Just some photos from the SHMR

Just was cruising the internet and found some photos from the race. Thought I’d share my beautiful, sweaty self. 

Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race Report

Last weekend, I started my journey to “goat”. Goating, my new favorite verb, is short for completion of the New England USATF Mountain Goat Series, a set of 8 races (only need to finish 6) and that puts you into a bypass to run the Mt. Washington autoroad race the following year (so 2016, for me).

The first race up on the calendar is the Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race– in Huntington, VT. This race is probably the farthest away from Boston of the series, so fortunately, I was able to head up to Burlington, VT and crash at a friend’s place. Even though the race didn’t start until “high noon” on Sunday, at least I wasn’t driving 3.5 hours twice in a day.

I really like Burlington, I like the feel of the city, and my friends apartment is right south of the main downtown area. It turned out that a couple of my friends from HS were having a record release party and playing a show less than a half mile from where I was staying. So I went out and, incredibly, that band picked up 2 new members… other friends of mine from college! It was really serendipitous that we all happened to be in the same place.

Vows setting up for their set

beautiful lake champlain

So the morning of the race, I ended up getting there pretty early, around 10:30am just when packet pickup was starting. I grabbed my bib and was gifted a small bottle of maple syrup! Yum! Already loving this race.

After grabbing my stuff, I hung out in the trunk of my car just kind of putzing around, saying hi to people and reading a little bit. Then, I saw someone I know walking by. This guy I met in Boston, he is a runner (a freaking FAST runner, 2:30 marathoner), and he and I had been on 2 dates together around Boston. I liked him, but definitely thought he was chronically uncomfortable around me. I think he is smart and interesting but just so very quiet. Anyway, he came over and I said hi. Turns out he had lost his voice a few days ago and thus is was even quieter than usual. But anyway, he said he was going to walk the course– apparently that is what fast competitors do– and asked if I wanted to join. I said sure and we started walking up the mountain. The first mile is a nice climb mostly on XC ski slopes but finishing on single track. The second mile in pretty much straight downhill through mud and rock (something I was looking forward to). Anyway, I keep trying to get some conversation going with this guy but I think a deadly mix of his personality and his lack of voice made it so painfully uncomfortable for probably both of us but certainly me! I felt like I was talking at him and not with him and eventually we just kept quiet and walked for a while in the woods.

That’s when I had a moment of terrifying clarity. I was in the woods, alone, with a guy I barely knew. This guy was definitely faster than me. Great–I am going to die.

I eventually just kind of made excuses like “I need to go back to the ski lodge, my friend is looking for me” or some shit like that… I think I even said how my mom called (which she had!) — anything to make me seem like someone would miss me. I probably went overboard but we eventually went back to the lodge and he made no attempt to kill me so that’s nice.

Anyway, back at my car, I still had ~30 minutes until the race started. I took 2 salt caps, thinking about about me and my ‘sweat ethic’. Then I saw my friend Matt! Matt is a great runner, and an even better person. He lives right next to me in Brighton and we are friends from the Bangers. He and I hung out and the quiet guy came back over and I introduced them since they might actually be racing together.

Once at the start, Matt and I hung out and then during the race, I immediately let him go. It wasn’t a great race for me, but I have some positive to take away from it. My legs have been sore the past few weeks. I think I may have overtrained and my body and mind have been out of whack. This race is certainly on the easier side of the Mountain Goat series… ~1600ft gain in 10k. It was an up and down race, with 3 climbs and 3 descents. I ran up the first climb but then walked up much of the second and third climbs. I thought I would be able to run more of the second one. The climbs were not technical for the most part, one was entirely on ski slopes. I think I will just have to find whatever it was I lost recently in running. I finished in 1:09 and change and know I can improve.

