The Big Chill Out: Race Week, 10-20 to 10-26

So it's race week, and I don't really get apprehensive about races anymore, but...this is going to be a tough one.  Looking at 5,000'+ of elevation gain on what's essentially already a pretty technical course.  Mostly rocky single track trail, with a short stretch on Buck Road (dirt service road) to "relax" for a bit.  Beth said she'd already planned on dropping down to the 10K from the 20K before we did the group run the other day, and I think running the course sealed the deal for her.  Either way, there's some dicey weather this week (aside from the major cooldown we woke up to today), and I'm hoping it clears out before the weekend.  The forecast looks good for Sunday (fingers crossed!), but this is New England...

Elevation profile for the 10K loop...Just five of these and I'm good, haha...

Monday, 10-20 - 3.4 Miles (Trail) - Post-karate class run at Lantern Hill.  Lantern is my go-to for the rest of the week, as it's more technical than Chatfield, just as hilly and close by.  The breeze, overcast sky and 50 degree temperatures might have had something to do with it?  Lots of people out hiking today, and as I kept looping around, I saw the same people several times.  They looked confused!

Tuesday, 10-21 - 1.5 Miles (Trail) - Lisbon XC Trails, Lisbon, CT.  Got to the field ahead of the kids, and squeezed in a short run before they arrived.  The cross country team must have had a meet scheduled, because they'd gone out and raked the trails!  Awesome!!!

Wednesday, 10-22 - 0 Miles.  Coached soccer in the wind and pouring rain in the afternoon, and was chilled to the friggin' bone...but they got the win!

Thursday, 10-23 - 2 Miles (Trail) - Wheeler XC trails before soccer practice.  Not really pushing the issue with mileage this week, as I'll get plenty on Sunday.

Friday, 10-24 - 5 Miles (Road/Trail) - Mystic Spin.  Wife was getting her hair done, so I took a short run through some unmarked trails, and DPNC trails, and finished on the road past the Seaport Museum.  Progression run, although it wasn't meant to be?

Saturday, 10-25 - 1.4 Miles (Trail) - Dog Jog with Henry.  Too much happening today, so I did a short trail run across the street with the dog in absolutely perfect weather.  Lots of downed branches on the trails, might have to do some maintenance in the coming week...

Sunday, 10-26 - 18.5 Miles (Trail) - Chatfield Hollow 50K... - I usually do a separate writeup for the "bigger" races, but as I didn't finish the race, I'm going to throw it down here:

Got to bed at a reasonable hour, and had everything packed and coffee prepped ahead of time.  I got up, and took care of my daily business with the pets, had a small bite, got ready in the dark and slipped out the door under the dim light of the cool and breezy morning.  I made the drive to Killingworth, getting there with 25 minutes before racetime (noticed later a text from BLS asking "Lost?"), and ran into Don, Beth, Faith, Michele and Russell, and a few other familiar friends and familiar faces.  Gathered my gear and set up my "aid station" along the start/finish, and got ready to go.  In all honesty, I felt really good, some nerves but I knew the course and was confident about getting around it (x5).

After a brief instruction from the RD, we were off, and headed to the initial climb on the CCC stairs, as I call them, because they were most likely built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, part of FDR's "New Deal," and the reason for some awesome stone/log stairways, bridges, etc. around here.  Great history!  The climb is a bitch, and steep, and at the top of the stairs you keep going up.  I didn't mind the bottleneck here, and had to remember that at first, there were 5K/10K/20K/50K runners all together, so I needed to just chill and get into a rhythm.

The first 10K:  Went as expected.  I'd previewed the course several times and knew what to expect - a few runners tagged along and I gave them a heads-up on what lay ahead, and in my one misstep, I followed a crowd off-route and quickly realized the error, and corrected with little time lost.  I fell in at this point with another runner named Dave, who was also doing the 50K, and we chatted and got through the first loop with minimal pain.  He blew right through the start with his CamelBak/GUs, but I quickly reloaded and caught up to him at the stairs.

The second 10K:  We were joined by another 50K'er named Doug.  We all ran together for a bit, then Doug took off, and Dave and I finished the second loop chatting some, sometimes not...depended on the terrain/pain?  We did come across two ladies who were just coming off getting lost, two hours into their 10K race and only 3 miles done...brutal.  We pointed them in the right direction and carried on.  Toward the end of the second loop, I purposely got out ahead of Dave because I knew he wanted to get through the start/finish quickly, and I wanted to stay with him as long as possible.  It worked - I got through, Beth got some "action shots" of my transition, and I was on my way!  (Point of info:  in a loop race, getting the Hell out of transition is crucial for morale...)

The third 10K:  I started feeling some fatigue in my legs.  It got gradually worse, and my "hike the ascents, bomb the downhills" method was leaning more toward hikes.  Dave and I stayed together for a bit, but I knew I had construction jobs starting the next day, and I was starting to stress about how my legs would be.  As I slowed, Dave was still steady and ultimately pulled away, and in my solitude, I decided to call it a day at the end of the third loop...done.  Faith was waiting at the end of the loop when I cruised into the station, and I informed the director that I was dropping.  DNF #2 ever, and the one I was trying to avoid.  Dammit.  The RD was cool (even gave me a 20K/50K medal for going 30K), and Faith came over and asked what I was up to.  I gave her a brief explanation, then got the Hell outta there.  Not a huge deal but I don't know how to deal with the "Walk of Shame," so I'm a ghost as soon as possible...second time...

Texted Lori and gave her a heads-up, and she said she was proud of my decision, which is good?  I was stoked to see everyone I did at the race.  It's a tough race, seriously...I'd note a couple of things: first, excellent course markings for this race...the best I've seen in the hundred+ races I've done in the last few years;  Second, great volunteers!  Awesome cheering, photographing, and support along the way; and Third, a great day among trail running friends and family.  Love it!

My plan is to run happy and enjoy the trails until my next race.  Then reschedule my 2015 list, and make damn sure I can 100% finish whatever I sign up for...