Stella and Snowshoes

This week winter storm Stella is dumping fresh PowPow all over New England. Here in the Pine Barrens?....

Just Muddy Slushy trails here in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

Northeast Snowshoe Championships

This weekend the Northeast Snowshoe Championships were literally in my backyard. As tempting as this was to leave the family for  few hours, I thought better of it. I have minimal time home in Vermont (2 weekends a month is typical) and I really had no expectation of making it to Woodford. Not to mention, that crowd of racket runners showed up to play! I'll post the results below.

Embracing the "MUCK"

Today was a sloppy ten miler in Brendan T. Byrne State Park. The Mount Misery Trail is about 9 1/2 miles in a loop and crosses the Batona Trail a couple of times. This route doesn't offer much of anything unless you like flat and sandy trails, but regardless today was one of my faster loops despite the messy conditions so I will take it. 

Happy with Pacing in the Muddy run during "Stella"

Looking Forward

In an effort to raise my boy up to love the outdoors, I purchased a Deuter Kid Comfort carrier. I hope to give you my opinion on this pack soon. I got a great deal through a military promotion website called "Expert City". This website is similar to "GOVX" and offers deep discounts on all sorts of gear, I will link that below for my Police, fire, EMS, and military friends.

Deuter Kid Comfort Air, I think I'm more excited about 

this than I should be. It came with the bear! Not pictured

are the rain cover and canopy which I bought separately.

Last week I channeled my "Graphic Design Major Dropout" skills to the new blog header. What do you think?

LINKS

WWW.EXPERTCITY.COM

WWW.GOVX.COM

https://www.strava.com/activities/900338484

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/17/vt/Mar12_Northe_set1.shtml

Keeping It Fresh

Last week I talked about how squeezing workouts in around other obligations requires a little bit of creativity. What happens when you need a little motivation to go out for a mundane run? I have found a few excuses to put miles on that are not only fun, but also take the rigidity of training and turn it into a new adventure every time you lace up.

Peak Bagging

Most mountain runners do this, and it isn't a new idea. When you start logging where you have been, or crossing mountain peaks off of your "to do" list you will get a nice feeling of accomplishment. Here on the #beastcoast the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) has a few established goals we can work towards including the New England 100 highest, New England 4k's, and the White Mountain 4k's. Their website is listed below, you're welcome.

Along with bagging peaks, you can get creative (there's that word again) and make your own goals. town bagging, state bagging, or chasing after FKT's or "Fastest Known Times"  (The proboard forum style website is the authority on the matter. also linked below).  Since there isn't much hope for myself to grab one of these records, I'll stick to the shorter, less exciting Strava "course records".

Geocaching & Shed Hunting?

This Summer my Stepdaughter introduced me to geocaching, and of course I got addicted to it and was hunting down caches during every trail run. This was totally cool with me since I was exploring new trails, and getting that satisfaction of collecting caches. Unfamiliar? That website is listed below as well (courtesy of D&L NightHawk). Shed hunting is something I stumbled upon this week while I was running the Fort Dix tank trails. I picked up a small two point deer antler, and now I will likely run into the back of a truck in the near future because I am constantly looking at the ground. As it would turn out this is a fringe pass time, and since I am a non hunter it's the only way to add a little rustic charm to my home decor. I urge you to check your local laws before you start meandering around picking up dead animal parts. 

Libby finding her trade in a geocache in Willow Park (Bennington, VT)

Antler I found on the side of the trail in Pemberton, NJ

Heat Maps!

Today my long(ish) run was supposed to serve as a fitness test to see if I could hang at the Breakneck Point 21K in late April. Unfortunately, Breakneck was sold out, so I took a leisurely run adding to my "heat map". This is another addiction of mine (noticing a pattern here?) that keeps me honest in logging outdoor miles in new and interesting locations. This feature is available for Strava premium members. The website takes all of your lifetime GPS tracks and lays them out on a map, routes you have run/ridden more than once darken, and routes that you have run/ridden often show up in red. If you need a visual image to feel accomplished I recommend checking it out! This feature alone, has kept me off of the treadmill better than anything else. Below is a few shots from March 5th and bunch of screenshots of my favorite heat maps.