The race started with the climb, then about a mile downhill. I loved that downhill, I felt like I was able to fly again. I ran fearless and strong and passed tons of people. You then run through a meadow and turn hard right to start the second climb, back to the same summit you hit the first time. This climb was long and gradual. Next time I run this race, I’ll be sure to run much more of it because that was where I lost a lot of ground. I would argue it is the hardest climb, too– you are exposed in the sun and with the bugs. After this climb it’s a beautiful rolling mile and takes you back towards the start. Instead of ending, the course then turns left and you go up the other mountain with a beautiful single track climb. This was my favorite section and I ran more of this than I did in the second climb. I mostly was just enjoying the trails though. After reaching the ridge, you start to decline. The last mile is a gradual decline on XC ski trails and it finishes with a steep, but not long, hill and then you can sprint into the finish. I felt good this last mile and gained up and passed a few people.

Matt was sitting at the top of the hill cheering my on to the finish, and it really does make a difference to have someone present cheering you on. It was so good to see him and I felt really good finishing. Matt even said I looked fresh and happy finishing, whereas he walked it in. I think it’s good that I felt so fresh at the end, but I think that also means that I could’ve left more out on the course (namely in that second climb). I am still new to racing and it’s hard for me to gage my energy expenses. I’m learning though!

Classic Bangers Pose– Matt and myself

After finishing, I found quiet boy again, who was done for way long before Matt or myself. The 3 of us sat in the grass and just went over each of our races and cheered in oncoming runners. I am really happy Matt will be at all these races with me. It will keep my pushing and I can learn a lot about racing from him.

Neither of us (or quiet boy) won any of the awesome awards that were present. They had growlers of syrup, homemade granola, and some cool saloman visors and handhelds. Oh well!

Overall:

• Believe in your training and run more on the up hills
• Pre-hydrate more, and yes take salt caps before
• You can run fast downhill again–do it!
• Mud is fun
• Don’t walk into the woods with fast boys that you don’t know without telling someone

Cutler Park without the Snow

Just some photos  from a quick walk through the woods with Sky. I’m trying not to run, it is so hard! This park is ~20 minutes from home and is so flat and beautiful. We hiked a 4.5 miles loop but there is also a 10 mile loop. This would be a great place to get some morning training in during the summer. I’m very much looking forward to getting my running on here.

7 Sisters Race Report

I have a friend up here who suggested that I/bullied me into signing up for this race. I wasn’t planning on racing this in 2015. It wasn’t on my radar at all. I was going to spend May 3rd waking up late, running a few hills, and then hanging with friends in Watertown or Brighton or something. I didn’t plan on running 7 Sisters–the hardest up/down trail race in the country.

And yet, my mean bullying friend has an infectious life attitude– one where he doesn’t really care too much about limits and boundaries and is down to try anything and just put his body to the test without spending months preparing or too much mental anguish thinking about whether or not something is possible– he just tries it. I took this attitude from him and signed up last minute for 7 Sisters.

Here is the trail race website. Here is runnersworld claiming it the hardest up/down trail race. Competitor.com lists it on their 25 hardest races in North America as well. (Fun fact! Runnersworld and competitor also list Loon mountain as a toughy–another upcoming race for me!)

The race itself is not the longest distance– only 12 miles on an out and back course. The course starts at the bottom of Mt. Hitchcock, you climb to the summit, then traverse to the summit of Mt. Holyoak on the popular Metacomet-Monadnock trail. Once at the bottom of Mt. Holyoak, you retrace your steps (or falls, crawls, whatever) back to the start.

The course in Amherst, MA

The trail itself is a basalt ridgeline that ascends and descends a number of ‘knobs’ (7 sisters) across the way. The elevation for the race (as well as how slowly I went) is here:

As you can see, no massive climbs, but tons and tons of smaller ups and downs that aggregated for a total of 3900ft elevation change each way (making for 3900 ft gain and 3900 ft descending for the whole course). The trail was not a smooth rolling up/down either, it was jagged and required big steps–which I hadn’t trained for and took a toll on me later.

