Are you there, Spring?

We're gonna go straight from Winter to Summer again, aren't we.

So the weather is still shitty, and I finished my father-in-law's bathroom project!  I spent this entire week setting 8"x48" plank tile in a large kitchen, which is demanding on several levels but I got it done and was determined to get some running in no matter what...

Monday, 4-2 - (Trainer) 8 miles in 24 minutes.  Solid short workout before work.

Tuesday, 4-3 - 0.

Wednesday, 4-4 - 10.  6 miles after work on trails in Mystic in the rain and fog, 4 treadmill.  Great run and I needed to get home, but wanted more miles so I did a quick 4 on the treadmill before calling it a day.

Thursday, 4-5 - 0.

Friday, 4-6 - 17.  (Trainer) 10-miler on the Zwift Richmond course, and 7 on trails in Arcadia.  Fun!  Before work I cranked out a 10 on the bike, with some aggressive segment sections.  Lo and behold, my friend George sent out a message asking for anyone who wanted to run trails in the afternoon.  He just came off a long period of injury, and I said sure!  George is a lot of fun to run with, and I roughly mapped a 4-5 mile loop, but didn't keep to it and sort of got us some bonus miles!  Whoops...7 miles total in Arcadia on a great but chilly day.

Saturday, 4-7 - 5.  Arcadia run with Brian and Rob.  Another chilly day, but Brian is also coming off injury and was looking for 5-ish miles.  We three set out on one of my favorite routes, and I kept it to 5 this time!  Great day.  Again, chilly but not uncomfortable.

Sunday, 4-8 - 4-ish.  Yawgoog Camp run with Jim.  I bagged the idea of a game-day marathon in RI and decided to do a short run on technical trails with Jim.  Saved me $75 and we had a blast, and a beatdown on the Long/Ell trail section.  We extended the run into the Red-blazed Rim Trail in the scout camp, which has a lengthy boulder field to traverse, and we had a great time rock-hopping there.  I really need to complete the loop through the Death Valley Trail around to Yawgoog Pond, and open up more loops here!

Lots of hours spent here, and I still find new things every time!

So a good week, runs with friends, solo running, and some cross-training on the bike.  A slow week coming up, along with a better weather pattern, and we may just be headed in the right direction!  Huzzah!

Back From Outer Space: The Return of Critchlery's Shitty Blog

Whoops!  I believe I've been remiss in updating this...I'll backtrack a bit for some highlights:

Week of 1/15 - 1/21 - 3 runs, 26 miles.  I've been running with Faith a lot, as we're both looking toward ultras on our respective schedules, and have been roping others into our runs.  The highlight of the week was a 9-mile group of 5 run in Pachaug on the dirt forest roads, great pace, conversation and enough climb to keep it challenging.

Bear!

Glorious day for a group run...

Finishing up!

Week of 1/22 - 1/28 - 3 runs, 35 miles.  Did a 7-mile progression run at Bluff with Faith, who was not feeling it, and I subtly increased the pace until she ran her second-fastest Haley/Bluff out and back.  Fun for me?  

     8-mile trail/road mixer on Mystic roads, felt really good to cruise trail, pick up the pace a bit on           some short road sections, and pop back into the woods again.  Local knowledge helps here!

     20-mile treadmill run???  Yup.  I was stuck at home on a shitty weather day waiting on a service         call, and decided to lock myself in our office/workout room and do a long run on the treadmill.           Put on a Billy Yang playlist and got to it... 

Week of 1/29 - 2/4 - 3 runs, 20 miles.  Finally got a solid snowshoe run in at Bluff at 3.6 miles, and averaged a 10:46 pace.  Hard work on those things but it was a great day there!

Perfect for a snowshoe run!

     13.1-mile Narragansett Trail run with Flyin' Brian R. and new guy Rob S.  Gnarly stretch of trail, and with detours around two sections it took a bit longer than I expected, which got me into a bit of hot water with the family, who thought I'd either fallen off a cliff, or been eaten by a bear.  What can I say, we were having a blast and I couldn't hear my cell phone buzzing until the end of the run. #sorrynotsorry ;)

Brian and Rob at High Ledge

Week of 2/5 - 2/11 - 5 runs, 30 miles (and two rides on the trainer).  This week's highlights were getting a trail run in with Mr. Paul Gray, the OMF 5k and subsequent afterparty at the Mews Tavern, and a 12-mile run in Pachaug SF with Faith and new guy Jon!  Oh, and two rides in Watopia on my new trainer!

