Tuesday, December 25, 2012

1,000 page views (ALMOST), Holidays, and Winter Hiking


Happy Holidays!
It has been a few weeks since I posted anything on here. Since today I have had way more downtime than I want I used it to catch up on some reading, and blogging. I got about halfway through "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand while sharpening my Christmas Story quote repertoire. Christmas duty is usually pretty quiet with a good amount of lounging. Christmas Eve consisted of watching "Vegucated" at my request, which may or may not have converted a few crew members to veganism.
December 25, 2012
 Tripyramids(4,180' & 4,140')
Trying to stay efficient with tagging all of the White Mountain 4,000 footers I took on Mount Tripyramids North and Middle Peaks on 2-9-12. I went with another local climber David Chess whom I had met  through an online hiking group. His Dog Meka accompanied us. We used the Pine Bend Brook trail to ascend North Tripyramid, and made a short loop DOWN the North Slide in hopes of seeing more of the mountain. This was definitely a mistake in our planning and tacked over two hours onto the total trip time. I can see why the North Slide is popular because the view must be amazing on a nice day. This day wasn't very nice, as a matter of fact I lost control of my truck on the Kancamagus Highway enroute to the trail head on "black ice" despite my temperature monitoring on my trucks thermometer. After heading back up the mountain we stopped on Middle Tripyramid for a few moments and headed back down Sabbaday Falls trail. This trail was very easy on the knees  for the descent and has several stream crossings making it fairly easy to lose the trail. We finished up about an hour after dark with headligts. In hindsight I should have looked much closer to the topography of the routes we chose, I suppose the lesson learned is not to get complacent just because you are not alone.
 
Tripyramids "North Slide" looking down, Loose rock and Ice
 
Hancocks (North 4,420' & 4,319')
The weekend after Tripyramid I convinced (or nagged to the breaking point) John Mitchell to climb with me. John is one of the most experienced Hikers I know particularly in the White Mountains. He has been instrumental in planning out my last few trips (aside from Tripyramid) so I was happy to get the Hancocks in with him. The trail head starts EXACTLY where I almost wrecked my truck a week before, and is quite flat for the first few miles. After the long flat trek the trail climbs straight up. Microspikes did the trick for traction. On the summit we met another group of climbers enjoying a 16 year old Scotch (my electrolyte infused water suddenly became lame). The ridge transit was a fast mile with slow rolling, snowy terrain. The descent offered perhaps the best views of the day since you ar facing the North peak for a mile or so. We started around 10 AM and were finished before 4 PM. The weather could not have been any better for a good view.
View from North Hancock overlook
 
Great view of the Osceolas from overlook
South Hancock overlook
View on Descent

 
 
Mount(s) Tom (4,051'), Field (4,340'), Willey (4,285) & Avalon (3,442')
 
This Saturday I set out on a somewhat ambitious peak bagging trip to Crawford Notch, to knock out Peaks 13-15. The trail head should have been easy to spot but I wasn't expecting it to be at a train station so I drove by it a half dozen times before asking somebody. I learned it was pretty icy in the parking area when I fell on my ass before I even set foot on the trail.  I packed pretty heavy for this trip because I figured the snow would be deep and it would be cold. This entire hike was one of the most difficult I have done thus far. I wasn't expecting to be tired and out of breath the entire trip, but I was. Maybe it was the heavy pack, tedious slush, or the cold. I took the Avalon trail to the A-Z trail and followed the MT Tom Spur trail. The Spur was not very well marked and the snow was deep so I just used my compass most of the way. There were no tracks to Mt. Toms summit and the snow was well over a foot deep. After sinking in beyond my knees a couple of times I put on my snowshoes. I used the snowshoes across the Mt. Field & Willey ridge. This ridge traverse was eerily quiet and sort of lonely. I enjoy the solitude typically  but I felt VERY far away from civilization so this was possibly a bit too much. Mount Field was very foggy but the untouched powdery snow covering everything was just fine for a view! Feeling tired from the extra weight of the snowshoes, and a strong desire to get home where it was warm I considered cancelling on Mount Willey. I decided to check the map again to see just how much further I needed to go for Willey. That's when I realized I dropped my map...Shit! Well I remember it being less than three miles out and back to where I was so I pressed on. The trail from Field to Willey was very well marked with blue blazes every 20 yards or so. This trail would like have been very scenic as well if it wasn't so foggy. Mt Willey wasn't much to see but I'm glad I made the trip across. On my way back to Mt. Fields summit I ran into two friendly women and a Golden Retriever puppy. They thanked me for "blazing the way" and I felt much less alone even with a 30 second interaction. (probably two minutes with the puppy since he was leading the way). I took the Avalon trail back down which conveniently passes the Mt. Avalon summit by "100 yards" according to the AMC sign so I got a few nice pictures from up there. The descent was pretty frustrating because I was moving much slower than I would have liked and my snowshoes weren't the best for downhill walking. Nearing the trail head I found my map draped over a tree stump with a lone microspike, I am assuming the party I had crossed paths with on the ridge had put it there for me.  I finished around 1:30 even though it felt much later. While this trip was efficient and rewarding I was glad to be done!
Mount Tom Spur
Mount Tom Summit
Mount Field Summit
 