 USGS marker on Sunrise Mountain near Branchville, NJ

 Panoramic shot sitting on the summit Cairn

14 Mile loop around Stokes State Forest Near Branchville, NJ. Returning 

on The Appalachian Trial. 

The Delaware Water Gap has been a favorite spot of mine. Above

Is the Mcdade & Appalachian trails along with others.

Home Sweet Home HeatMap

21 Day work assignment in Bremerton, WA

Best Running Deployment San Juan Mountains 

Silverton/Durango, CO

Island Hopping for Uncle Sam

Zoomed out Garden State, the Southern Stretch

is the Batona Trail a 54 mile footpath

through the NJ Pine Barrens.

The area surrounding my "Home Away From Home"

Most of New England, RI/CT is minimally tracked 

Tri State area zoomed out

That's it for now. Maybe next week I will talk about my pack rat nature of hanging onto race "junk" and trinkets. I'll share my favorite shirts, awards, and crap I have picked up on the trail!

https://www.strava.com/athletes/7304442/heatmaps/c7bf443#2/40.97990/-45.00000

http://www.amc4000footer.org/the-lists-we-recognize.html 

http://fastestknowntime.proboards.com/

http://www.geocaching.com

Managing Time and Expectations

I have returned back to work in New Jersey, after 20 plus glorious days off with my girls and the newest addition to the family. This post will be considerably shorter than last week, as last week served as a "catch up" of sorts.

Nice Sunset Run in Kent Hollow, Rupert, VT. View is 

looking Northwest towards West Mountain Ski area 

in Queensbury, NY. To either side are 

Shatterack and Haystack/Little Haystack Mountains. (02-17-17)

First and foremost, fatherhood is hard! I am sure nowhere near as hard as motherhood, since I'm now 250 miles away and my wife is handling EVERYTHING without me. Since Ashley and I are both fitness addicts we tried to work out a plan so each of us can get some uninterrupted time to dedicate to working out. She is a complete warrior and is back to lifting and cranking out miles on the elliptical, just a couple of weeks after delivering our son.

Ashley kept her strict and impressive lifting/cardio

regimen throughout the full term of our pregnancy. 

While snowshoe races were plentiful this week (Saranac World Championships, GSSS, Frigus), I was happy to stay home!

I am learning that the trick to maintaining running fitness, is a mix of two things;

Creativity: Luckily our home in Vermont is built into a steep hillside, this allowed me to gain well over 2,000' vertical feet in very few miles over the course of a couple of dynamic workouts. I was able to do several tough repeats all while being visible outside of our living room window. Continuing with creativity, I strapped on my Dion 121 snowshoes and dragged my 75lb stepdaughter up our hill serving as her sledding towrope.

Libby wasn't the only one to have a little fun...

Quality > Mileage: While I think volume is always an important piece to any training plan (especially when ultra distance is the main goal), there are many programs that focus more on intensity and less on pure mileage. An example of low mileage conditioning would be Crossfit Endurance training plans. The rest of my workouts over the last few weeks were close to home, but tough terrain at a harder effort. I find that chasing Strava course records gives me reason to run/climb quickly. 

 A defeated smile after unsuccessfully trying to 

beat Dan Rosenthal's Course Record up

Peaked Rock in Shushan, NY. Dan seems

to own my entire neighborhood on Strava including 

some tough climbs up Mount Equinox and Lye Brook

Falls. Every hound needs a hare to chase!

In closing, I think that incorporating shorter harder workouts on the days I have parenting responsibilities will help me continue to train and eventually return to competing at a level that I haven't been able to in a few years. For now, electronic competition is working out just fine. 

Another evening run finished by headlamp, on Vermont's

muddy and icy dirt roads. Ebbenville Rd. Rupert, VT.

Yard Repeats!

Town Baggin'

Access Road to Lye Brook Falls Manchester, VT. The carbide

spiked Inov-8 Arctic Claws make skating rink surfaces like this

feel like pavement. The studs are great when spikes are too much.

A Couple of Tracks!

In the near future I will share my newest addiction to the "heat map" and why it is a helpful tool.

New Year New Me?