Right behind CT Valley Brewing!

Week of 2/12 - 2/18 - 4 runs, 19 miles .  High points?  a 5k at Lantern Hill with 1000+' of vertical, a solid 7-mile progression run at Bluff Point, and a winter beach run in Watch Hill in shorts!

Lantern!  My Lantern!

Stupid beach selfie.  In February.

Week of 2/19 - 2/25 - 1 run, 19 miles.  Here comes the weird stretch (from here to April)...So my boss, who'd decided to get his knees done and be dormant for work for two months, had one knee done and then decided NOT to do the other, AFTER I'd started to completely redo my father-in-law's master bathroom, and thereby totally fucking up my schedule.  So I spend the next six weeks splitting my time between the paying gigs and the family job (which came out AWESOME, pics to follow).  WTF.  

     Fortunately, my one run had real value!  My buddy John P., Tuesday Night Turtle badass who got accepted into the Western States 100 race in CA (otherwise known as the Holy Grail of Ultramarathons), needed to get the ball rolling with some long runs.  I met him and his friend Liz M. at Arcadia, and we banged out 19 miles on a glorious sunny winter day!

Week of 2/26 - 3/4 - 2 runs, 10 miles.  Nothing great, except Faith and I explored a new trail system in Groton which has potential, and I did a short beatdown run at Long/Ell with Jim.

Week of 3/5 - 3/11 - 3 runs, 31 miles.  The big highlight here?  a 22-mile group run in Pachaug that started with me and JP cruising up to Mt. Misery and back, then combining a group of 5 for another 9 miles, then Faith, JP and I looping another 9.  Great day in the forest with friends!

Week of 3/12 - 3/18 - 2 runs, 28 miles (and two rides on the trainer) .  22-miler with John, Faith and Colson, who's young and just getting into trail running but is a real trooper!  The kid never complains, and we've subjected him to his longest runs ever every time he meets us.  Awesome.

Week of 3/19 - 3/25 - 1 run, 21+ miles (and a 20-miler on the trainer). - My big loop fail.  I mapped out a 30-ish mile monster loop in Pachaug State Forest, and rounded up JP to tackle it with me.  Friends Liz and Rachel would join for the first part, the Southern 11 mile section.  However, once we hit the singletrack it became obvious that all the recent storms had caused a massive amount of blowdowns and debris to obstruct the trails, and we were reduced to a crawl in places.  Add to that the rather rugged nature of this area, and our designs on completing the big loop were dashed.  However, John and I immediately moved to another part of Pachaug and had a much more enjoyable 10+ mile second half of the long run, and will try the loop another day!

Week of 3/26 - 4/1 - 1 run, 15 miles.  Long-ish run with Faith, JP and Donnie.  Pretty crazy when 15 miles only qualifies as long-ish, but my run was cut short for Easter family activities and I felt like I missed out on a good long run.  We're all crazy here...

     Finished my father-in-law's bathroom project, and it came out awesome!  I'm posting pictures because goddamn it looks good, and I did the whole thing myself.  Took longer than expected but he's very happy with the end result:

Start of demo, and yes that's a cast-iron tub :)

Walls and basin taking shape

Building a step-in curb

Shower walls going up

Done!  12x24 tile walls and 2x2 mosaic tile floors, custom niche, ADA-compliant grab bar and flip down teak bench, 3/8" glass sliding doors, and all brushed nickel hardware.  5x5 wall tile outside the shower, and 12x12 floor tile.  Big job for a small room!  Thank you Spotify for the assist, else I go mad!

So we're all caught up!  I'm gonna say that amid all the ebb and flow of work and play, I have been able to get a number of very meaningful long runs in (and some trainer rides!), ranging from 15 to 22 miles, and those have been very consistent lately mainly due to my friends!  I feel like I've rounded a corner with training/schedule, and as of 4/1 have started an 8-week training calendar to lead up to World's End, of my own design of course...so you know it's going to be "unconventional..."

Beth loves my training schedules, just ask her!

Weekly updates to follow!

