Countdown to the CT50...and, I'm Out.

Made decision to withdraw from the CT50, due to family obligations.  See below.  Disappointed?  Most definitely.  Wrong move?  Nope.  I'll get 'em next time, and do something almost as cool instead...

Monday, 5-26 - 2.2 Miles (Trails) - Champlin Glacier Park - Met my good friend Sally today, to show her some trails.  She knows I love trail running, and wants to get into races, which I do tons of, so I was the person to ask?  Anyway, we did a easy pace 2.2 mile loop in Champlin, even coming across a lady slipper flower along the trail:

Google photo, didn't have my camera with me!  Cool flower though :)

.  She asked me a bunch of questions, and I rattled on about why trail running is so much more fun for me than roads, and I think I made a pretty good argument for trails!

Tuesday, 5-27 - 0 Miles - Worked construction today, and my mind was all over the place.  My mother-in-law has been at Yale New Haven hospital since last week, awaiting surgery for two aneurysms, which require stents to bypass.  The surgery is set for Friday morning, and I just rightly made the decision to put family first and bow out of the CT50.  Killing me, but it's the right thing to do.  My family (and especially my wife) need me to be close to home, so I'm out.  Already e-mailed race director Ian, and let my family members from New York know, as they were planning a road trip to visit with me.

I'm going to pick up the miles this week, and try for something awesome this weekend, just closer to here.  Stay tuned...

Wednesday, 5-28 - 0 Miles.  1 hour karate, and a lot of yardwork...grrrr...

Thursday, 5-29 - 3.4 Miles (Trails) - Green Falls loop.  Talked to my mother-in-law, who's totally antsy and just wants to get the surgery over with.  I'd feel the same, I think, if I were laying in a hospital bed for a week.  Sucks, but has to be done, and the sooner the better.  Today, I gave another good effort going up to the dam, and shaved 24 seconds off my previous best!  Closing in on Muddy's CR...look out!!!  Looped around the pond, ate a minimum of spider webs, and decided to scout out the service road near the dam, which leads...somewhere?  The Enduro trail cuts across it, so I ventured down that for a bit, not a bad trail either!  More exploration is definitely in order...perfect day out there!  Beat my CR from the dam to the road by a whopping two seconds on the way back to the truck.  Bling!

Overlook at Green Falls Pond

Saw a baby fox on the way home, his Mom was across the road telling him to stay put...

love living in the country!

Friday, 5-30 - 10 Miles (Trails) - Bigger Pachaug loop.  Wanted to make it to Hell Hollow road, but ran out of extra time and bailed onto the connector trail.  The Quinebaug section was a mess - faded blazes and I got turned around a couple of times, as the Enduro trails criss-cross the blue blazed trails, but still fun.  I had printed a DEP map and stuck it in my pocket, which definitely helped.  Perfect weather day, and I didn't see a soul out there???  

Fortunately, my Mother in law did well in the surgery, and we'll get to visit her tomorrow.  Hoping she gets to come home by Mon.-Tues...


Saturday, 5-31 - 0 Miles - Visited MIL at Yale New Haven.  Awesome doctors and nurses there.  My mother in law should be a few more days and then home for recovery, which should take about a month.  If anyone is ever in New Haven, go to the Yale New Haven hospital campus, find the street where all the food vendors are, and get a steak and cheese from Jon's Steak and Cheese cart.  Epic.

Sunday, 6-1 - 13+ Miles (Trail/Road crossovers) - Pachaug/Tippecansett loop from Green Falls.  Great loop, although the web-infested crossover trail that Gazelle and I traversed last year was so overgrown that I missed it several times, and decided not to run it after I did find it.  No problem though, tons of other webs to chew on during the run!  Started below the dam, and went all the way to Beach Pond, crossed the bridge, and took the Tippecansett south to the Yawgoog Scout Camp property on the border.  Solid trail time, although it was quite warm and I ran the CamelBak dry about three miles from the truck.  Needless to say, I was definitely feeling dehydrated for a while after the run...I think I had about 30oz. in the bladder, and ate three GUs.  Maxing the bladder at 50oz. would have made the difference, I think.  Great day though, saw a bunch of cool stuff out there:

The quiet end of Beach Pond

Tippecansett Trail goodness

Eastern Box Turtle, hiding from my fat fingers...

Tell Muddy the boat goes in the water...

So while it wasn't the CT50, it was a good run, scenic, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  And apparently, the CT50 was an absolute sufferfest with temps at of above 80 degrees, yikes!