Cranberry Pond in 18 minutes. At the fence I thought that 2 hours was likely if I did not burn out on the last four miles. I also thought that I could run under 1:55 if the gods approved. Most of the last four miles consisted a of duel between me and another runner. The other runner (50+ male who's name I should know) after I passed him stayed on my heels for the last 3.5 miles of woods. Every time I shook him off he would beat his way back. I felt like I was flying and could not imagine that this guy could keep up his pursuit of me, but he did. I dropped him when we came out of the woods. I sprinted down the last hill and finished strong.
My friend Tom ran with a cell phone in case the new baby were arrive early. Tom just wanted to do the run, so he was happy and finished easily. Priorities change for all of us and he told me he will not likely be running over the next few months after his and his wife Julie's second child is born (likely in the next two weeks).
This race filled the bill for a successful outing. With no undue pressure to run a certain time, I ran faster than I would have imagined possible. I also enjoyed the whole affair.
I ran home after the race in the rain. That was fun in that it allowed me to chalk up another 20 mile day before the Hartford Marathon.
Today I feel like a truck hit me, so I did not go to work. My feet (unusual) really hurt today. I stayed home because I have a sore throat, and the rest of my body feels abused. While writing this I started to really feel bad. A 102+ fever totaled me all day. Around 6:00 PM I started to feel much better. My son and wife are at an ice cream social to celebrate the start of a new school year, and Ben's first day of kindergarten is Thursday. I hope they bring me an ice cream sandwitch.
Keep your feet on the trails,
Mark
This race falls under the category of reasons to not get hung up on race times and finishing order. This has been a year where I have not trained with the mileage and intensity of past years. I have a five year boy old who, a time demanding job, and a great spouse who I want to spend time with. Something has to give. Accepting less training requires a change of mindset when race day comes up. It is not about giving up a PR, so much as it is about going out with what you have and not worrying about the miles you did not run. If I can run a good race, I am always ecstatic. A good race for me is race at the end of which I am spent, but I have been in it mentally and physically the whole way.
I ran The Mt. Toby 14 Mile Trail Run yesterday. Conditions were near ideal during the race. It was dark overcast and gloomy. I had one my best runs of the year. Since I had no aspirations of greatness I ran the 2.5 miles from my home to the start, and headed out with a hope to break 2 hours. The terrain is all jeep trails, and the runners are an interesting mix of road runners (me) and trail runners. There are serious and not so serious competitors from both running camps banging it out.
The course is an out and back run split into 4 pieces. The first four miles have two large hills and take you to Cranberry Pond in Sunderland from the Town Park. You gain a lot of elevation in those first four miles, only to lose most of it on the descent to Cranberry Pond. From Cranberry Pond to the Summit of Mt. Toby is about three miles, and 900 vertical feet. The race boasts 1900 vertical feet over 14 miles. The last mile is the steepest, with most runners walking over the loose rocky trail. Tag the fence and the race is a mirror of what you just did.
My PR for MT. Toby set two years ago was 1:50. I finished yesterday in 1:51. I tagged the fence in 59 minutes and came off the Mountain to Cranberry Pond in 18 minutes. At the fence I thought that 2 hours was likely if I did not burn out on the last four miles. I also thought that I could run under 1:55 if the gods approved. Most of the last four miles consisted a of duel between me and another runner. The other runner (50+ male who's name I should know) after I passed him stayed on my heels for the last 3.5 miles of woods. Every time I shook him off he would beat his way back. I felt like I was flying and could not imagine that this guy could keep up his pursuit of me, but he did. I dropped him when we came out of the woods. I sprinted down the last hill and finished strong.
My friend Tom ran with a cell phone in case the new baby were arrive early. Tom just wanted to do the run, so he was happy and finished easily. Priorities change for all of us and he told me he will not likely be running over the next few months after his and his wife Julie's second child is born (likely in the next two weeks).
This race filled the bill for a successful outing. With no undue pressure to run a certain time, I ran faster than I would have imagined possible. I also enjoyed the whole affair.
I ran home after the race in the rain. That was fun in that it allowed me to chalk up another 20 mile day before the Hartford Marathon.
Today I feel like a truck hit me, so I did not go to work. My feet (unusual) really hurt today. I stayed home because I have a sore throat, and the rest of my body feels abused. While writing this I started to really feel bad. A 102+ fever totaled me all day. Around 6:00 PM I started to feel much better. My son and wife are at an ice cream social to celebrate the start of a new school year, and Ben's first day of kindergarten is Thursday. I hope they bring me an ice cream sandwitch.
Keep your feet on the trails,
Mark
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