New Year, New Goals! 1/1 to 1/14

Finally!  Happy New Year and I can't wait to set some new, attainable but ambitious goals for the next 12 months.  Running-wise?  More miles.  Lots more.  Better training for races.  Some tough goal races that are realistic.  More running with friends!  Not letting my work schedule interfere with what I'm trying to accomplish, on any level.  On that note, here are a few goals for the coming year:

Mileage:  2,000+ - way above any other year.

Vertical Gain:  200,000+ - again, a goal.

Races:  100k race, 24hr, 100m race...signed up for all three, and spaced out evenly for optimal success.

Places:  New races in new places...so far, World's End is #1.

Speed:  sub-6 mile?  Fastest 5k?  We'll see!

Endurance:  Going long.

So some attainable goals for the coming months, but all within reach.  I'd also like to start taking some day trips to the more mountainous areas in New England, as mountain runs kick ass and I really enjoy them!

1/1 - 5.5.  Treadmill run, just to get something on the board for the New Year.  Put on a playlist of Billy Yang videos and zoned out for an hour.

1/2 - 0.  Worked until dark, figured it would be a perfect day for a zero.

1/3 - 4 Miles.  Crisp and cool Copp Preserve trails.

1/4 - 0.  Shoveled heavy snow for 1.5 - 2 hours.

1/5 - 6.3.  Absolutely frigid 5.6 snow-covered roads in Groton w/Faith, and a deep snow snowshoe slog in Mystic on the way home, about .7 miles before I threw in the towel.  COLD.

1/6 - 0.

1/7 - 0.

1/8 - 5.2.  Pachaug SF trails and roads w/Carly.  Great time slogging through some deep snow on the trails before we bailed onto the forest roads, which had had enough activity to pack them down a bit.  Probably could have used Yaks, maybe might have helped?  Warmer temps felt great.

1/9 - 3.  Mystic trails before dark.  Started out in snowshoes and quickly had a front binding come loose.  After fidgeting with it for a bit, I decided to just get a few miles in as the Sun was quickly setting and I didn't want to throw away a 40-degree day because of a minor issue.  Spooked tons of deer, and cruised along at a pretty good clip given the conditions.  Got home and fixed the binding!

1/10 - 5.  Arcadia Snowshoe Run w/Carly.  A nice warmup, sunny skies and not a breath of wind, and a snow-killing rain on its way for the weekend?  Carly hit me up for a snowshoe run, and I quickly agreed!  We started at the main lot and made our way out to Breakheart Pond, navigating some packed down trails, as well as some untouched singletrack that was just perfect.  Slow, but perfection.  We made our way around the pond, and encountered a lone fatbike rider who, it later turned out, was Beth's "Imaginary Husband" Dave.  He exists!!!  Ha!  I even verified it on the Strava Flyby, so it's official.  After the pond loop I wanted to show Carly my favorite trail out there, an unmarked singletrack trail that rolls along the stream below the pond.  It had seen no traffic since the storm, and was simply incredible.  5 miles in snowshoes is quite the workout!!!  I have to say that a cruisy 5-mile trail run never felt so tough, I compare it to a normal long run as far as effort level, and I've never had to take short walk breaks as much as I did.  Holy crap.  And I loved every minute of it!  Oh, and the Dion snowshoes I have worked flawlessly.  Not one issue.

1/11 - 0.

1/12 - 0.

1/13 - 3.7.  Green Falls waterfall recon.  After a freak warm spell, rain and rapid melt of all the snow, I figured Green Falls would be pretty spectacular.  What I didn't expect was how much water was moving through there.  I've never been turned back at minor stream crossings there before, and it was pretty incredible to see normally dry creek beds turned into raging rapids.  I had a great time splashing down trails-turned-rivers, and bushwhacking through the woods around impassable areas.  Ran into James E. as I was headed down there, and he said he'd never seen the water that high, and I'd have to agree!

