Tri, Trails & Steak

Last weekend we were at a family wedding outside of Portsmouth, NH. My brother and his family were in town. The day after the wedding he and I went for a brief -- 25 minutes, I think -- trot through Newcastle, NH. It was lovely, rolling and scenic. Frequent ocean views to our right on the way out and a nice little turn around down by Portsmouth harbor with a view of an old fort. The weather was beautiful and it was great to run with my brother. We also saw a couple of deer in somebody's yard (I saw one on last week's trail run, at the edge of an orchard and the woods).

Sunday I didn't do much except eat a massive meal at Capital Grill. My brother and I headed out Labor Day afternoon and took a rocking trail run through the Fells Reservation in Winchester/Medford. It ended up being more than I'd bargained for (see massive meal, Capital Grill, Sunday night) at about an hour of up and down, side stepping and root hopping. The air though was gorgeous piney and clean. We ran around the Winchester water supply and the presence of basically a mountain lake was really amazing. It was a butt kicker of a run, but I'm better for it. Again, it was awesome to run with my brother who is really a gazelle.

Wednesday night I did a full run through of the tri that I'm doing this weekend. It was fun even though I had a splitting migraine during the day and I sort of felt like I was in slow-mo all along the course. The swim went pretty well, but it felt longer and I felt slower than the advertised 400 yards. I was more comfortable on the mountain bike last night and found some lines that I'd not see the first ride last week that I hope will help Sunday. It's a fairly punishing ride at 5.3 miles with some big climbs and some tricky descents. The run went well once the leg wobble stopped. I just shifted into an easy lope through the woods and felt good throughout. I'm looking forward to Sunday, and am going to have the family come out and watch. It should be around an hour, perhaps more -- the swim is longer, I think... -- and it's supposed to be a beauty of a day.

Trail Run

Took a big trail run today right around lunch time. I'd planned on a doing an out and back into the woods but ended up continuing on. I ran through woods and along the Charles River. I ran through some cool marsh land on raised boardwalks. It was fun and tough and fairly solitary although I did see a handful of other trail runners.

By and large the trail was really temded, not many rocks sticking out nor roots, though there were some rugged sections. I had fun and am feeling the flow. Not sure how long it was, but I think I ran for close to an hour. The transition from the trails to the streets was weird and I walked a bit after I came out of the woods but finished with two good climbs to my street (the ones at the end of my ypical 10K route).

Oh yeah, and the weather was gorgeous! Sunny, dry and 67 F. Perfect.

Fantastic Run

Over the past 8 months or so, I've been invited a number of times to mountain bike, road ride and now run with a crew that goes out at 6:30AM on Sunday mornings. I came close to mountain biking with them once in June, but then whimped out because of intimidation and fear of re-injuring my then fragile calf during the 3 hour, hilly ramble. Other than that, I've never really come close to joining this group until today.

I joined three of the regular guys for a run in and around Trapps Family Lodge. We ran up hills, down hills, through tons and tons of mud (took a wrong turn), along dear paths (to avoid the muddy trail), across old farm land -- all at a very respectable pace. At the end, we kicked it into high gear, which felt great.

There were two things, though, that I really enjoyed about the run. First, I was running with a new crew of guys. My connection to the group is through a hockey friend who lives nearby (and coincidentally who went to junior high school with Mrs. VTR), but I had never met the other two. Something about meeting them at dawn on a Sunday for a random trail run was very cool. It helped that we talked a lot on the run, and they were all good guys. The other thing that made my day was that I was able to hang with them from a fitness standpoint. They're fit, to say the least. I guess I should be able to hang since I just did the CCM, but I was still pleasantly surprised that my fitness didn't go away, that I have that level of fitness at all, and that this crazy hour and forty minute long run was not a problem for me.

I'm still getting used to the idea of being a runner, still surprised by it.

Later boys.

Trail Racing...Family-Style

Every Tuesday night during the summer months, the Catamount Outdoor Family Center (http://www.catamountoutdoor.com/) hosts a 5K trail running series, which is a riot. Competitors range from local high school cross-country teams (these guys fly!) to a husband and wife in their mid-80's to recreational runners like us. They have two courses which run on single track trails through old farming meadows and woods. Both courses are beautiful, although one is a killer with lots of hills and switchbacks.

The races are truly a family affair. The owner of the Center and his grown son manage the race and are out there every week. Spouses often alternate running and watching the kids on a weekly basis, and there are two shorter races for "cubs" (age 0 - 6) and "cadets" (age 7 - 12).

The entire VT Runner family typically runs a bunch of these races each year, but this was our first one of 2007. VT Runner the elder (4.5 yo) has "raced" for the last 3 years, but has always alternated between running, walking, being carried, picking flowers, rolling in the long grass, and/or bursting into tears at the starting line. We really never know what to expect. Last night, he surprised us all by charging the race (probably about 100 yards long) and having a ball. He had so much fun, that he ran the route no less than 5 times and was a ball of sweat by the time my run was done. He did not want to stop running, and even raced to the car. VT Runner the younger (2 yo) also "ran" the entire route a couple of times and was very proud of herself. I was proud of them both.

My race (Mrs. VT Runner had kid duty last night) was also fun. I ran a 22:26 for the 5K route, alternately shadowing and leading a couple of guys at a steady but hard pace. At about the mid-point, I needed to focus to keep pushing, so I started repeating a mantra to myself, "No fatigue in the legs, no fatigue in the lungs," but quickly changed it to "Strong legs, strong lungs" because I didn't like saying the word fatigue. Can you tell how strongly I believe in the power of positive thinking/imagery in running?

I really needed the help for the last 1K because I ran my 3rd kilometer as if it was my last. I still don't know how I turned a "3" into a "4" on the 3K mile marker sign, but the mistake was painful. In the end, I guess it turned out OK because I posted my fastest time ever for this 5K. I think I was inspired by the kids' performances. How cool is it to be at the stage where we can truly share our passions and activities with the whole family? I have a feeling it's only going to get better from here.