Mount Field video
 
 Mount Willey #15!
 
 



Sunday, December 2, 2012

Bye Bye "MO"vember, Turkey Trots, 2 more Peaks, & New Runner advice!

Not feeling too fresh today after a 14 miler in the woods of lovely Haverhill, MA. I did two laps (horse shoe out and back) around Kenoza Lake after a long return trip from Vermont. I'm pretty certain I saw my www.mapmyrun.com course nemesis (somebody that seems to best me shortly after acquiring "king of the mountain" status ruitinely) buzzing along at a quick pace. I had a long trip that was detoured in the Wachusset mountain area for nearly an hour searching for a rest room...uncool. Since My last Blog post I competed in the Winners Circle Running Club Wild Turkey Trot at Pipestave Hill in West Newbury, MA. I got a couple more 4,000 footers crossed off the List thanks to climbing partner and fellow Coastie Matt Seel. Lastly I made a trip to my hometown of Bennington, VT to visit friends and family.

WILD TURKEY TROT
Aside from getting lost on the way to the race, I though this event was pretty successful. It raised money for Hurricane Sandy victims and burned off the calories that the runners were likely to consume that afternoon. The event, like many similar across the nation was a 5k cross country race on moderately hilly course. Two co-workers, Gabe and Scott accompanied me in the annual race. It was pretty cold outside (lower 40's if I remember correctly) but not too chilly for shorts. I used compression socks, not necessarily to increase blood flow, but to have an added layer of warmth. This race had a self described "Braveheart" start which can only be described by the photo below. I lined up in the front not wanting to be stuck behind the large herd running towards the first tape marker. I had hoped to come close to my 19:30 5k personal record, until the announcer said "you will not run this course as fast as you have run road 5k's". I figured that was a fair enough warning, but too late to change my goal (moments before the start). I recognized a lot of the regulars at the starting line. At the Gun I went into a jittery 5:15 pace for the first 300 yards or so, mainly to avoid any bottle necking at the first turn. That proved somewhat successful but I couldn't settle into the pace I knew I could manage for the entirety of the race. The first half mile split was around 2:50, way too fast! It took two of the short/steep hills on the course to settle me into a 6:15ish pace. The announcer was not lying and before I knew it, I was really feeling the wrath of Pipestave Hill. I finished with a time of 20:22, which was far from a PR but good enough for 16th overall and 2nd in my age group.
WCRC Wild Turkey Trot Results
Like the huge dope that I am I left before the awards ceremony, thinking a 16th overall didn't qualify for much. I had a great time and thought this race was well organized. The registration was very inexpensive, especially considering all racers received a long sleeved shirt and a finishers medal. Winners Circle along with the sponsors (including Rick Bayko's Yankee Runner) did an incredible job with the event. Rick Bayko and I later joked that we did not see each other at the race mainly because of our killer mustaches!
"Braveheart Start" I'm towards the left of the camera hog in blue, note the block compression socks
 
Mount Passaconaway & Whiteface
 
While my efforts to "bag" all 48 of NH's 4,000 footers may be unrealistic (I am up for transfer this summer). I am continuing on the quest to get as many as I can. On Tuesday I travelled to Albany,NH to Hike Mount Whiteface and Passaconaway. As recommended from an experienced hiker we decided that we would do Passaconaway first up Diceys Mill trail and then cross the Ridge to the steeper, more challenging  Whiteface. The trails were a little tracked up, likely from the weekend before so that helped us follow the otherwise hard to follow Diceys Mill Trail. this trail cut through a few private properties before the ascent. Passaconaway was a little bit Icy,
making it necessary to use crampons/microspikes. The ascent was pretty uneventful, as was the summit of Passaconaway. There was one overlook on Passaconaway but the summit was completely wooded, leaving much to be desired. Matt and I crossed over to Whiteface which showed a lot of signs from Hurricane Sandy. We found ourselves "bushwhacking" around many fallen trees along the ridge. whiteface also had a wooded summit but provided a nice perch about 3/4 of a mile from the summit along Blueberry Ledge trail. The overlook was definitely a very rewarding way to eat lunch. We started our descent after 2pm so daylightwas becoming a serious concern. We aborted our plan to backtrack and decided the steeper Blueberry ledge would be a better descent plan based on time. Blueberry ledge proved challenging at the higher elevations but became very tame below 3,000'. we finished the 12ish mile round trip in about 6 hours of hiking time. photo/video below.