1/14 - 3+.  Resolution Beach and Trail race.  The first race in the South County 4th Season trail series, put on by Mike Galoob and his crew at Off Rhode Racing.  Traditionally this has been a 5k, and I found out last minute that the course had been changed to include more trail and less beach, and eliminated the short road section.  Sweet!  I arrived early, grabbed my bib and chatted with friends, and after getting my gear on, ran a short warmup on the beach with Rachel, both of us grumbling a bit about the cold but it wasn't that bad.  The runners lined up facing the old stone ruins, and I was relieved to see we wouldn't be doing the out/back on the beach first, although I couldn't remember there being a lot of trails in the wooded area to make up 3.1 miles...I went out at the gun steady, and kept a good pace, although without any speedwork I was definitely feeling the effort.  At the end of mile 2 I was already at the ruins, and knew for sure that the course was either going to be way short, or we'd be finishing with the aforementioned out/back on the beach.  I was relieved to see that we'd be coming in short.  I splashed through what was probably some raw sewage runoff, ran up the beach and hauled my carcass across the finish line at 2.6 miles in 20:32.  I looked at my previous times, and it's about average for the course/terrain, so my speed (if we're calling it that!) is about the same.

Afterwards, a bunch of us met at the Mews Tavern for lunch, and I had a great time chatting with everyone on my end of the table, thinking we'll have to switch seats next time so I can get caught up with everyone else!

Last Week of 2017! Week of 25 December 2017 and Year-End Recap

2017 is coming to a close, and I'm really looking forward to 2018.  Why?  I think it's going to be a great year, for running and everything else.  My 2017 stats, which I'll list below, weren't what I was expecting, although I think given my overall mileage were successful.

For 2018 I should have a clear idea of exactly what races I'm doing after midnight on New Year's Eve, as half the trail races in the country are opening registration at the same time!  Places, everyone!!!  I'm shooting for 4 Ultras, the World's End and three others TBA.  All trail races.  Some gnarly AF, some not so much, but each with their own unique challenges...

That said, here's some stats!

Total Miles:  1,080
Elevation Gain: 96,526
These are two of the stats I'm going to correct in the coming year.  Unacceptable.  Setting a goal of 2,000 miles and 150,000' elevation for '18.

# of Races: 16
Trail Races: 15
Road Races: 1

Ultra Races: 5.  3 completed, 2 DNF.  However, even the DNFs were 27 and 33 miles, respectively. Better than a DNS, anyway!

Best Ultra performance: Goat Hill 50k in 6:53.  Got a goat trophy!

Favorite Race: Run4Kerri 4-mile road race.  Yes, my only road race in '17 and still my favorite.  Had an absolute blast the whole day, from the pre-race warmup with Tommy 5k, to the awesome run with "Team Jodi" (me, George and Jodi), to the afterparty at the Mews Tavern, just a totally memorable day, at a great race put on by a great family for a great cause.  Already on my calendar for 2018.

***Honorable Mention for favorite race goes to Whiteface.  Hands down, one of the toughest (but best) weekends of racing I've ever had.  Vertical K on Saturday, Sky Race on Sunday, total of 18 miles and 10,500' of vertical gain.  Yes, I felt like I got hit by a truck two days later, but damn was it worth it!  The course, the views, Lake Placid...if the Adirondacks were closer I'd be there a lot.  And the Red Newt Racing events are incredible!

Least Favorite Race:  None.   Even the couple races I had issues at and didn't finish, I met incredible people, enjoyed a great day on the trails, and smartly called it a day when injury arose.  Never a bad day out there.



Weekly Update, 12/25 to 12/31:

So overall, I'm running happy, without any pressure to perform, and my mileage, although low, has been filled with quality over quantity!  So it's all good.  Now for the weekly update:

12/25 - Merry Christmas!  No run for me, but I did receive a new pair of snowshoes (my first ever!), a new pair of Salomon Speedtraks, the book "On Trails" by Robert Moor, and various other running-related paraphernalia.  Happy me!

12/26 - 8.4 Miles.  5.3 Mile Pachaug loop with Faith in the snow, and a treadmill 5k at home to bump the mileage up.

12/27 - 0.

12/28 - 3 Miles.  Canonchet Preserve trail run with Jim.  Cold!  -10 with the wind chill, but we cruised through a 3-mile out and back.  Great time.

12/29 - 10 Miles.  Treadmill 10.  Nothing special, other than I settled into a rhythm and watched Salomon videos on Youtube until time was up.  My watch lags on distance, so it was almost 11 by the treadmill's count.

12/30 - 4 Miles.  Nature Center trails, Mystic.  Late afternoon, snow falling, 19 degrees and zero wind, and I was surrounded by silence except for the crunch of my feet on the snow.  Didn't see a single person.  Awesome.