So May 3. The night before, I was at an MLS game with Ryan (my whimsical friend) and ended up getting home around midnight. The race started at 9am, we had to pick up our bibs and drive 1.5hrs to get there. I woke up around 6, took care of the dog, grabbed some Dunkin and then met Ryan at his place. He drove us out to the course. We got ourselves situated with maybe 10 minutes to spare (and the race even started a little later thankfully). The weather was HOT already at 9am. This was to be the first 80+ degree day in Massachusetts and man I was NOT ready for that kind of heat (or the bugs that come with it). I was wearing a buff, bangers singlet, half tights, and WT110s. I carried a handheld 12 oz bottle with 2 gels inside (there were water jugs at miles 2, 4, and at the turn around so I wouldn’t need much more). Retrospectively, I would’ve removed the buff as it soaked with sweat before mile 2 and just got in the way.

I started in Wave 5. It was the only available wave when I registered. Ryan started in wave 1. The difference is really apparent in our finishing times. Wave 5 was mostly people hiking everything and it was hard to pass anyone until around mile 3.

Anyway, after we started I felt good for the first few big climbs and met some cool people to run with on the trails (people who live near me in brighton). I realized that walking the climbs instead of slowing running was a bigger pain in the ass (literally) and really took a toll on my body. I think that if I ran out with Wave 2 or 3 I wouldn’t have had a problem finding ways to run up instead of hike. All the stop/go of Wave 5 was a waste of energy and made it hard to manage my way around people.

a photo from the race website, showing the bottleneck on the first climb (also notice the loose rock)

After mile 3, it began to thin a bit. I was feeling miserable. It was already in the 70s, I wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted to, and I actually wanted to just stop. I kept thinking about how nice it would be to watch runners come in and rest my legs. I tried to shake the thoughts away but it was hard– until I started running with Carrie-at least I think that was her name! She took my mind off everything and we moved pretty fast from mile 3 through to the turn around. She was from the area and we talked about local trails, about her kids, about running, about me, about everything! It really changed how I felt.

We also started to see runners on the return and that was uplifting! Everyone was cheering each other on and excited. I saw Ryan pass by me about a mile from the turnaround, which meant he was strong and doing well. We high-fived and that kickstarted me to the turnaround.

At the turn around, I lost Carrie. I think I left before her but I thought she left first so I tried to catch her. The turnaround is at the bottom of Mt. Holyoak, so you have to climb it up again. At the top of it, there is a summit house with breathtaking views across western Massachusetts and this year it was in the rules that everyone had to walk across the porch. I’m sure it was to prevent injury but it seems cruel that the only flat portion of the race was a forced walk instead of a run!

Anyway, after hitting the porch, I wanted to quit again and that thought would linger with me for the remainder of the race. My legs were tired, it was wicked hot outside, I was concerned about getting injured or passing out… when we got to the 2 on-course “aid stations” aka a guy with gallons of water and a golf cart, I really wanted to stop but again I found people to run with and ran/hiked for a while, passing a few people and gaining some psychological momentum (and maybe physical momentum.. who knows). From this part to the end, every time there was a steep climb, I kept thinking to myself “this HAS to be the last one” only to get to the top to see I had to descend and then climb again, often higher.

When I was on my way up the very last climb, none other than Carrie comes up behind me, saying she’s been hunting me down. She and I (and her husband who had already finished but came back for her) ran down and passed tons of people on the final descent (the one covered in shale). We passed a guy who was being carried down, too– 7 sisters always takes a victim apparently.

When I finished, I was SO happy that I didn’t quit. This has to have been the hardest trail race I’ve ever done and knowing that I can finish it gives me not only relief but also serious confidence.  It was a true test of persistence and the feeling of being done was only overcome with the feeling of drinking a Heady Topper and using Ryan’s stick and lacrosse ball to work out all the pain. I met some cool people through the course and through Ryan and all around had a great time.

Would I race it again?? Ehhhh…….maybe.

Me and Carrie before the turnaround

Almost done!