Alright, so that's highly inaccurate. It is a new(ish) year and this page hasn't been touched since my incoherent ramblings about Boston 2014. The truth is it has been a new three years, where I had all but forgot that this page existed. The excuse list is long but distinguished, it includes MAJOR family changes, four years of worldwide deployments with the Coast Guard, a couple nagging injuries, and overall lack of competitive running. Here's what's new:

-First and most exciting my family and I welcomed a new addition on February 8th at 4:12PM. Brycen Audy Hamilton, weighed 7lbs 6oz and made his late arrival at Southern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington.

Photo Courtesy of Amanda Taft Photography

-I have received orders to depart the Atlantic Strike Team, and return to Coast Guard Station Merrimack River in June 2017.

-Mom beat cancer....for a third time!

Since the Strike Team kept me away from home, and away from the mountains my fitness level suffered and I have found myself spending more time on the treadmill and pavement than in the woods. The shift back to Newburyport, MA should allow more time with my family and more time to train for future ultramarathons. 

Despite, the slow activity of the last few years I was fortunate enough to be a competitor in some fantastic events,run some great trails in around the country including Colorado, Alaska and Washington, and even got to race abroad in Motta St. Anastasia, Sicily for an MWR sponsored event. Here are some Highlights and photos!

Charlotte Amalie, USVI

30 Day "deployment" Silverton, CO

Sixth Overall finish at MPF/RNR event Water Gap 50k (4:22)

Completing a section run of the Batona Trail by headlamp with Jeff Blough

Touring San Juan Puerto Rico on foot, during a cruise ship fire response

Third Place Male at the Black Rock Races 10 summits 25k, and Fifth Overall at the "Great Schunemunk Traverse 20 Miler"

So that is the update, and from here I will begin a face lift of this blog. It once served as a platform to not bore my non interested friends on social media. The namesake, will likely change since I do not anticipate racing the Spartan Ultra Beast again (2 finishes is enough). My focus going forward will be about goal setting, enjoying the trail, and time management as a new father! Thanks for checking out my page, I look forward to more frequent, and shorter posts in the future!

Dave

BOSTON 2014

A Year Since My Last Post

Holy Crap! It has been a year since my last post! I suppose the title " Ultra Beast & Beyond" has thwarted me from babbling about nonsense.  I can assure you my Facebook friends have suffered over the last 12 months. I haven't been racing much due to injury and life getting in the way (frankly, I have no complaints life is better than good!). Now I'm sure you're wondering why i picked up this bizarre and "out of character" routine back up..BOSTON 2014 baby!

My Thoughts on Boston

So I am not exactly thrilled to report that 2014 is another year that duty called. Instead of chasing a PR in Bean Town I will once again be doing my real job. 14' is special to me and I was excited for a few reasons, #1 I was finally qualified, and #2 I am all about patriotic defiance and not letting a disgusting act of terrorism hold me back from my passions in life. #3 would be the star studded line up toeing(SP?) the line this year. I am really looking forward to seeing how Ryan Hall & Desi D's "study abroad program" has worked. This year I finally qualified with a (slower than i had hoped) 3:00:03 marathon in Dayton, OH at the USAF marathon. Despite nearly breaking my 5k PR trying to get to the starting line in enough time to take a piss (traffic was horribly managed...and I DID get to pee after begging some half marathoners for their place in line). USAF was the last day to qualify and my first traditional marathon since my embarrassing (sorta) hungover performance in VT. The goal was 2:55, and i missed it by a lifetime, but the contingency was the ability to refer to myself as "qualified".  Instead of registering right away for my racing Mecca, I decided to drive halfway across the country to spend my free evening with Ashley & Libby. Libs tried to stay awake for my homecoming but didn't quite make it. Boston sold out that evening, and i really didn't care (remember that whole "life getting in the way" thing? These girls are just that..my life.) In November/December of 13' the B.A.A. announced an essay contest (limited in length) on our thoughts about last year. AHA! this is why i am blogging again! I thought I would share the essay I wrote for the B.A.A. that was eventually accepted and secured my place in the 117th running of this epic footrace. I am sharing this because I know what it is like to be in your(uhm) sneakers. trusting your training and running your last "long one" this weekend. I doubt it will inspire many or any for that matter, but if you're like me (and you should be) you enjoy this kind of shit ;)

BOSTON 14'

On April 15, 2013 I was just relieved of duty at U.S. Coast Guard station Merrimack River in