12/31 - 7.6 Miles.  Bluff Point/Haley Farm trails w/Faith.  Ran 35 hours with Faith this year, more than any other friend, so who better to close out the year with?  10 degrees and 0 wind chill, but we opted to hit the singletrack there as much as possible, and the wind was mostly blocked.  Perfect cold weather run with a good friend!

So I close out 2017 with two weeks of consistent, solid running, and a 32/33 mile weekly combo to round out the year.  I'm really looking forward to 2018, have I mentioned that?  It's gonna be awesome, I have no doubt!

Blog's Not Dead!

After banging out two ultra distance races in the last two weeks of October, I decided to shut it down for races until after the new year.  No injuries, just wanted to not have anything scheduled, and be able to do what I wanted when I could.  So I did.  Had a pretty unremarkable November, other than some good trail miles and runs with friends, and a great time spectating at the Li'l Rhody Runaround.  I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone to a race purely as a spectator, and it was a blast!  Got to see/catch up with a lot of friends, and attend a fun after race party at Jonny's place.

So I wrote off November as just a shitty, low-mileage month with a couple of highlights, and was just happy to be running at all.

But here's to a great holiday season of running!  I already have my sights set on a couple of races for 2018, too...

So we'll start off December's fun on 12/2.  Nehantic Trail, Voluntown CT - 13 miles.  Brian R., one of the CT contingent at the Yeti race (and who finished 5th overall in 19:41 for his first 100-miler), has decided to knock off all the CT blue-blazed trails and hit me up for an E2E run on the Nehantic Trail, a rugged in places but totally runnable 13-mile trail in Voluntown.  Of course I agreed, and with a last-minute shout out to the Trailmixers group, we also picked up Scott D. (another badass ultrarunner) to join us!  

After dropping a car at Green Falls, we three set out from the Hopeville Pond end of the trail.  Temps around 30-35 degrees, but very little wind and totally comfortable.  I have to say that my new hydration vest is awesome, with two soft flasks in the front and lots of stretchy pockets around the sides and back, and doesn't shift around at all.  Love it.

We stopped to take a short break at Mt. Misery before continuing on toward Green Falls:

Brian and Scott at Mt. Misery

Lots of chatting during the run, and a great overall pace.  I did the navigation, and I'm happy to report that there were no wrong turns, and I knew exactly where we were the entire time.  Not too many blowdowns, and the trail was in overall great shape.  Took about 2:30 to make the North to South run, but we weren't trying to push the pace, and covered 13 miles with about 1,400' of climbing.

After we finished up, Brian wanted to take advantage of the day, so I drove him to the Northern terminus of the Quinebaug Trail, so he could check that 8-mile stretch of trail off his list, and I called it a day!  Great way to kick off December.

We've started to get snow!  I was getting a bit discouraged about the lack of daylight hours and the turn to cold weather, but the first snow we had, I got out to the Hidden Lake area of Yawgoog and hit some untouched trails, and remembered why winter is pretty damn awesome.

Hidden Lake!  Nobody out there but me.

I've also made peace with the treadmill (sort of).  It's going to have to be a part of my training schedule, and I've found that putting on a Salomon Running playlist on YouTube definitely helps me cope with the monotony...

Not so Dread-mill?

So that said, my mileage is FINALLY coming up!  The week of Christmas I put together 32 miles, including a 15-miler at Bluff Point, a run on Napatree Point beach for the Winter Solstice, a Green Falls loop with Jim where we got lost on unmarked trails and bushwhacked, fells-style, back to my truck, and had an Xmas Eve. run at Bluff with my most frequent running friend Faith!  According to Strava, we've run 32+ hours together :)

Happy running at Bluff Point!

Mother Boulder?

Winter Solstice beach run at Napatree/Watch Hill!

Frozen Hidden Lake!

Faith at Bluff Point!

So heading into Christmas, I asked Santa (Lori) for a pair of snowshoes, as I've wanted to try some for the last couple years, but there hadn't been much snow.  And Santa delivered!

YES!  New Dion running snowshoes, and some extra running-related gear...so excited!

So there we go!  All (sort of) caught up, and gonna try to get back to some sort of regular posting.  I've restructured my racing goals for 2018, and it's basically going to include 1 race per month, not counting smaller local races.  So far, here's the official registration list:

WE100K.  Should be epic.

Return to Kismet Cliff!  3rd time.

