Presidential Traverse

Last summer, my buddy Mark and I hiked the entire Presidential Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in one day. Configured in light and fast mode, I was geared up with my Gregory Z35 pack, Merrell Chameleon ll light hiking boots and Komperdell trekking polls. With a pre dawn start and some assistance from Mother Nature, we had a full, weather perfect day for hiking.

Quick stats:
Distance covered: 24 miles
Elevation gain: 9,075 feet
Peaks bagged: 11
Time to complete: 12 ½ hours
Gorp consumed: A lot

Here’s a quick video of some pics from the hike:


Here’s a google map of the route uploaded from my Garmin Forerunner 301:


Here’s a table of the trails we used, the peaks we summited along with the distances, elevations and time of each segment of the traverse:


Spreadsheet

A goal of ours is to run the entire trail section between the AMC huts in 24 hours. According to the AMC website it's a 56 mile trek and climbs a total elevation equivalent to Mt. Everest. With a little luck on our side, I think we can do it. We’ll see…

Running Around Washington DC

I put together a slideshow of pics I took while on a 13 mile run in Washington DC yesterday. The excellent weather and the fantastic sights made for an awesome run.



Washington DC

Below is a map of the route I took:

Not So... Happy Feet

Running two 50 mile trail races and a road marathon in six weeks wreaked some havoc on my feet:And like any good training partner would do, my buddy Mark sent me a few pics of his ankle after he rolled it on a run this past weekend:

Happy trails.

My Sweetie

Thanksgiving Road Race

Thanksgiving morning means its time for the Manchester Road Race. Over 10,000 runners and walkers enjoyed a sunny morning with mild temperatures in the 60s. This year Shannon, Kourtney, the kids and I walked/jogged/strollered the 4.75 mile course. The race is a good time with all the bands, stereos blasting tunes, runners in costumes and partying by spectators along the route. Here’s a video of some footage/pictures (with a few pics contributed by Lauren too) I took during the race:

Ciara's Birthday Party

Here's a 2 1/2 minute video of Ciara's birthday party at the Children's Museum.

Karno

In the summer of 2006 I picked up a copy of Dean Karnazes’ book: Ultra Marathon man. Reading the book was my first real insight into ultra marathons. The chapters about the Western States 100 Endurance Run seemed absolutely crazy. I was amazed that people could run 100 miles through the mountains in under 24 hours! In the fall of 2006 I ran the Hartford Marathon. It turned out that Dean Karnazes also ran the marathon as the 28th leg of the Endurance 50 (He ran 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states!) It was pretty cool to see him during the race. Afterwards he autographed my book, and posed for a pic with me:

“Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must, but never give up.” – Dean Karnazes

Hoping To Win The Lottery!

I received an email from the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run confirming the receipt of my application for the race lottery. On December 1st, around 350 lucky names will be selected out of over a 1,000 applications. Those individuals will then have the right to run the 2008 100 Mile trail race from Squaw Valley, CA to Auburn, CA. Here’s a piece of the race description from the WS100 website:
“… following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 18,000 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn. Most of the trail passes through remote and rugged territory, accessible only to hikers, horses and helicopters. Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the trail, the Western States Endurance Run differs substantially from other organized runs. Adequate mental and physical preparation are of utmost importance to each runner, for the mountains, although beautiful, are relentless in their challenge and unforgiving to the ill-prepared.” I’m hoping some of Shannon’s luck of the Irish comes my way and I get picked in the lottery!

I snapped a few shots and ran the beginning few miles of the WS100 course this summer:

Looking through Squaw Valley to the Sierras

At the base of the mountains (Start of the course)

Looking back down toward Squaw Valley

Up over Emigrant Pass

The WS100 confirmation email ended with a cool quote:

“See the best in every one, expect the best from yourself.”