Newburyport, MA. Feeling down on myself after answering several repetitive questions to the tune

of "Why aren't you running today?" I stepped onto the treadmill on the second deck of the station

and started my typical 8 mile run staring out the window at the river. Around mile 6 of my

mundane workout a co­worker of mine called me downstairs to the messdeck where we watched

the events unfolding. Like many others I sent out multiple text messages to friends and

teammates to ensure they were safe. I watched for a few moments and decided that I should go

home to Haverhill, MA knowing I may be called into the city. I received a phone call that evening

saying that myself and another USCG Law Enforcement officer will be augmenting security in

Boston Harbor. With a head full of emotions, and the evening free I left a message to my friends

on Facebook that said "I'm going running because I CAN." I'm not sure how much farther I went

that day but I know it will be one of the most memorable runs of my life. On April 16th, I fulfilled

my duties in Boston and couldn't help but stare at all of the Yellow Adidas jackets. Boston had

been a pipe dream of mine for a few years but had never qualified. I have since transferred to Fort

Dix, NJ and represented the Coast Guard in the US Air Force Marathon in Dayton, OH. I ran a

3:00:03 a BQ for a 30 yr. old male. The goal was under 3hr. Boston 2014? thanks.

Well Wishes

A lot of my friends and teammates will be toeing the line in Hopkinton, cheered on by the "Wellesley girls", feeling the burn of "Hearbreak Hill", and rounding that final left onto Boylston. I would be full of shit if I said I wasn't jealous but I WILL be thinking of you this Patriots Day! 

Snowshoes, Ski resorts, and Half marathons Oh My!

Snowshoes
So the snowshoe season has wrapped up. This was by far one of the coolest things I have gotten into. I would really like to thank all of my acidoticRACING teammates especially the Captain Chris Dunn. I joined this team to meet people who were like me, enjoyed running, biking, and racing on trails. What I have gotten thus far are some great friends, incredible opportunities, and a ton of pride! This weekend was the Granite State Snowshoe Series Championship presented by aR's own Ryan Welts (as Race Director). This was the last snowshoe race for the series and it was held closer to my home than the rest. Acidotic really "brought it" for this event. Ryan suggested that I may vomit (which may as well be the post race norm). It took place at Bear Brook state park in Allenstown, NH and was the longest race of the series thus far (10k). I got to the venue pretty early and saw all of the familiar faces and a few new ones, among the 100 participants. Since i knew the really fast folks would be out in force for this race i seeded myself a bit further back than i would normally, this could have been a mistake OR a blessing in disguise. The twisty singletrack on the course meant that a pass would take quite a bit of energy since 18'' of snow lined either side of the trail. My first mile was slow, spending a lot of time weaving on and off the singletrack. I stuck with a CMS (Central Mass Strider club) member for quite a while as we broke away from the pack we were in. He would later lose me around the 4 mile mark. I finished a little bit over 55 minutes, which I was satisfied with. I decided my goal would be sub 1hr since snowshoe racing has so many more variables than trail racing (hills, snow consistency, balling, wet shoes, singletrack, hardpack...you get the idea.).  My time was good enough for 19th overall, and given the company I was in, i was pretty pumped. Jim Johnson won the race (along with every other GSSS race this year) in an incredible 43:22! This event was definitely a memorable one! After racing 4 of the 6 races in the series I finished out in the standings in 8th place (pretty cool since I only found my way into the top 10 only once at Horsehill)! Below is the link to the Granite State Snowshoe Series website and the individual results for races I competed in.

GSSS
Whitaker Woods 17th
Kingman Farm 18th
Horsehill 10th
Bear Brook Championship 19th

Snowshoe racing has really surprised me. I really didn't think there could possibly be anything worse than racing with giant flip flops on. WRONG! The snowshoes I wore this season (Dion 121's) are so light and so well designed that you forget that you aren't just spike running (running in microspikes). the coolest part? They're made in north Bennington, VT! Here's a link : DION SNOWSHOES. Not only did I have a blast this season racing, but it has been the most effective (and enjoyable) speedwork.  At Kingman farm (the only night race) I had the pleasure of running the course before the race to break out the tracks and place markers along the way. While this may have tired me out I really felt like I had contributed to the races overall sucess. Chris did an awesome job of designing the course and the night element with headlamps really made it something special. Horsehill was re-scheduled and fell on a particularly cold and snowy morning, the day after Kingman Farms NIGHT RACE! This likely lowered the amount of participants (crappy roads, TOUGH race merely 12 hrs before, COLD!) but the "Die Hards" were out! and Horsehill proved tobe a challenging race!Although I am transferring to NJ this Summer I PLAN on racing Acidotic in the future.