The rest of 2018's fun will be worked out once the races have opened registration, but it'll be an interesting list for sure.  Most of the races I haven't done before.  So right now it looks like the Wapack 21.5 in May, WE100k in June, a new NH ultra (maybe?) in July (or Escarpment!), an ultra in August (Undecided, it's between two:  Ragged 50k or ADU 24), Kismet Cliff in September, and one grand finale in October.  To be continued...

RI 6hr (v. 2.0): October Long Race #2

My race season was "unofficially officially" over with this race, the RI 6hr Ultramarathon & Relay, presented by TNT runner and friend Bob Jackman and his crew at A Better Pace.  Great race.  This would be my 5th straight year running the 6hr, which makes me the longest consecutive active streak for this race!  And the race got moved to Pulaski State Park, and would contain no pavement whatsoever!

Great race...now on dirt!

Rewind a bit.  I believe it was after the Li'l Rhody Race last year that I was having lunch and drinks with Bob, Jackie and some other characters at the Mews Tavern, when Bob let me know that he wasn't going to put on the race any longer.  He was thinking about doing something else.  Cool, I'm in, just let me know!  Imagine my delight when the race was back on, but moved to dirt!  Sold!

So I got up fairly early, had all my gear already packed, and made the 40-minute drive out on Saturday morning to Chepachet.  I really like this location.  Great parking, and a big open field for registration/socializing/race timing and stuff.  As the race mimicked the beginning and ending portions of the RWTB race, I knew pretty much what the course would be, sort of...

After chatting with a bunch of friends, we lined up for the pre-race.  I lined up in the front row with Seth, and as the race started I surged out to the lead, for the first 30 seconds or so, haha...man, that felt unnatural!  Then reality set in, and I got passed by the relay runners and the fast people.  My friend Adam was running the race, and after I settled down, we ended up running together for a while, maybe 8 miles?  The course is laid out as an initial climb in the first 1/2 mile, gradual descent for the next mile, then climb/descent for the last .7 miles, roughly.  200+ ft gain for the loop.  The awesome part is coming into the start/finish and getting cheers from friends and strangers alike, and my friend Amie was working the aid station, and shouting encouragement every time I came through.

So 10 or more loops gets you the "Ultra" award, which in this case was a logo hoodie.  I, for some reason, got the Limp Bizkit song "Nookie" stuck in my head for the entire race, with the word "hoodie" substituted for "nookie."  I did it all for the hoodie, the hoodie...hahaha, and of course I had to get the hoodie.  So I ground out 10 laps at 27-ish miles in around 5:20 with 2200' of climbing, and called it a day.  I maybe could have gone another loop, but it would have been a stretch on fatigued legs and with no guarantee of making it in time.  Been there before!

Annnd...another pint glass!

Weather-wise, it was the perfect day.  Really.  Everything went right, and after running Bimbler's Bluff 6 days earlier, I felt like I ran a sensible race, didn't try to overdo it, and walked away without any ill effects.  Glad to have finished both races and gotten some redemption.  Definitely a tougher course than the original 6-hour layout, but I liked it a lot more, and if some singletrack trail accidentallly got thrown in for next year?  I'd be OK with that!

Great job by Bob and his crew at A Better Pace!!!  Thank you!

(Big shout out to Scott Deslongchamps, who placed 2nd overall with 37+ miles only a week after finishing the Ghost Train 100-miler.  WOW.  That's badass.)

Bimbler's Bluff 50k: October Long Race #1

Bimbler's was my first Ultra back in 2012, and had always gone up against other races on the calendar...but when my wife declared "You can run as many 50k and 50 mile races locally as you want," well?  What was I to do?  I'd already signed up for the 6hr, as I always do, so I broached the subject of doubling down for back-to-back weekend ultras.  Green light, as long as I felt physically ready for it.  I'm not 100% with the heel (it's a dull ache at this point), and way undertrained in general, but yes.  I can manage...and it would be my 5th straight RI 6hr Ultra, which had been moved to Pulaski State Park, home of the Beavers race!  Sweet!  No more pavement!

Bimbler's Bluff 50k - Guilford, CT.  32.4 miles in 8:15.  #102 of 134 finishers.