Stone Cat 50 Mile Ultra Run (11/10/07)

Friday night Mark and I cruised up from CT in 1½ hours to the Danvers, MA Comfort Inn. After confirming that we missed the packet pickup across from the hotel, Mark needed to satisfy his Dunkin Donuts coffee fix. So we set out for the D&D just a few miles down the road. After snagging the coffee, we made a wrong turn and ended up on I-95 South towards Boston. So after our nighttime interstate scenic drive we ended up with a post 10 PM arrival at the hotel. We prepped our gear for the race and decided that the forecast of low 30’s, wind with rain showers meant the following race attire/setup: tights, a long sleeve compression top base layer with a shell outer layer, along with a lightweight skull cap, gloves, two hand bottles and a stash of Power Gels and Endurolytes.

Saturday, after a 4:15 AM wake up call, we geared up and headed down to breakfast. The hotel had a 4:30 breakfast for which many of the runners took advantage. Mark and I chatted with a couple of guys from Boston. We were laughing with one guy who wasn’t looking forward to flying to India the next day. Not the best post race method for stretching out the legs!

We drove over to Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, MA and the race was underway at 6:15 AM. We were stoked to see that the rain had passed and it looked like we’d have a clear, but still cold, day of running. We eased into a nice pace and ran with two guys (Ron F. and Keith M.) from MA. The course was rolling but lacked any significant climbs so there was no walking (at this point.) We bypassed the two stations in the loop and made our first stop at the end of the 12.5 mile lap. We finished the first lap in 2:03. After filling up the bottles and grabbing some soup we headed out for lap 2. It was pretty much more of the same and we knocked out the second lap in 2:07.

Lap 3 is where the race started to get tough. Physically, fatigue from just having run a marathon started to set in and mentally, the fact that we had to run another one became a reality. The talking diminished and the focus turned to breathing, hydrating, foot placement, pain management etc… Mark was looking strong and kept easing up so Keith and I would not fall too far behind. It was key having Mark to pace me through that lap. By the end of the third lap, which I finished in 2:38, Mark pulled ahead a few minutes and Keith decided to call it a day with a knee injury. It was disappointing to see Keith drop because he’s a solid runner and it was cool chatting with him about life’s adventures.

At the start of lap 4, Mark asked me if he should wait or go on. I appreciated the gesture but knew he was feeling stronger and I wouldn’t be able to keep his pace. So I urged him to go on without me. I was hungry so I grabbed some pretzels and soup and took a little extra time to get myself together before heading out for the final 12.5 miles. After the stop, I was cold and my legs stiffened up so it was hard getting into a steady pace starting the last lap. I shuffled my way to Al Cat’s. I was so hungry when I got to the station I gobbled up M&M’s, Chocolate Chip and Macademea nut cookies along with some soup and PB&J. The food and positive support from the volunteers provided a much-needed boost. I was also happy to realize that in only 4 miles I’ be at Freddie’s station and then I’d only have the final 4.5 miles from Freddie’s to the finish.

As I was cruising down some wide-open double track, I clipped a rock with my foot and was sent through the air superman style. As I projectiled into the dirt I yelped out an agonizing “OOhh.” A voice from a runner on the trail behind me called out “Are you ok?” I turned around, couldn’t see anyone, but responded, “I’m good. Thanks.” I took inventory, dusted myself off and continued on. I stopped at the last station for only a few seconds to fill up my bottle. I picked up my pace, finished as strong as I could and ended up completing the last lap in 2:43. Here I am 50 yards from the finish:

The giveaways were excellent. All runners received a long sleeve coolmax shirt and finishers scored a jacket:

I finished with a time of 9:52, which was 33rd place out of 131 runners. (Note: Of the 131 runners who started the race, there were 81 finishers for a 62% completion rate)

As I gingerly ambled into work Monday morning, a guy walking from the parking lot behind me shouted out “What, do you have a stick up your ass?” I turned around and had no idea whom the fellow employee was and he didn’t know me either. Astonished at not seeing the face he expected, he apologized “Sorry I thought you were someone else. Really, I’m sorry.” My co-workers got a good laugh when I told them the story and I told them to watch out for the guy who sits over there…

My kids summed things up: “All done running? Daddy stiff? Daddy you run faster next time.”

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

Check out the incredible finish to the women's race at this year's Chicago Marathon:

http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=36199@wbbm.dayport.com

Happy B-day Mimi

Video of my kids from a few days ago...