View from Whiteface Overlook

Sandy won this battle


Whiteface Summit 4,020'

Blueberry Ledge was no joke
 
New Runner Advice
As an average runner (and that is being nice) I was flattered when my brothers girlfriend asked for some pointers for her first half marathon this January. Since I am not in a great position to give advice, I would Rather pass on the advice given to me over the last few years. I have been fortunate enough to get to know some very talented, athletes over the last couple of year. They have offered the following advice (in no particular order, I will try to give due credit).
 
-"Don't go out too fast."
Rick Bayko, gave me this advice before my first marathon, it makes plenty of sense but it's easy to forget in the spirit of competition. I found my first two miles were ridiculously fast, and my last FEW were snail pace...heed this warning.
 
-Drink at every aide station and WALK through them
I got this pointer out of a book by Hal Higdon, who has really broken down the science of marathoning for his readers. I am yet to go the distance without some sort of costly hiccup. All of which can be found in the pages of his books.
 
-"Go easy on your first race, you are guaranteed a PR"
I like to tell people this because it is the only thing i can say with some degree of certainty. If you are running your first race of ANY distance, make the goal "to finish". Improve upon your times later.
 
-"Avoid speedwork if you are new to running/racing"
Similar to above.  Make the goal finishing the race and having fun, if you set the bar too high and don't reach it you will be disappointed or INJURED.
 
-Race to "race another day"
forget about registration fees and PR's and listen to your body, sit out or take it easy so you can stay healthy.
 
-"Don't wear/use anything you have not tested on a "long run".
This is an important one, it pertains to clothing, footwear AND nutrition. Race day chafing, Blisters or GI issues (gastrointestinal) are not something you want!
 
-Long runs are the most important part of your training regiment
Don't skip these! Do them SLOW! So longer races are based on your ability to maintain a pace. The long run is to improve your endurance, finishing a race relies on this training, once a week with several shorter runs in between will do just fine.
 
-Build up to your goal distance
a general rule of thumb for injury avoidance is to not increase distance by 10% per week. There are no reasonable exceptions to this rule. If you ran 50 marathons in your life but haven't crested 5 miles yet this year...you should not pepper 20 milers into your weekends! fitness goes away...QUICKLY!
 
-Prep the night before
Eat foods that work for you (test on long runs). Take advantage of "pre race packet pickup" and have your breakfast ready to go. Make your morning as stress free as possible.
 
-Don't bother with pricey gear.
Shoes are the exception to this rule. If it is comfortable wear it. Big brands like Nike make products much akin to lesser known brands. With shoes I would recommend a gait analysis from a RUNNING store. If that isn't available there are many techniques you can use to analyze your own gait/arch type. use the google machine. Shoes are important, if you are a new runner...use traditional running shoes. Vibram five fingers and all of the other variants of "minimalist" shoes will require a learning curve and a lot of Achilles/hamstring strengthening before use.
 
-Run your own race
Not hard to forget this during a "Braveheart start" but you should know what you are capable of  for the duration of the race.
 
-"They're not as fast as they look"
This was a tough one for me. I was easily intimidated in my first few events. "YOU DESERVE TO BE HERE" is my favorite slogan when I am standing alongside of "blah blah race team". They say don't judge a book by its cover, I say don't judge your competition by their discount outerwear :).
 
-HYDRATION
Important? Sure. Don't overload yourself with water and sports drinks. Hydration is a tricky balance of maintaining electrolyte to water balance. Electrolytes will make you thirsty, excess water will flush electrolytes. Drink when you are thirsty (before the race, during the race drink as often as possible). Porta-potty lines are usually LONG and get longer as the start looms plan accordingly.
 
These are very general, and most don't come from me personally. I have either learned the hard way or heeded the warning of someone who has shared the information with me. I would like anyone who reads this that has some more advice/tips for runners (new and old) to please pass the information on in the comments below.  I know that there is plenty more to be said on the topic since the above is what a mediocre runner has come up with.