7 Sisters Week! Week of 5-2 to 5-8

So here comes race #2 of 3 in my Spring lineup of badass destination trail races, the 12-mile continuous beatdown known as the 7 Sisters Trail Race.  I ran this race last year, and performance-wise, it was my best race of 2015.  I felt great, hydrated well, and emerged unscathed on what turned out to be quite a warm day (there were many drops due to injury/dehydration, etc.).  Since then, I've spent a great deal of time on the exact same terrain that is offered at the race.  In fact, many of my runs are done on the Mattabesett and Metacomet Trails, and the race course is part of the same Metacomet/Monadnock trail system (it'll take you from the Long Island Sound to New Hampshire).  They're all connected and very similar!  Here's a link:

New England Trail

So it's stupid technical, relentlessly hilly, and super fun if you're comfortable with it.  I can't get enough of it, seriously...in 2012 Runner's World called 7 Sisters the "Hardest Up/Down Race" in the country (although Breakneck Point gives that rating a reason for renegotiation...)...

Runner's World - America's Best Trail Races 2012 

I'm starting in Wave #2 this year.  I was in #3 last year, and finished in 3:10, and I plan on coming in below 3:00 this time, which puts me in the right place at the starting line.  That said, there's probably some people in wave #1 who have no idea what they're getting into!  Ha!  We'll see!

Monday - 0 Miles.  Planned rest day.

Tuesday - 5 Miles.  Champlain South Open Space, Old Lyme.  I love Google.  I had an impromptu day off, and was running errands in Waterford, and thought "Old Lyme is an old money town, I bet they have a land trust..." Sure enough, I Google "Old Lyme hiking trail" and up pops a link to their trails.  I picked the biggest one, and 15 minutes later I'm in the woods.  Well marked trails, rolling hills, not technical but challenging, and had it to myself in the pouring rain.  And right off I-95!  Great run!

Wednesday - Friday - 0.  Shitty weather and long work days = forced zeros, which actually might be a blessing?  Graded Westerly Track & Athletic Club scholarship applications with the boys in the evening at the Yacht Club on Friday, and called it a night.

Saturday - 4+ Miles.  Dog Jog and short trail run.  Easy exploring on new trails near my house, the Erisman Woodlands Preserve and the Babcock Ridge Preserve, which also border the Henne Preserve.  That makes for a potential 8-ish mile out/back trail run, just a couple of miles from the house  Good and hilly, too! Mostly fun, runnable single track though, and I'll have to use this place often.

Sunday - 7 Sisters Trail Race.  Report to follow...