Last minute registration for this.  I knew a lot of people who were running/volunteering at this race, and maybe 3 people knew I was signed up.  Morning of, I get up early, leave early, and stop at the local Dunkin' for a coffee.  My GPS decided that I was gonna be there, or 1/2 mile away from my actual location, and kept wanting to send me elsewhere to get to the school where the race takes place.  After I got off I-95, it was panic mode when I shot past the turn, realized I'd been screwed by technology, and had to pull over less than 30 minutes from the start of the race to figure out where the hell I was.  I sort of knew, though, since I've run the course, and parts of the course, over the years.

Ship righted, I got to the school, quickly parked and saw Bob B., friend and ultra-badass runner.  His first reaction, "Crutch, what are you doing here?" was perfect.  Same reaction from Janet S., who I didn't know would be there.  My friend Jeff was doing his first 50k trail race, and I called him over to touch base.  He looked ready, and I suspected his competitive spirit would override any nerves that popped up (I was right).  I gave him a (I hope) breakdown of the whole course, and will totally take credit if it helped, haha!

Once I got my bib and geared up, I realized my salt caps were missing.  Whoops.  I sweat a lot during races, and the caps work wonders, so I'll make do at the aid stations.  Potatoes dipped in a vat of salt, anyone?

Someday, I'll make up a list of Ultra-race "Things I needed and didn't have, things I had and didn't need" items.  I always forget something.  Also, something that I never use always takes up space in my pack.  I pack poorly for everything, and that applies to travel with the family, etc...it's a flaw.

That said, my new Salomon pack is fucking awesome.  Really.  Like a "gentle hug from an old friend" kind of awesome.  Super-light, soft flasks in the front, and stretchy pouches all over the place to keep my shit.  Unreal.  Expensive, yes.  But until you've dealt with running 30 miles with a clip, strap or other thing clacking against your person, judge me not!  It's a great pack, anyway.  Oh, and my wife calls it my "Booby Vest," so there's that...

Salomon S/Sense Ultra 5 Set (Long title, great pack)

The Race:  We loop around the ball field once to spread the runners out.  I wish everyone luck, see Jeff enter the woods in 3rd (of course!), and Bob and I chat about the day, our expectations, etc.  and end up running together.  I remembered the course as a mix of singletrack trail and dirt road for the first 1/3 and last 1/3, with the lollipop second third being mostly singletrack, hilly and technical.  I was generally right?  Or was I...

View from the Bluff!

Bob!

Getting to the Bluff, I did a quick change of shirts, grabbed some food and drink, said hello to Russ and Michele, who were working the Bluff Head aid station, and Michele and I got caught up about our friends running the Ghost Train 100.  (Faith and Laura B. finished their first 100, Claire crushed it for the women's win, and Pat Caron threw down the 3rd fastest 100 in the world this year, dropping a blistering 13:50 for 100 miles.  Supernatural.)

Bob and I stayed together for about 16 miles, just cruising.  We managed to get through the Bluff, and all the way to the mile 16 A.S., after that I faltered and he pulled away.  My race after that?  I walk/ran as I could to Renee's Way A.S., mile 22, 10 miles to go and the best damned aid station in CT!  They hooked me up, and then my friend Cathi kicked me out when I'd finished a second cup of homemade soup.  It's all about the soup though!

It had gotten very warm into the afternoon.  If you're fast enough (which I'm not), this isn't a problem.  I wilted.  Had enough liquids, etc., but was not happy with the heat.  I slowed, knew I'd finish and that it wouldn't be pretty, and continued on.  The best part of the last 10 miles of the race, I'm about 28-ish miles, cutting across a road next to the local Gun Club, and there's a man and woman blasting music, chilling and cheering runners, and he says "We're not an aid station, but if you need water, we have some!"  And they had bottled water, and it was COLD.  Those people rock...

So?  I finished.  Got my pint glass, a killer ballcap, and ran into yet another friend who'd run this as his first Ultra (Great job Stan!!!), and we caught up briefly before I headed out.  And Jeff finished 4th overall at his first Ultra, WOW!!!  All in all, a great day was had by all. even me at a snail's pace getting to the finish.  Had a great time!

Gotta earn the pint glass...and hat!

So there it is, the 10th Annual Bimbler's Bluff 50k.  The finish gives me some redemption after the Yeti debacle, and was a great day in the woods with friends, which I truly enjoy.  Next up?  The relocated RI 6hr Ultra.  Should be fun!