Enjoying the warm weather at the GSSS Championships

acidoticRACING's Granite State Snowshoe Championship team! No really aR won the Team Championships!

 

Winter Wild!

Winter wild is my kind of race! Run to the top of a ski mountain in the snow (usually over 1,000' of elevation gain) and then recklessly bomb down said mountain. These events are one of a kind, races where you choose your way down the mountain. If you're like me and masochistic, your vehicle DOWN the mountain will be the same as you chose going up. Others choose snowboards, skis etc. The Open category is primarily runners (did i mention most of these runners wear black and yellow?) Last week I did the Winter Wild Mt. Sunapee race. As expected many of my teammates were there as well. I wasnt feeling too great before Sunapee but I thought it would get better on the ride up to the mountain ( it didn't). Sunapee was my third Winter Wild race so I knew pain and suffering were inevitable. I started off slow in the sand like mashed potato snow and eventually made it to the top (about 2 minutes behind some of my teammates in the Masters category ...that's right 40 year olds are fast!). I knew there was one other runner ahead of me in my age group (20-29), so i took to the downhill pretty hard trying to catch him. I got an awful pain in my stomach on the way down but just tried to ignore it the whole way down. I gained a lot of distance on this competitor  but not enough to pass before the finish. Damn. PUKE! This race I really went all out but it just wasn't my day. I have had a 3rd place and 2 2nd place finishes at Winter Wild, I suppose winning one this season isn't going to happen for me!

Mister PukeyFace, this one hurt!

Winter Wild Uphill Series

 

Wachusett 3rd 20-29

Ragged Mtn 2nd 20-29 (5 seconds!)

Sunapee 2nd...AGAIN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Bedford & Oleksak Half Marathons

 

I grabbed the bull by the horns last month (and by grabbed the bull by its horns I mean, decided that my knee is slowly healing and accepting higher mileage again) and signed up for 2 half marathons on back to back weekends. New Bedford on St. Patricks day (sorry I refuse to wear green, only yellow and black :)) New Bedford promises a flat and fast course. I really wanted to polish up my half marathon PR (personal record) since it is a pretty unimpressive 1:38. Ultimately I would love to be sub 1:30 but an 8 minute gain is a lot to ask for. Well like I said above, all of this snowshoe and winter mountain running have done wonders for my speed. After the snowshoe championships on Saturday I followed suit with the Sunday "long run" (they haven't been very long lately due to nagging knee syndrome..). I have an awful habit of training way too fast, and treating my long runs as tempo runs. i probably have this problem because my mileage has dropped since this summer 70+ a week to a mere 35, while trying to get my knee rehabbed. This Sunday I did a 13.1 (half marathon) training run for New Bedford, I picked a slightly hilly "out and back" course and set off running way too fast. At the halfway point I noticed on my GPS that i wasn't far off of my goal split time of 6.55mi. in 45:30. I was certainly behind that (47:55ish), but in the spirit of finishing hard I tried to get home at a similar but slightly stronger pace. The result was 1:33:37 without much preparation, beating my (flat) Half at the Hamptons PR by 5 minutes. Needless to say, Snowshoes and Ski resorts have played a huge role in my road running game, and for that I am thankful! Oleksak Half Marathon is a smaller and hillier event, so I am not seeking to better whatever New Bedford Yields! Gotta Run!

 

 

 



Exciting updates!

