Monday: Ran/hiked Mt. Osceola and East Osceola in the whites. Another two 4000-footers down. Moving-time the hike took 3:02. Unlike last time, this hike was far steeper and dangerous in some sections. Like last time, Bill and I ran wherever possible and finished with 2x5:00 hard. Total miles: 10.2
Tuesday: PT this morning. Ran into Chris Mahoney - small world! Recovery jog around the trails. Felt far looser after the run than before. Beautiful warm day out! 7 miles, 50 minutes.
Wednesday: Day off. Tired.
Thursday: 5 miles (31:00)
Friday: Ran/Hiked Mt. Tecumseh plus a few hill repeats up the last portion of the Waterville Valley maintenance road. 2x5:00 hard at the finish. Total miles: 9.
Saturday: Ran easy with Brandon. Somehow he convinced me to race Loon tomorrow... 8m, 58 minutes.
Sunday: Warmed up 10', raced up and down Loon Mountain, cooled down 22 minutes back to the car. This race was a unique event for me. It was my first mountain race ever and I simply couldn't believe how steep some sections were. The course begins on a flat section along the Pemi river but quickly heads to the ski slopes where we zigzagged up and down across the mountain. Then we hit a maintenance road that took a pretty direct route up the mountain. That was followed by another down-hill zigzag to the far right side of the mountain (when watching from the mountain's base) for yet another extremely steep and direct ascent to the top. Here is where I first saw people walking. Finally at the top, after a brief period of shear agony, the course flies down a steep little hill and then takes us about 1/4 - 1/3 of a mile directly downhill. It was so steep I had to keep putting the breaks on. Then the course cuts hard right back up the mountain for a second go. Here I met the "walking boss", a 10-minute-long section with grades in excess of 40%, and just watched as competitors around me zigzagged and staggered up the hill. It was also neat because, as far ahead as JJ, Newbould and others were, I could see everyone struggling on the same damn hill. After a minute or two I just tried to focus on my own two feet and refused to look up until I got to the top. I passed a few guys on this section but I was shocked at how steep the descent on the other side was. It was all I could do not to wipe out on the rocks and mud and dirt being thrown about, but I also knew there were a few racers right on my tail. Finished 12th place, in 55:40ish according to my watch. Total 9.5 miles on the day.
Total miles on the week: 48.7
Thoughts: The mileage this week was lower than desired, but I also spent 3 days in the white mountains and climbed an estimated 9,000 feet vertical this week. For next week I have to focus on recovering from Loon, hitting about 60 miles, and perhaps doing a fartlek run on Wednesday or Thursday.
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