Hmmm...two weeks to Chatfield, are we winging it again?

Yes, we're winging it again.  I just realized that the last trail 50K I completed was the Bimbler's Bluff 50K in 2012, which was my first, which I completed but failed on many levels, and was the inspiration for starting this blogging business in the first place!  I have a ton more miles under my belt this year, better fitness, endurance and nutrition, and I'm just a pinch more badass than I was two years ago (I think).  The Chatfield course is a different animal, however:  it's more hilly, way more technical, and it's a 5-loop course (which I like but it's tough).  Bimbler's was a cruel mistress in her own right, though...

That said, I plan on approaching the Chatfield race with knowledge from previous races, and tackling it with the weapons at my disposal: I'm a better runner than I was two years ago (again, I think...), and I train more smartly than I did then (Really?) on every level.  I also know about Body Glide now!  That's huge!!!

So Chatfield?  Yup, it's gonna happen.  Lori asked me today about it, as I still haven't let the ONE DNF go, which was a 50K last year.  I'm sure I said something to the effect of "I'd rather crap my pants mid-race than DNF again...," so you get (vividly) my refusal to quit after that fiasco...fortunately, I'll have some peeps at Chatfield to commiserate with, cheer on and be cheered on (or heckled), and document my descent into a blubbering mess of failed muscles and spirit!  Or that's the goal, anyway!

Monday, 10-13 - 0 Miles.  Deconstructing a mudded-in (read: concrete), tiled shower area in a house built over 100 years ago.  Not sure when the bathroom was done, but damn, they don't build anything that solidly anymore!  That shit was super-heavy and attached to the studs with a wire mesh that was like razor blades when we pulled it off the walls...

Heavy, and slicy!  What a fun combo!

Tuesday, 10-14 - 0 Miles.  Day 2 of the "Bathroom from Hell."  And done.  Got to the field just in time to coach, got home near dark.

Wednesday, 10-15 - 4 Miles (Trails) - 2 Runs. - Dog Jog across the street with Henry for 1.5 miles, then a 2.5 mile trail run at the Hewitt Farm property, where I may or may not have had my heart rate monitor go haywire for a minute.  Jumped up to 205-207 bpm for about a minute, and on a benign stretch of trail where I really wasn't working very hard.  First and only time, so I'm guessing it was an anomaly.  After that?  Coaching at the soccer game, where the girls lost 3-2 in a great game (with bad ref calls)...

Thursday, 10-16 - 2.5 Miles (Trails) - Perry Wood Preserve, Stonington.  Pouring rain, and in between errands and racing to meet the school bus, I hit up the Perry trails.  Smallish Avalonia preserve, and I got lost (again), and scrambled to get back to the truck in time.  Sort of like the Westerly Town Forest, in that I lose my sense of direction!  But what an awesome run, soaked and muddy and loved every minute of it :)

Friday, 10-17 - 0 Miles.  Played 9 holes of golf with my Father-in-law, then coached soccer for two hours, and got a plenty good workout there.  Group run at Chatfield in the morning, just as well I didn't try to squeeze in a run...

Saturday, 10-18 - 6+ Miles - (Trail) - Chatfield Hollow group run, Killingworth CT. - Met Beth and Don at the Outlets, and drove the 5-ish minutes to the State Park.  I'd printed yet another map of the course and was determined to get it right this time, as the blazes are really faded and we'll be relying on flagging and course marking for this one.  Beth promised not to complain too much, which was duly noted and appreciated...Don was just coming off the Hartford Marathon, and game for some trails.  We got set up and jogged over to the official start/finish, and set out.  The first trail is an immediate ascent up CCC stairs, onto ever-ascending single track.  I cross-referenced my printed course map with my realtime GPS, and with some stopping and starting, kept us on track.  Great time, and a Helluva course!  I screwed up with my Garmin a couple of times when I paused it to check the map and forgot to start it again, but you get the picture from the run details:

Looking at 5 loops at approx. 1000' per loop?  Um, sure!

So we were able to complete the loop with all the directional issues happening in the first part of the run.  It's an awesome course!  Not easy by any stretch, and any first-timers will be wishing they'd picked an easier race.  Technical as Hell and tough.  I just did Nipmuck two weeks ago, and this is different but going to be much harder...Holy Hell...Beth and Don did awesome though!  So much fun!

Fall trail fun!

Thanks, Crutch!

I'll be doing the rest of my training at Lantern and assorted trails near here, but it's gonna be an ass-kicker of a race...and who is showing up for it?  I wish I knew, as they don't publish it in advance that I know of...

And a quick note:  Good Luck to TNT runner Patrick Quinn on his first ever Ultramarathon tomorrow, the Bimbler's Bluff 50K!  I didn't have the heart to tell him that it's 50K-ish (More!), but he'll find out soon enough!  Good luck Pat!!!

Sunday, 10-19 - 0 Miles - 18th Anniversary with Lori!