Acidotic Racing
A couple weeks before the Winter Wild Wachusset race, I sent an email to Chris Dunn of Acidotic Racing about joining their team. I was looking at the Gallery from some of last years races and saw a ton of aR jerseys. After a quick google search I found out a lot about the team and its members. I had no intention of joining a club/team but the more I read through the website, the more I realized this competes in All sorts of endurance events (from cyclocross to snowshoe racing and just about everything in between). They had a myriad of events that they host as well mostly all on trials. On top of the fact that this group was competitive in everything I am interested in, they also have a very philanthropic approach to event hosting. After a couple of E-mails I was warmly welcomed to the race team! Since I have joined I have raced twice, once at Winter Wild Wachusset and one snowshoe race in North Conway. So far I really like the idea of racing for a team, especially such an outstanding group of individuals who make you feel welcome and genuinely appreciate you just showing up to a race. I'm looking forward to more events with these guys/girls!

http://www.acidoticracing.com

 

Winter Wild Wachusset
The Winter Wild races are uphill/downhill events with a few different options for racing them (run up/ski down, run up/run down, ski up ski down..you get the picture). I entered the "open" category (run up/run down). The race started at 7AM before the ski resort opened, so we would all be running on freshly groomed trails. Wachusset has a prominence of just about 1,000' so over the course of 2 1/2 miles you gain and lose all of that. I decided that my bulky/waterproof trail running shoes that I usually use for long distance or snow(Helly Hansen Pace's) would be the best footwear. I used microspikes and a lightweight goretex ankle gaiter to keep the snow out. This setup seemed to work great. I tried to start near the front but couldn't find my way around a couple snowshoers who would later trip and fall seconds after the start. The open category runners took off FAST, I knew i couldn't hold that pace to the top of the mountain so I tried to settle into a more comfortable pace, expecting to make some ground up when the leaders slowed down. Well they never really slowed down, but I did! The last 1/4 mile or so of the uphill was a black diamond trail, I really would have liked to have some trekking poles. reaching the top was a great relief, since the downhill wouldn't tax my cardiovascular system as much as the uphill did. In my typical fashion I recklessly bombed downwards gaining one or two positions on open category runners (losing a few to skiers). I finished at 26:58 which was good enough for 16th overall and 3rd for my age group. Afterwards there was an awesome raffle where tons of outdoor gear was given away to competitors. While I didn't win anything in the raffle I got a nice beer mug for an age group award! Winter wild was so much fun that I immediately signed up for the next one that I could make (Ragged Mountain).
Winter Wild Results

Nearing The Finish Line

 

Acidotic Racing Team at Winter Wild Wachusset

 

 

Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble



This weekend I took a leap out of my comfort zone and raced the Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble in North Conway, NH part of the Granite State Snowshoe Series. I have been really interested in snowshoe racing but wasn't sold on buying running snowshoes, especially since it is a seasonal sport. If I had only known how much fun I would have this weekend! I contacted the RD about renting a pair of Dion snowshoes (Made in Bennington, VT!) and he reserved a pair for me. It was a cold morning, probably at or around 20 degrees, but it felt much nicer. After getting into running snowshoes for the first time I jogged around getting used to them. It wasn't hard to get used to the Dions since they were incredibly light (especially in comparison to the 24'' hiking snowshoes I have). I started toward the middle of the pack since I was a complete "NOOB" as the gamers would say. The race was 4miles over rolling XC ski trails, I settled into a pace just below 9 minute miles. This pace was comfortable so I decided that I would speed up at the halfway point. The back half of the course was primarily downhill which helped me keep the pace up for a somewhat strong finish. I crossed the finish in 33:22 which was good enough for 17th overall. I was pretty pumped with the results since it was my first time running in snowshoes. I will definitely be trying to enter some more of these races, and i would recommend it to any runner looking for a fun off season race! I would like to thank aR and RD Kevin Tilton for making it happen!
Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble Results
Granite State Snowshoe Series

aR team pic before the race (a few members missing)

http://www.joeviger.com/

 

Wrap up

Today I did a nice single digit temperature 7 1/2 mile trail run. It was kind of nice to be completely alone on such a normally busy trail. It was incredibly icy and I probably should have utilized the spikes. The last few weeks have been awesome, I am very proud to be part of such a talented group of athletes and  I think that I will really benefit from being a member of aR. As some of you may know I am up for transfer this summer. I am ALMOST sure of where I will be going but until I see "official orders" I shall keep it to myself.  For my next few blog posts I have thought about interviewing some people who I really look up to as competitors. The reason for this is that I am sure it is boring to hear my first person narrative of mediocre race performances all the time and i have met a lot of interesting people in the running world.

Happy Trails!